The Islamic community of Cleveland, after initially calling for him to step down, is now rushing to the defense of Fawaz Mohammed Damra, Imam of the Islamic Center of Cleveland, following his arrest for connections to Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the Sami al-Arian case: Damra is forced to take paid leave. (Hat tip: Morgan.)

In a videotape from April 7, 1991, that was made public in the fall of 2001, Damra is shown calling for attacks on Jewish people and referring to them as animals.

Damra apologized, expressing his “overwhelming regret and sadness” for the remarks. The cleric said he made the remarks at a time when he had no interaction with the Jewish and Christian communities. He vowed to show the community that he is a peacemaker, but his interfaith work was severely affected.

After his arrest last week, some Arab-American and Muslim leaders immediately called for Damra to step down. Halabi was among them, but he said at the rally Friday that the majority of the board and the membership supported the imam.

The mosque’s five-member executive committee, meeting in emergency session the night of the indictment, had voted to support Damra and to let the justice process run its course .

What later seemed to sway the board majority toward a leave of absence, Halabi said, was advice from legal counsel. Halabi did not elaborate.

One board member who spoke on condition of anonymity said Damra’s supporters are gathering the signatures of at least 10 percent of the membership, as required by the mosque constitution to convene a general membership meeting.

The board member said the meeting could take place as early as this week, but Halabi said it is not clear whether the decision would be put to a vote of the membership.

The statement from the mosque leaders said their action “should not be construed as a comment on the merits of the allegations against the imam.”

The board said placing Damra on leave will allow him to devote full attention to his defense.

At the rally Friday, the Cleveland chapter of the Muslim American Society issued a statement calling on area Muslims to unite behind Damra. Jad Humeidan, executive director of the Ohio chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, also urged support, declaring the Damra case “is part of a pattern of attacking the Muslim community, its leaders and its institutions.”