This is scary stuff. This man is in a position to influence many Muslims in Ohio and he has ties to terrorist organizations. Glad he's being deported. We don't need any more of these people living amongst us. Ohio imam arrested for deportation Imam Fawaz Damra was convicted in June 2004 Friday, November 25, 2005; Posted: 5:24 p.m. EST (22:24 GMT) CLEVELAND, Ohio (AP) -- Federal authorities arrested an Islamic religious leader Friday as they began the process of deporting him for his ties to terrorist groups. Imam Fawaz Damra, the spiritual leader of Ohio's largest mosque, was convicted in June 2004 of concealing ties to three groups that the U.S. government classifies as terrorist organizations when he applied for U.S. citizenship in 1994. That conviction was upheld in March, clearing the way for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to begin deportation proceedings. Damra, 44, was arrested early Friday without incident, the immigration office said. "It is clear that this person, Mr. Damra, believed in terrorism, supported terrorism," said Brian Moskowitz, an agent with Immigration and Customs Enforcement's office in Detroit. "This is not a man of peace or a man of God." Damra's conviction for naturalization fraud wasn't enough to warrant deportation because he has legally lived in the United States for five years. Immigration officials are seeking to remove him because he raised funds for terrorist organizations, Moskowitz said. A message seeking comment from Damra's attorney, Mark Flessner, was not immediately returned. Damra is being held in Detroit by federal authorities. A bond hearing was expected to take place next week before an immigration judge in Detroit. The Palestinian-born Damra, who is the imam, or spiritual leader, at the Islamic Center of Cleveland, immigrated to the United States in the mid-1980s. In Damra's trial last year, prosecutors showed video footage of Damra and other Islamic leaders raising money for an arm of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which has been listed as a major terrorist group by the State Department since 1989. Jurors also were shown footage in which Damra called Jews "the sons of monkeys and pigs" during a 1991 speech and said "terrorism and terrorism alone is the path to liberation" in a 1989 speech. U.S. District Judge James Gwin sentenced the Palestinian-born cleric to two months in prison and four months in home detention. Damra served the prison time from November 2004 to January of this year. Gwin also stripped Damra's citizenship but informed prosecutors they could not begin deportation proceedings until after the appellate ruling. Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/11/25/imam.deportation.ap/index.html
Not trying to sound like a jerk so apologies if this comes across in such a manner: Are you denying that it happened or feeling that it was taken out of context in some way (or something that I've not yet thought of)?
nah, i just wanna know how he backed up such a wrong claim islamically... usually when someone gives a lecture or a sermon, they use the quran and hadith to prove it... but since islam denounces terrorism and killing of innocents, i wanna know how he has said such a statement and what he used to back up his statements
Dehumanizing a person by calling them a cockroach is really entering into some dangerous territory. You do see that, right?
Terrorists and anyone who supports terrorism are cockroaches, same with murderers, rapists, and child molesters. Nothing wrong with dehumaniizing this category of scum. You do see that, right?
Gotcha. I have the same problem with many of the things "justified" by scripture readings of the Bible when I read the same scripture quite differently.
have you followed that case much? the judge was fairly decent. and moffitt's a hell of a lawyer. it'll be an fairly surprising yet absolutely the right call if theres a not guilty verdict especially after the non-sense the prosecution pulled. ironically obviously sami al arian played as large a role as anyone in having dubya elected. he single-handedly mobilized the muslim community in voting bush in 2000.
So the US waits 15 years to bring up these charges? Why didnt they deport him in 1989? On a side note, white extemists in public speeches often make the case for the "cleansing" of the American people. Why aren't these supremacists herded up and deported to Alabama or something?
A combination of naturalization fraud and raising money for terrorist organizations. He concealed these ties when he applied for citizenship... Freedom of speech permits white extremists to say whatever they want.
that's a dangerous slippery slope my friend. People who commit those dispicable acts can do it because they have stripped away the humanity from their victims - don't do the same thing. ...luke, come to the dark side!
People that support the bombing of innocent civilians are scum/cockroaches? Guess that texxx, todd, and Jorge fit the bill.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/divided/etc/view.html Watch this to understand why dehumanizing and labeling are not only wrong, they can be counterproductive.
From what I read, what he did was in the past and it is a politically motivated move. He was not active. Of course, believing in the best of people and critical thinking are traits you would never know about.
So you support people who have funded terrorist organizations? Wow, no wonder people are suspicious of Muslims in this country.
