|
How can I thank you?, Let me count the Ways
March 5, 2008
The Record
Re: Don't deport the Imam editorial, March 5, 2008
Dear Mr. Doblin:
I am reading a children’s book to my 4 years old daughter tilted ‘How Much I love you, Let me Count the Ways”.
Let me thank you for the Record’s great and positive reporting by Liz Llorrente on the Imam’s case, a case that stands to define our community’s sense of fairness and honor.
Let me thank you for your editorial in support of the Imam by demanding a fair immigration hearing and solid evidence presented by law enforcement. The Imam’s good name and reputation have been tarnished and the community’s confidence in our place in this country has been shaken to its core. We know that once the facts are presented and challenged in court, the Imam and our people will be vindicated from the curse of ‘aiding terrorism”. Guilt by association is religious lynching of the worst kind.
And finally, let me thank you for just being there to say what is right even if it’s not politically or economically expedient.
Thank you, Shukran
Aref Assaf, PhD
---------------------------------
Letters to the Editor
Herald News
03/10/08
What is so especially troubling about the sad story of Imam Mohammad Qatanani is that this is America and this is happening here. A declared man of peace is being threatened with deportation because he doesn't agree with the actions of one of this country's allies.
Also, deeply troubling to me, I had to think long and hard about writing this commentary. There was a time when you could say what you felt with ease. But that time is a thing of the past. Now we run the risk of being labeled a sympathizer of one kind or another, or locked up without a specific charge.
Qatanani's fate is a reflection of the fate of our constitutional protections in recent years. They too were locked up, without charge, detained for an unspecified time. Once released, our protections carry a stain against them, and they are never quite as pure as they once were. They are subject to deportation or in our case, to hijacking again at the verbal whim of some entity in charge. In Qatanani's case, an occupying government; in our case, the commander in chief. And the rehabilitation of our respective fates lies in the hands of someone else. In Qatanani's case, U.S. immigration officials and in our case, Congress. Both are part of the U.S. Government.
We have become a country that is a slave to policy instead of principle. We once respected dissent, now we arrest it. We once actually believed in a person's right to yearn to be free. Now that freedom must align with our stated national policy objectives, right or wrong. Deviate from that and they find a damning label for you. Terrorist sympathizer, for him; anti-American for us.
Speak out against oppression in your homeland and you are outlawed. Speak out about the loss of American freedoms and you are "watched."
But the majority of us will remain silent about what is happening to him and thus, silent about what has happened to us. We are, after all, inextricably linked. I lament the imam's awful situation. Also, watching what has become of my country, mirrored by what is happening to him in our city, I also lament my own.
Jonathan Hodges, Paterson
-------------------------------
Speaking up in support of imam
Letters to the Editor
Herald News
03/12/08
Rabbe David Sentor
I write in regard to the case of Imam Mohammad Qatanani. I have known the imam for three years, on both a personal and a professional level. We have visited each other's houses of worship, dined together and learned about each other on a personal level. While it is clear that there are some issues upon which we agree to disagree (especially regarding Israel), we do so respectfully.
The imam has always been a voice for interfaith dialogue and understanding. He has publicly and repeatedly denounced terrorism. It is my opinion that this individual is an asset to our society and culture, as he models and preaches values consistent with the American ideal.
It is important to understand that while the imam's character and his work may be factors in considering an immigration application, they are not the main focus of this issue.
It is my understanding that the imam's honesty in completing the immigration documentation is being questioned. The justice system of our country will make a determination based on the facts and evidence presented by the imam's attorneys and advocates. If the documentation was filled out honestly without intent to defraud, the imam must be allowed to remain in this country. Based on my relationship with the imam, I can only believe that he was 100 percent truthful in his documentation.
My hopes and prayers are with the imam and his family as they face this very difficult chapter in their lives. I will be present at the hearing to support this special individual.
Rabbi David Ross Senter, Congregation Beth Shalom, Pompton Lakes
-------------------------------
Letters to the Editor
Herald News
03/14/08
Qatanani has been partner in peace
Fostering dialogue, understanding and trust between Muslims, Christians and Jews is critical for our nation and the world. In this cause here in New Jersey, Mohammad Qatanani, the imam of the Islamic Center of Passaic County, has been a tireless champion. Now our federal government is seeking to deport him along with his wife and six children.
With the billions our government spends now on homeland security, how could they get it so wrong?
The imam is a true religious leader in our midst and a close personal friend. I have known the imam since shortly after Sept. 11, when I was invited to preach at his mosque. Working with the Episcopal Diocese of Newark and our bishop, members of the mosque visited and spoke at more than 150 churches in our state.
Along with me and Rabbi David Senter at Congregation Beth Shalom in Pompton Lakes, the imam has been instrumental in developing the increasingly popular interfaith Seder now held annually at the synagogue in Pompton Lakes.
Most recently, Bishop Mark Beckwith, Rabbi Senter and the imam joined us as our partners in ministry in celebrating our church's 175th anniversary in Hope.
If the federal government is successful in deporting Mohammad Qatanani, who will be next?
Hear well the last lines of that famous poem by Lutheran Pastor Martin Niemoller: "When they came for me, there was no one left to speak out?"
The Rev. William A. Potter, Rector, Saint Luke's Episcopal Church, Hope
|
