Mohammad Qatanani
Encyclopedia
Mohammad Ahmad Hasan Qatanani (born 1964) is the Imam of one of the largest mosques in New Jersey called ICPC in Paterson. Qatanani migrated to America in 1996 as the Imam of the Islamic Center of Passaic County. Qatanani has a Ph.D in Islamic studies
from the Jordanian University.
Qatanani and his family were faced with deportation from the United States because he allegedly failed to disclose in a green card application that he was a member of Hamas
, an organization regarded by the U.S. and the European Union as terrorist; officials were relying on a report that Israel
i forces had arrested and convicted him as a Hamas member in 1993. Qatanani contends that he was never formally arrested nor charged with a crime, but rather was among the hundreds of Palestinians detained during a 1993 uprising. He further contends that he was convicted in absentia
and faced severely harsh interrogation tactics that Israel's highest court subsequently banned as torture
. A U.S. Immigration Judge subsequently declined to deport Mohammad Qatanani and his family and granted them permanent residency in 2008. The case is currently being appealed through the New Jersey Immigration Court of Appeals.
Qatanani lived in a Palestinian refugee camp until he finished high school (1982) and received a scholarship to study at the College of Amman
, located in Jordan
. Qatanani finished his bachelors in Islamic Law
in 1985 and then continued to study until he received a masters from the Jordanian University in Islamic Jurisprudence in 1989. After a one year break, Qatanani returned to the Jordanian University to work on his Ph.D. on Islamic Jurisprudence which he received in 1996.
After receiving his bachelors degree, Qatanani worked as an Imam
for several different mosques in Amman, Jordan until 1989. In 1989, Qatanani got a job as a full-time Imam of Abu-Qoura Mosque in Amman, Jordan. He worked there until 1996.
Qatanani was accused of pleading guilty in 1993 to aiding and being a member of Hamas. He was also accused that was sentenced to three months in prison. However, Qatanani has denied being a Hamas member and said he was detained, not arrested, by the Israelis while traveling to his native West Bank in 1993. He said he was not notified of the charges against him nor his conviction and that he was mentally and physically abused while in detention. On his green card application, Qatanani had answered "no" to a question asking applicants whether they had been arrested, fined, charged or imprisoned. The Department of Homeland Security was unable to provide substantial evidence that Qatanani was arrested, convicted, fined, charged or imprisoned.
Qatanani, also admitted being a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, a controversial organization that is banned by the governments of Israel, Egypt and Syria, which argue that it has ties to terrorists. However, the Muslim Brotherhood was a legal and lawful organization in Jordan were he resided and became a member.
, the second largest Muslim community in the U.S..
He is also a Member of the Fiqh Council of North America
and gave lectures at the Islamic American University, a subsidiary of the Muslim American Society
(MAS).
Qatanani was a speaker at an Islamic Association of Palestine
conference in Chicago in 1999.
He was quoted in 2004 as seeing no "big issue" with charities supporting the children of suicide bombers "after" the suicide attacks, explaining that the children are innocent, even if their parents are not.
In 1999, Qatanani applied for a U.S. Green Card without disclosing that he had been in Israeli detention for three months in 1993. Qatanani contends that he never received word of any charges or convictions against him during his three months in police custody, and therefore was not lying on the immigration form. Government officials learned of Qatanani's detention when Qatanani contacted the FBI in 2005 requesting assistance with his immigration application. In July 2006, the government denied his application, and deportation proceedings began against him, his wife and three of his six children.
According to Israeli records, he was "convicted of assisting terrorist organizations for referring Palestinian students arriving in Jordan
" to join the Muslim Brotherhood
, a student organization that was legal in Jordan, and the Hamas
, which is on the U.S. State Department list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations
.
Qatanani did not dispute that he was a member of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan and that he helped Palestinian students find housing and get into Jordanian university, but says that he was unaware of any links to groups like Hamas and that he was not a member of Hamas.
The Judge noted that the records obtained by Homeland Security officials from the Israelis were “too unreliable to prove that Mr. Qatanani has engaged in terrorist activities.”
