மாண்ட்ரீயல் இமாம் மீண்டும் டுனிசியாவுக்கு செல்ல மறுப்பு

மாண்ட்ரியலில் இமாமாக இருக்கும் செய்யது ஜாபிரி என்பவர் கனடாவில் ஓரின பாலுறவாளர்களுக்கு தண்டனை கொடுக்கவேண்டும் என்று பேசி பலத்த எதிர்ப்பை சம்பாதித்துகொண்டார்.

முஸ்லீம்களுக்கு ஷாரியா சட்டத்தை கனடாவில் கொண்டுவரவேண்டும் என்று கூறியிருக்கிறார்.

இவர் ஏற்கெனவே பிரான்ஸில் இமாமாக வேலை செய்துகொண்டிருந்தபோது முஸ்லீமல்லாதவர்களை அடிக்க பல முஸ்லீம்களை தூண்டியுள்ளார் . இந்த கிரிமினல் ரெக்கார்டை மறைத்து மாண்டிரியலுக்கு வந்திருக்கிறார். இவரை திரும்ப டுனிசியாவுக்கு அனுப்ப நீதிமன்றம் கூறியிருப்பதை எதிர்த்து தன்னை கனடாவிலேயே இருக்க அனுமதிக்க வேண்டும் என்றும் கெஞ்சுகிறார்.

Montreal imam faces deportation
Cleric from Tunisia concealed criminal conviction in France, refugee board says
TU THANH HA

October 16, 2007

MONTREAL -- A controversial, outspoken Muslim imam in Montreal was arrested yesterday and faces deportation after his refugee status was revoked for failing to disclose a past criminal conviction.

Saïd Jaziri, a 40-year-old maverick cleric from Tunisia, triggered an uproar in recent days after his appearance on a television talk show where he spoke of homosexuality as a sin.

The show, set up as a supper gathering, also raised eyebrows because other guests had to retreat to the kitchen to sip their wine because Mr. Jaziri said alcohol couldn't be served in his presence.

But what led to his detention was an incident from his past - a criminal conviction for assault in the southern French city of Nice in 1995.

Last summer, an adjudicator from the Immigration and Refugee Board rescinded Mr. Jaziri's residency status because he had concealed his criminal record when he applied for refugee status in 1998.

Mr. Jaziri has made varying claims to play down the issue.

In an interview with The Globe and Mail in June of 2006, he acknowledged that he was convicted in France but described it as a scuffle with non-Muslim residents outside a mosque.

Two months later, he told The Canadian Press that he was the victim of RCMP manipulation and that his record had been cleared after he agreed to co-operate with French officials.

According to a 1995 front-page newspaper account from Nice, Mr. Jaziri got an eight-month sentence for inciting fellow Muslims to beat up a less devout co-religionist - who was being blamed for the closure of their informal prayer room - in 1993 at a shelter for immigrants.

The newspaper article, reproduced in a recent book by journalist Fabrice de Pierrebourg on Montreal Muslim activists, also quoted Mr. Jaziri's lawyer as saying that his client was willing to leave as soon as possible for Tunisia.

The imam of the Al Qods mosque in northeast Montreal, Mr. Jaziri has made headlines for campaigning in favour of faith-based sharia courts of law for Canadian Muslims.

He has also led demonstrations against the publication of caricatures of the prophet Mohammed, even as other leaders urged the community to stay clear of such events for fear of inflaming the situation.

Mr. Jaziri is frequently quoted in local media, and his profile has risen in recent months as Quebec has been gripped in a heated debate over accommodations for religious minorities.

But other Muslims have written to newspapers and television to complain that Mr. Jaziri is not representative of their community.

Mr. Jaziri, who was kept in an immigration holding centre yesterday, is to appear before the IRB tomorrow morning to review his detention conditions.

Mr. Jaziri's followers say that he faces torture if he is deported back to Tunisia.

A spokeswoman for the Canada Border Services Agency said he was arrested because the authorities feared he could flee before his next hearing.