MCA Ann Arbor Members Question Timing of INS Detention of Michigan Pastor.

News Editors

ANN ARBOR, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 17, 2001

In response to the INS' detention of a prominent pastor, the Muslim Community Association of Ann Arbor and the Vicinity had the following comment:

"Pastor Rabih Haddad is a well-known and respected member of the community, with strong ties to his family and community. Friends and colleagues know Pastor Haddad as a compassionate, law-abiding individual with no criminal record who has made significant contributions to the Ann Arbor community as a whole. He has been successful in his goal of bringing people together through his participation in numerous community open houses, town hall meetings, interfaith services and presentations at churches, colleges and universities. His message of inclusion has been especially pertinent following the tragic events of September 11th.

"A true humanitarian, Pastor Haddad's arrest raises troubling questions. He is the only known Muslim to have been detained a day and a half before one of the holiest holidays in the Muslim year, Eid-ul-Fitr. Over a billion Muslims around the world including the U.S. celebrate this holiday that commemorates the end of the holy month of Ramadan. Taking him away from his wife and four young children during this sacred time is akin to arresting a Christian unjustly on Christmas Eve.

"The INS has offered no credible basis for its determination that he should be held without bond because he was both a flight risk and a danger to the community. He has been detained since the evening of Friday, December 15 in Monroe County, Michigan, under the jurisdiction of the INS' Detroit District Office."