Mohammad Qatanani

Who is Mohammad Qatanani?

Mohammad Ahmad Hasan Qatanani 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 Israeli 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.