Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Former Ohio (terrorist) imam's deportation to Israel angers US Muslims (Muslims "angry" - watch)
Taipei Times ^

Posted on 01/10/2007 8:46:45 PM PST by PRePublic

Former Ohio imam's deportation to Israel angers US Muslims

AP, JERUSALEM Thursday, Jan 11, 2007, Page 6 Israel arrested the former imam of Ohio's largest mosque after he was deported from the US last week, the Shin Bet internal security service confirmed.

Fawaz Damra, 46, was arrested because of his ties to Islamic Jihad, a militant Palestinian group classified by Israel and the US as a terrorist organization, Shin Bet said on Tuesday. It gave no other details.

Smadar Ben-Natan, an Israeli lawyer retained by Damra's family to represent him, said Damra was being held at the Kishon prison and she planned to meet with her client yesterday.

Damra's family, friends and members of the Islamic community in Ohio reacted with outrage on Tuesday and demanded that the US government be held accountable for Damra ending up in Israeli custody.

Damra, a Palestinian originally from the West Bank city of Nablus, was deported by US authorities last week because he concealed his ties to Islamic Jihad when he applied for US citizenship in 1994. Relatives expecting him to enter the West Bank on Friday reported he never showed up and said they had been told by the Red Cross he was detained, but there was not any official Israeli confirmation until Tuesday.

"We waited for him all day and he didn't come," said Nabil Damra, the imam's brother.

"He is not an extremist and we don't understand why he was arrested. My mother is crying. Our house is sad. My father, who is 83, is waiting for his son. We pray that my brother will come home and see his father before he dies," he said.

Islamic Jihad, a small radical group with links to Iran and Syria, has carried out dozens of suicide bombings and rocket attacks against Israel.

During his trial, jurors were shown evidence that Damra raised money for the organization, along with footage of a 1991 speech in which he called Jews "the sons of monkeys and pigs."

He later apologized for making anti-Semitic statements.

Damra, whose wife and three daughters remain in the US, served as the imam, or religious leader, of the Islamic Center of Cleveland in suburban Parma.

His supporters gathered at the mosque on Tuesday along with his wife and children, expressing concern for his safety.

"There seems to be widespread speculation that my husband's disappearance has him in a place where there is no due process, where he is likely to be tortured or worse," said Nesreen Damra, barely able to read her prepared statement through tears.

A US Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman denied accusations that the government's intent was to hand Damra over to Israeli authorities.


TOPICS: News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: antisemitism; damra; fawaz; fawazdamra; gwot; hatred; imam; islam; islamanazis; islamihatred; islamofascism; israel; jihad; muslimimmigration; muslims; ohio; palestinians; religionofpeace
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-31 last
To: PRePublic

TSK! TSK!


21 posted on 01/10/2007 9:33:14 PM PST by F.J. Mitchell (It is good to know that Muslims don't eat pork. At least we aren't dealing with Cannibals.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Christopher Lincoln
Well then he was a stupid imam besides being a deported terrorist or a imam linked to terrorists. Did he think he was just going to back home and be trouble there too?
22 posted on 01/10/2007 9:53:37 PM PST by pandoraou812 ( zero tolerance and dilligaf?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 20 | View Replies]

To: PRePublic

A fairly complete history of this terrorist can be found at http://www.cleveland.com/damra/


23 posted on 01/10/2007 11:14:15 PM PST by Jeff Gordon (History convinces me that bad government results from too much government. - Thomas Jefferson)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: PRePublic
"Our house is sad."

Our house is happy


24 posted on 01/11/2007 2:07:13 AM PST by Red_Devil 232 (VietVet - USMC All Ready On The Right? All Ready On The Left? All Ready On The Firing Line!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: PRePublic

Maybe American muslims can step up to the plate and call for all muslims worldwide to stop the "violence".


25 posted on 01/11/2007 4:02:42 AM PST by tkathy (Sectarian violence? Or genocidal racists? Which is a better description of islamists?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: PRePublic

I thought this creep was deported to Jordan, then went to Gaza on his own. It was there the israelis got him. Am I wrong?


26 posted on 01/11/2007 4:07:31 AM PST by dforest (Liberals love crisis, create crisis and then dwell on them.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: indylindy

You are right. Another poster just now mentioned that, and that the headline is misleading.


27 posted on 01/11/2007 4:20:06 AM PST by txrangerette ("We are fighting al-Qaeda, NOT Aunt Sadie"...Dick Cheney commenting on the wiretaps!!  )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 26 | View Replies]

To: txrangerette

Well, this is the danger in all the lying that goes on in the Media. Its nothing less than criminal.


28 posted on 01/11/2007 4:22:42 AM PST by dforest (Liberals love crisis, create crisis and then dwell on them.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 27 | View Replies]

To: indylindy

Yep. Now the uninformed will always believe he was sent from the US to Israel. Lies of this magnitude have consequences.


29 posted on 01/11/2007 4:27:39 AM PST by txrangerette ("We are fighting al-Qaeda, NOT Aunt Sadie"...Dick Cheney commenting on the wiretaps!!  )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 28 | View Replies]

To: txrangerette

The obvious purpose was to make it look as though the evil Americans and George Bush sent this POOR guy into the evil Israeli hands. The consequences are enormous because the ignorant will belive this tripe.


30 posted on 01/11/2007 4:35:53 AM PST by dforest (Liberals love crisis, create crisis and then dwell on them.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 29 | View Replies]

To: Anti-Bubba182

YAWN!


31 posted on 01/11/2007 7:36:16 AM PST by chiefqc
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-31 last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson