Posted on 01/20/2007 8:28:34 AM PST by Excuse_My_Bellicosity
WEST VALLEY CITY - Imam Shuaib-ud Din has been terminated from his position as religious leader of the Islamic Society of Greater Salt Lake amid allegations of domestic violence.
Police said they responded to a "domestic-related incident" at Din's home a week ago, and the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office reported an attempt to serve a protective order against him on Thursday.
Contacted by phone, a relative of the imam said he was in Chicago now but would not comment on the allegations. The relative acknowledged that Din and his wife were having marital problems but said the imam was driven out of town by disgruntled members of the society's board.
Police Lt. Matt Elson said officers responded to Din's home Jan. 13 at 12:05 p.m. The call was completed at 4:32 p.m.
There were no arrests made, and Elson said he was not aware of any warrants. He would not comment on any other details of the incident.
The imam's relative said that by about 8 a.m. Jan. 13, Din already had left Salt Lake City after being dropped off at Salt Lake City International Airport by board members who took him there and suggested he leave the country. With no immediate flights available to Chicago, the imam rented a car, drove to Las Vegas and caught a flight to Chicago, his relative said.
The Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office on Thursday obtained a protective order against Din, said Lt. Paul Jaroscak.
Two attempts were made to serve it, but deputies could not locate Din, Jaroscak said.
On Friday, Iqbal Hossain, a member of the Islamic Society's board, stood before more than 300 Muslims who had gathered at the Khadeeja Islamic Center mosque for afternoon prayers and read a statement on behalf of the society. Hossain said the imam has been "absent from the mosque and his home" since Jan. 13.
The board, of which Hossain is a former president, met after the allegations surfaced and requested a meeting with Din, Hossain said. But the imam, whom the board did reach by phone, never showed up for the meeting, Hossain said.
"To this date," the board "remains unaware of his whereabouts," Hossain said.
Din's relative, who asked not to be identified out of safety concerns, said he left town because the board had forced him to.
The relative said the abrupt departure - one that left the imam "in shock" - was driven by something more than his marital issues. The imam, the relative said, had recently raised concerns about board finances, the exclusion of women from the board and the housing of "suspicious" individuals in the mosque.
Tarek Nosseir, who assumes the position of Islamic Society president today and is acting as the spokesman on this issue, stepped out of a closed meeting at the mosque Friday night to address the claims.
He said he was out of town Jan. 13 and talk of Din's forced departure was "all news" to him.
He focused, instead, on the fact that Din was absent from his duties and suggested personal issues might have been distracting the imam.
"We have five prayers a day that need to be led," Nosseir said. "We need someone who can attend to the affairs of the society."
After careful consideration, he said the board decided there was "enough evidence presented against" Din for board members to say "let him go" - which they formally did Monday.
As for Din's other concerns, Nosseir said the society had recently hired an accountant to help with finances; that women - though none currently are on the board - are "more than welcome to serve"; and that as head of the mosque, it is the imam's job to monitor who is staying there.
Hossain, the one-time society president, called this a "difficult time" for the Muslim community, but he told the group gathered at the mosque Friday afternoon, "We shall overcome this challenge. . . . May Allah bless us all."
Nosseir said his first order of business will be to appoint a search committee to find a new imam.
Din, 35, stepped into his role seven years ago. Masood Ul-hasan, who was society president at that time, on Friday called the recent developments a "sad situation" and emphasized that he did not want this news to reflect on everyone else.
"It's his personal issue," Ul-hasan said. "It has nothing to do with the community."
The imam's house, near the mosque, appeared to be vacant Friday. His relative said Din doesn't know where his wife and two young children are and that his repeated attempts to locate them have failed.
"His greatest concern is his kids," the relative said. "He just wants to talk to them and know they're OK."
Neighbors said that on Thursday, they saw officers accompany a woman - presumably the imam's wife - to the home, where she appeared to be picking up some belongings.
Nosseir said he knew nothing about Din's wife or his children's whereabouts.
jravitz@sltrib.com,
jbergreen@sltrib.com
Ohhhh, I'm sure they're ok, NOW that HE'S gone!!!
I agree that things are more than they appear. He got moved out of the way only because things were about to blow up. It is about a lot more than someone beating their wife. He was drawing attention to a place and some unknown people and it was not appreciated.
We do not know the whole story.
Poor guy was simply practicing one of the sacraments of his "faith."
"We do not know the whole story."
I hope somebody gives it a look-see. Just to make sure their community outreach is what most of us would hope, that's all. After that, it can be business as usual, up by 5:30 a.m. and pray those prayers.
Yup.... exactly what does THAT mean?
This is the part we probably want to keep our eye on.
You bet. I didn't even know that the Islamic Society of Greater Salt Lake existed until now. You bet I'll be watching.
This part is what's really interesting to me. Seems to me that the other Muslims didn't want the imam to be in a position where the only way out of "difficulties" would be to strike a deal where he would give testimony about shady things at the mosque
The imam might know too much
Is the mosque being used as a safe-house for terrorists, and are mosque funds being used to purchase items to facilitate terrorism?
Why did they terminate him? Did he not beat his wife up badly enough?
Considering the proximity to Air National Guard units and Hill Air Force Base, I'm worried about it.
Yes, that's what I was suggesting. Notice that although he is accused of beating his wife, and certainly looks pretty ugly, he seems to have been arguing for at least one moderate position for a Muslim Imam: putting women on the board. No strict Muslim would allow that for a minute.
In other words, they may have framed him and kicked him out because he wasn't enough of an extremist.
Here's an interesting video showing the finer points of islamic wife-beating: http://www.compfused.com/directlink/4364/
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