Rejecting the huddled masses yearning to breathe free?

Bergen Record, March 6, 2008

By Ahmed Soliman – In 1883 a poet by the name of Emma Lazarus wrote a few words that were not given much attention at the time, but would one day come to symbolize a vital American ideal that would be forever etched above the entrance to a great American icon. The poem, in part, asked for the "huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” Every year, thousands of people from around the world read those words as they enter the Statue of Liberty. It seems, however, that there is some in the American government who do not believe that ideal should apply to everyone.

Imam Mohamed Qatanani of the Islamic Center of Passaic County in Paterson has been living in this country for 14 years, and in that time he has garnered the respect of congressmen, religious leaders and federal agents who believe he is a vital part of interfaith understanding in the post 9/11 world. But despite that fact, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) want to deport him because he is no longer able to stay on his visa, which expired many years ago, and his application for residency was rejected after a security clearance check that took seven years to complete. The reason for the rejection: Israel says that they once detained him for three months.

“What they are saying in Israel [about me] is common for all men from Palestine,” said Imam Qatanani. “Sometimes they want to collect information and question, other times they want to get someone to stop talking. They detained me 14 years ago for three months, they released me and I left home. There was no conviction or charges presented to me at that time. I never even stood in front of a judge.”

Now many people are rallying to the assistance of Imam Qatanani, determined to make sure the judge finds in favor of Qatanani during his deportation trial in May. Efforts include the formation of petitions, a website and documentary film.

“For us, we are going to fight this case all the way to Washington,” said Magdy Mahmoud, the leader of the newly formed group dedicated to Qatanani’s cause. “We deeply believe it’s our right to choose our spiritual leaders, who can influence our community members and make them better citizens.”

But the Muslim-American community in New Jersey is not the only group that is coming to the aid of Qatanani. In a recent phone conversation, US Congressman Bill Pascrell told me that he supports Imam Qatanani 100 percent.

 “I meet with the FBI often about homeland security issues, and I have never heard anything negative about this man,” said Pascrell. “He’s served not only the immediate community and the metropolitan area, he’s brought people together from all faiths.”

Imam Qatanani has six children, of which the last three were born in this country. The oldest of the three children that immigrated to America with their father was still in the first grade when he came, and therefore has known only this country as well. In fact, if the deportation trial does not go their way, all of the children will be forced to join their father on a one-way trip to a country they have never known.