The Investigative Project exposes yet another ‘Interfaith’ leader with terror ties.

In anticipation of the deportation proceedings of Imam Mohammad Qatanani of the Islamic Center of Passaic in New Jersey, New York Times trumpeted “Revered New Jersey Imam, Facing Deportation, Has Interfaith Support.” And indeed, the Imam has had various “interfaith” leaders testify on his behalf, as reported by Newsday:

Several Catholic priests and a Jewish rabbi became emotional on the stand when describing how much Qatanani had done for interfaith understanding.

Qatanani is accused of having lied on his immigration documents both about his arrest and conviction in Israel (which he now claims was merely a “detention”) and his confession that he was a member of Hamas (which he now claims was procured under torture). Qatanani also claims he only recently became aware of his conviction by Israeli authorities. But Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Heather Philpott has testified:

… during the 2005 meeting Qatanani admitted he had been arrested and convicted by Israeli authorities, and that he had been advised by an attorney at the time to plead guilty to being a member of Hamas and sign an affidavit to that effect.

News reports have alternately described Qatanani as “revered” (see New York Times above), “influential,” and “respected.” Likewise, all media reports have outlined both the charges against Qatanani and his excuses, bolstered by a coterie of quotes from supporters about how revered, influential and respected Qatanani is.

What those stories do not detail is Qatanani’s history of attending radical conferences in the United States, nor his frequent use of incendiary rhetoric in speeches and sermons.

Read the whole thing…