The lead government attorney drew criticism for reading passages from the Quran that indicated that God will cause unbelievers to “increase in illness." An attorney for the American Jewish Congress
questioned the relevance of referring to Quranic passages in Qatanani's trial, explaining that the passages "showed no inclination towards violence" on Qatanani's part.
Rabbi Senter of Pompton Lakes, one of Qatanani's character witness who noted that Qatanani was “the most moderate individual you could imagine” was "shocked" to see the government attorney "use the tactics of hatemongers
in an effort to tip the scales of justice."
Islamic studies
In a Muslim context, Islamic studies can be an umbrella term for all virtually all of academia, both originally researched and as defined by the Islamization of knowledge...
from the Jordanian University.
Qatanani and his family were faced with deportation from the United States because he allegedly failed to disclose in a green card application that he was a member of Hamas
Hamas
Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
, an organization regarded by the U.S. and the European Union as terrorist; officials were relying on a report that Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i forces had arrested and convicted him as a Hamas member in 1993. Qatanani contends that he was never formally arrested nor charged with a crime, but rather was among the hundreds of Palestinians detained during a 1993 uprising. He further contends that he was convicted in absentia
In absentia
In absentia is Latin for "in the absence". In legal use, it usually means a trial at which the defendant is not physically present. The phrase is not ordinarily a mere observation, but suggests recognition of violation to a defendant's right to be present in court proceedings in a criminal trial.In...
and faced severely harsh interrogation tactics that Israel's highest court subsequently banned as torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
. A U.S. Immigration Judge subsequently declined to deport Mohammad Qatanani and his family and granted them permanent residency in 2008. The case is currently being appealed through the New Jersey Immigration Court of Appeals.
Early Life and Education in Jordan
Qatanani was born to Ahmad Hasan Qatanani (1936–2005) and Ayisha Qatanani (b. 1941) in the town of Askar in Palestine. Qatanani has 7 siblings, 3 brothers (Hasan, Taha, and Yaseen) and 4 sisters (Aminah, Wafa', Maryam, and Sumaia). Qatanani's brother-in-law was killed by the Israelis.Qatanani lived in a Palestinian refugee camp until he finished high school (1982) and received a scholarship to study at the College of Amman
Amman
Amman is the capital of Jordan. It is the country's political, cultural and commercial centre and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. The Greater Amman area has a population of 2,842,629 as of 2010. The population of Amman is expected to jump from 2.8 million to almost...
, located in Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
. Qatanani finished his bachelors in Islamic Law
Islamic law
Islamic law can refer to:*Sharia: The code of conduct enjoined upon Muslims in the Quran*Fiqh: Muslim jurisprudence...
in 1985 and then continued to study until he received a masters from the Jordanian University in Islamic Jurisprudence in 1989. After a one year break, Qatanani returned to the Jordanian University to work on his Ph.D. on Islamic Jurisprudence which he received in 1996.
After receiving his bachelors degree, Qatanani worked as an Imam
Imam
An imam is an Islamic leadership position, often the worship leader of a mosque and the Muslim community. Similar to spiritual leaders, the imam is the one who leads Islamic worship services. More often, the community turns to the mosque imam if they have a religious question...
for several different mosques in Amman, Jordan until 1989. In 1989, Qatanani got a job as a full-time Imam of Abu-Qoura Mosque in Amman, Jordan. He worked there until 1996.
Qatanani was accused of pleading guilty in 1993 to aiding and being a member of Hamas. He was also accused that was sentenced to three months in prison. However, Qatanani has denied being a Hamas member and said he was detained, not arrested, by the Israelis while traveling to his native West Bank in 1993. He said he was not notified of the charges against him nor his conviction and that he was mentally and physically abused while in detention. On his green card application, Qatanani had answered "no" to a question asking applicants whether they had been arrested, fined, charged or imprisoned. The Department of Homeland Security was unable to provide substantial evidence that Qatanani was arrested, convicted, fined, charged or imprisoned.
Qatanani, also admitted being a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, a controversial organization that is banned by the governments of Israel, Egypt and Syria, which argue that it has ties to terrorists. However, the Muslim Brotherhood was a legal and lawful organization in Jordan were he resided and became a member.
Imam in the U.S.
