Personal Info
- Country of residence: United States
Information
Muhammad Ahmad Hassan Qatanani
(April 29, 1964) is the imam of the Islamic Center of Passaic County in New
Jersey, popularly known as the “Broadway Mosque” in the United States of
America. He immigrated to America in 1996. He holds a PhD in Islamic Studies
from the University of Jordan.
Muhammad Ahmad Hasan al-Qatanani and
his family faced deportation from the United States because he failed to
disclose in his green card application that he was a member of Hamas, an
organization considered terrorist by the United States and the European Union;Officials were relying on a report that Israeli forces arrested and convicted
him as a member of Hamas in 1993. Al-Qatnani maintains that he was neither
formally arrested nor charged with a crime, but rather was among hundreds of
Palestinians arrested during the 1993 uprising. He also claims that he was
convicted in absentia and faced harsh interrogation methods It was later banned
by the Supreme Court of Israel as torture. A US immigration judge later refused
to deport Muhammad al-Qatanani and his family and grant them permanent
residence in 2008.
The Department of Homeland Security
has appealed the ruling through the New Jersey Immigration Court of Appeals.
After a lengthy period of pleadings, litigation and review, a decision from the
Board of Immigration Appeals returned the case to the same court in December
2016 for consideration of the original claim.
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Achievements and Awards
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