Muslims Meet Congressman to Protest Imam’s Detention

Members of the Muslim community, including the family of a jailed Islamic leader who has been held at a federal detention facility since Nov. 4, met Monday with Rep. Christopher Cox to protest alleged violations of due process by immigration officials.

About two dozen community members delivered a petition signed by more than 1,000 people and asked Cox, a Newport Beach Republican who is chairman of the Select Committee on Homeland Security, to investigate the case of Wagdy Mohamed Ghoneim, an Egyptian immigrant who serves as an imam at the Islamic Institute of Orange County.

Ghoneim was arrested at his Anaheim home and has been held at a federal detention facility in San Pedro on suspicion of being in the country illegally. His attorneys have said he had a valid visa. A bond hearing is scheduled for today.

His 17-year-old daughter, Afnan, said the situation had been stressful. “We cried a lot,” she said. “We can visit him, but only with glass between us. You cannot even hug him and touch him.”

Last week, he was taken to a hospital after becoming ill. But family members were not told which hospital and were not allowed to visit or speak to him. Later, he told them that he was chained to his hospital bed at the ankles and wrists.

“He is a peaceful person,” said Sabry Aziz, an Anaheim accountant who attended the meeting with Cox. “He never said anything against the United States.”

Virginia Kice, a spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said she could not discuss details of the case but said administrative procedures were being followed.

“He’s going before an immigration judge, being represented by an attorney and he will have a chance to state his case,” she said. “This plays out dozens of times a day throughout the greater Los Angeles area. I would argue that that is due process.”

During their meeting with Cox, representatives from the Muslim Public Affairs Council and the Council on American-Islamic Relations criticized an earlier hearing held for Ghoneim, during which the government suggested that the imam is a national security risk and presented information from anti-Islamic websites that mentioned his name.

“When ICE attempts to submit testimony that is downloaded articles from anti-Islamic websites, you cannot get a fair trial from biased articles,” said Salam Al-Marayati, executive director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council.

“We should be working in partnership with law enforcement and government. To use Muslims as scapegoats for political agendas, that is not helping us win the war on terrorism.”

Cox told Ghoneim’s family that he would investigate the case. “We want to make sure national security is conducted within the rights of all Americans,” he told them. “... I’m going to use this opportunity to learn, very thoroughly, how ICE is proceeding in cases like these.”

Ghoneim is one of at least three Orange County Islamic leaders being held. Abdel Jabbar Hamdan of Buena Park and Abdel Malik, an imam at the Islamic Center of Irvine, also remain in custody.