He's resigned himself to leaving the United States if that's what immigration officials insist on after reasonable investigation.

IMAM Mohammad Qatanani cannot drive. That's a major problem for a man with six kids who need to be chauffeured to school and other activities.

But with no license, he has little choice: Either he arranges for other members of the Muslim community to help him run errands, or he goes about his business on foot. What a fine mess for one of North Jersey's most influential spiritual leaders.

A Palestinian educated in Jordan, Qatanani heads Paterson's Islamic Center of Passaic County. He agonizes over what might have happened if someone hadn't come along to take his son to the hospital after the boy's stomach ache proved to be appendicitis.

He's been without a license for the past three years, unable to show the Motor Vehicle Commission enough points of identification to get his license renewed while his immigration status is in question.

When he arrived here in 1996 on a religious work visa, Qatanani was able to get a license. But now that his application for citizenship is being challenged by immigration officials, he's had no luck trying to get back behind the wheel.

Losing his driving privileges is a minor inconvenience alongside the possibility that he might lose his fight for citizenship. Immigration officials said he failed to disclose a conviction on his original application.

Immigration officials say he was untruthful on his first application because he didn't mention that he'd been detained by the Israelis.

Qatanani, 44, had a run-in with Israeli police who held him because of an allegation that he had helped the Palestinian extremist group Hamas, which he steadfastly denies. Qatanani and his lawyer say that he was detained briefly in 1993 and released from what he thought was an insignificant detention. There was no trial, Qatanani said. But American immigration officials found an Israeli document indicating that he'd been convicted of aiding an extremist group.

The imam did not account for the incident on his citizenship application, so immigration authorities are treating it as more serious than a simple detention. They say he deliberately omitted the information.

Although a hearing is set for May on his reapplication, and many elected officials attest to his positive role as a conciliator, hope is not a word he's encouraging his congregation to hang on to. He's resigned himself to leaving the United States if that's what immigration officials insist on after reasonable investigation.

A somber mood descended on the Islamic center, which was packed for its regular Friday noon prayer service. Some congregants were stunned as Qatanani laid out his situation for those who didn't already know.

"It was very fatalistic," said Aref Assaf, president of the American Arab Forum. "He said, 'Do not let the institutions die or wither away because the person in charge may not be here with you tomorrow or the next day. So whether I'm here or not, you shall prosper.' And people were almost crying because he was saying to them, 'goodbye'."

The immigration dispute also threatens to derail his children's education. Paying for college has suddenly become a big question mark because of the challenges that threaten their father's chance for citizenship. His three youngest are American-born, and the three eldest are approaching college age.

Widely praised as a builder of bridges between Arabs and non-Arabs, his record as a conciliator is being overshadowed. Qatanani's stature has grown here as a religious leader accommodating to non-Muslims and public officials. He's even allowed anti-terrorism officials and recruiters to address Muslims at the Islamic Center.

His application is dragging on because of the nationwide backlog of immigration applications. At the end of last year, 45,200 citizenship requests were waiting to be processed in New Jersey, nearly 2 1/2 times the number in the pipeline during the previous years.

"His application that was submitted in 1999 took almost seven years for him to get the denial," said Assaf. "The delay is more pronounced for our community, because racial profiling shows its ugly face. They treat us like we're guilty until they prove us innocent."

If someone as involved with conciliation as Qatanani is dealt such a heavy-handed blow, others will be unlikely to cooperate in times of crisis.

Lawrence Aaron is a Record columnist. Contact him at aaron@northjersey.com. Send comments about this column to letterstotheeditor@northjersey.com.