In 1996 Qatanani migrated with his family to America on a religious work visa. Qatanani became the Imam of the Islamic Center of Passaic County (ICPC) in Paterson, New JerseyPaterson, New Jersey
Paterson is a city serving as the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 146,199, rendering it New Jersey's third largest city and one of the largest cities in the New York City Metropolitan Area, despite a decrease of 3,023...
, the second largest Muslim community in the U.S..
He is also a Member of the Fiqh Council of North America
Fiqh Council of North America
The Fiqh Council of North America is an association of Muslims who interpret Islamic law on the North American continent.Its 18 members issue religious rulings, resolve disputes, and answer questions relating to the Islamic faith...
and gave lectures at the Islamic American University, a subsidiary of the Muslim American Society
Muslim American Society
The Muslim American Society is a nonprofit organization founded in 1993 that describes itself as an Islamic revival and reform movement....
(MAS).
Qatanani was a speaker at an Islamic Association of Palestine
Islamic Association of Palestine
Islamic Association of Palestine was an Islamist organization that raised money in the United States for Hamas. It described itself as "a not-for-profit, public-awareness, educational, political, social, and civic, national grassroots organization dedicated to advancing a just, comprehensive, and...
conference in Chicago in 1999.
He was quoted in 2004 as seeing no "big issue" with charities supporting the children of suicide bombers "after" the suicide attacks, explaining that the children are innocent, even if their parents are not.
In 1999, Qatanani applied for a U.S. Green Card without disclosing that he had been in Israeli detention for three months in 1993. Qatanani contends that he never received word of any charges or convictions against him during his three months in police custody, and therefore was not lying on the immigration form. Government officials learned of Qatanani's detention when Qatanani contacted the FBI in 2005 requesting assistance with his immigration application. In July 2006, the government denied his application, and deportation proceedings began against him, his wife and three of his six children.
According to Israeli records, he was "convicted of assisting terrorist organizations for referring Palestinian students arriving in Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
" to join the Muslim Brotherhood
Muslim Brotherhood
The Society of the Muslim Brothers is the world's oldest and one of the largest Islamist parties, and is the largest political opposition organization in many Arab states. It was founded in 1928 in Egypt by the Islamic scholar and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna and by the late 1940s had an...
, a student organization that was legal in Jordan, and the Hamas
Hamas
Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
, which is on the U.S. State Department list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations
U.S. State Department list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations
"Foreign Terrorist Organization" is a designation of non-United States-based organizations declared terrorist by the United States Secretary of State in accordance with section 219 of the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act...
.
Qatanani did not dispute that he was a member of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan and that he helped Palestinian students find housing and get into Jordanian university, but says that he was unaware of any links to groups like Hamas and that he was not a member of Hamas.
Interfaith
Qatanani has paved the way in New Jersey for common interfaith dialogue between different religions. He has spoken at more than 100 churches and synagogues across New Jersey.Trial
Character witnesses testifying for Qatanani included Roman Catholic and Episcopalian priests along with two county sheriffs who praised Qatanani for helping investigators become acquainted with cultural aspects of the Muslim community. On September 4, 2008, a U.S. Immigration Judge declined to deport and granted Mohammad Qatanani and his family permanent residency.The Judge noted that the records obtained by Homeland Security officials from the Israelis were “too unreliable to prove that Mr. Qatanani has engaged in terrorist activities.”
The lead government attorney drew criticism for reading passages from the Quran that indicated that God will cause unbelievers to “increase in illness." An attorney for the American Jewish Congress
American Jewish Congress
The American Jewish Congress describes itself as an association of Jewish Americans organized to defend Jewish interests at home and abroad through public policy advocacy, using diplomacy, legislation, and the courts....
questioned the relevance of referring to Quranic passages in Qatanani's trial, explaining that the passages "showed no inclination towards violence" on Qatanani's part.
Rabbi Senter of Pompton Lakes, one of Qatanani's character witness who noted that Qatanani was “the most moderate individual you could imagine” was "shocked" to see the government attorney "use the tactics of hatemongers
Islamophobia
Islamophobia describes prejudice against, hatred or irrational fear of Islam or MuslimsThe term dates back to the late 1980s or early 1990s, but came into common usage after the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States....
in an effort to tip the scales of justice."