Aref Assaf, "This Imam is Good for America and the World"

Re: "Muslim Leader Faces Deportation: A Man of Peace or a Hamas Helper"
Bergen Record, 3-1-2008

See section devoted to Imam Qatanani

By AREF ASSAF

Special to the Herald News

March 9, 2008 

Thank God we live in a country where a person is presumed innocent until proved guilty in a court of law. Sadly, this was not the treatment Imam Mohammed Qatanani faced while imprisoned in Israel. Qatanani's fate is hardly a choice between supporting Hamas or being a man of peace. It is a fact that the imam, over the last 13 years, has proven himself to be a man of peace, a voice of moderation and a leader who brings people together to serve others.

In fact, his work has exemplified true citizenship ideals.

The question for the immigration judge, who will preside at the imam's May hearing, will be more far-reaching: The judge will endeavor to decide whether we should allow a man who has demonstrated exceptional leadership qualities and volunteerism to ultimately become a citizen of this country. The judge will have the unenviable task of also deciding the fate of the imam's children who were born in the U.S. They committed no crime and to them, America is the only home they know and it is here where they deserve and have the constitutional right to stay.

The judge, we hope, will suppress recently surfaced evidence provided by Israel. Careful choice of proper words would not lead to describing the imam's confinement as a properly prosecuted arrest, let alone a fair trial. What the imam endured was an illegal arrest where no charges were ever duly presented against him and no legal proceedings to convict ever took place. Simply put, the imam, against his will was put in jail for three months and then let go. Thousands of Palestinians under Israel's military occupation have faced such a fate, and for most who live under Israel's military occupation, such an occurrence is a rite of passage.

Ironically, had the imam been jailed in another country we probably would be extending to him immediate political asylum for speaking his mind against denial of human rights in his homeland. Thousands of Palestinians, including underage children, pregnant mothers and even the elderly, have been arrested under the pretext of "administrative detention", a British Mandate military law that allows authorities, based on secret evidence, to hold suspects for months, if not years without ever being charged with a crime.

Arab and Muslim Americans have suffered greatly since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Collectively, they have been punished for acts they were not party to or ever supported. More importantly, the friends of the imam from across all religious, ethnic, and political divides will seriously question the universality of our legal system, which, because of shortsighted political pressure, may decide against the imam.

More than anything, law enforcement agencies, with their successful efforts in reaching deep into our community and having earned both the trust and respect of both community leaders and average Arab and Muslim citizens, will find themselves in the unenviable position of total suspicion and rejection. Counterterrorism efforts will become less productive.

Make no mistake: The imam's fate will have significant reverberations nationally on our ability to trust our country with our lives and rights. The imam's case stands to be a defining moment on America's desire to improve its shattered image in the Arab and Muslim world.

For Imam Qatanani, he is content with God's plans for him. In a recent conversation, he so prophetically stated that, "If God so wills that I no longer stay here, little can be done to change that destiny; if God wills that I must stay, then he will find the means to make that fate happen - either fate pleases me."

"Americans for Qatanani," the grassroots effort organized to support the imam, will spare no effort to keep him among us as our spiritual leader and our guiding light.

Aref Assaf, Ph.D, is president of American Arab Forum, a Paterson-based think tank specializing in Arab and Muslim affairs.

Related: Thousands of Palestinians, including underage children, pregnant mothers and even the elderly,  have been arrested under the pretext of "Administrative Detention", a British Mandate military law which allows authorities, based on secret evidence, to hold suspects for months, if not years, without ever being charged with a crime.