Community Concerned
about Religious Leader's Detention
Anaheim, CA: The Free Imam Wagdy Committee
(FIWC) has expressed concern over the case of Imam Wagdy
Ghoneim. Imam Wagdy was detained on alleged minor immigration
violations on November 4, 2004, during the month of Ramadan.
His attorneys assert that he has been in this country legally,
says a CAIR message. It adds:
Imam Wagdy is a world-renowned scholar on Islam and currently
imam at the Islamic Institute of Orange County (IIOC) in
Anaheim. His teachings focus on women and children's rights
in Islam and positive character building for Muslims.
On November 30, the Immigration Court in San Pedro held
a hearing to determine whether the Imam should be released
on bond. The judge denied immediate bail and scheduled another
bond hearing for December 28, 2004 in order to allow time
to appoint an interpreter.
According to Imam Wagdy's attorney, Kazbek Soobzokov, "Despite
...court testimony [by] FBI Assistant Director Richard Garcia
that the FBI have no information concerning Imam Wagdy being
a national
security risk and despite ...the FBI [having] no objection
to the Imam's release, agents of the US Immigration and
Customs Enforcement Section (ICE) of the Department of Homeland
Security continue to block Imam Wagdy's release on bond."
Soobzokov also added, "ICE continues to maintain its
position that the Imam poses a threat to national security.
Their evidence to support such an allegation is nothing
more than two internet, open source unauthenticated articles
published by Steven Emerson and Sherrie Gossett; two anti-Muslim
zealots whose attacks on the Imam can be comparable to attacks
by the KKK against Martin Luther King."
FIWC is concerned by the DHS practice of misusing the 'national
security' charge as a tool to selectively target religious
leaders. The DHS, from the beginning has claimed that the
case was merely an immigration issue. Therefore, FIWC is
calling upon ICE to allow Imam Wagdy to be released on bail
and be reunited with his family and community.
"We urge the Department of Homeland Security to hold
fast to the basic principles of fairness, due process, and
human rights," said Sabiha Khan, communications director
of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Southern
California.
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