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http://www.fox8cleveland.com/dynamic/story.asp?category=140#3464

Islamic Leader Indicted on Charge of Citizenship
Watch the I-Team exclusive that lead to today's arrest Tonight on Fox 8 News at 5 and 6.
(1/13/04) — A prominent Islamic clergyman has been indicted on a charge of concealing alleged assistance to groups that committed terrorist attacks against Jews when he applied for U.S. citizenship, the government announced Tuesday. Imam Fawaz Mohammed Damrah is accused of concealing from his citizenship application his membership or affiliation with several groups, including the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, U.S. Attorney Gregory White said. The indictment did not specify what type of support Damrah is accused of providing.

Damrah, 41, of suburban Strongsville, was charged with unlawfully obtaining U.S. citizenship in 1994 by providing false or fraudulent information on his citizenship application, White said. Damrah, who also uses the name Fawaz Damra, was arrested at his home about 8:30 a.m. Tuesday by members of the FBI joint terrorism task force. He was held to await an arraignment Tuesday afternoon in U.S. District Court before Judge James S. Gwin.

The other groups for which Damrah is accused of concealing an affiliation or membership were Afghan Refugees Services Inc., a division of the Kafah Refugee Center and also known as Al-Kifah Refugee Center and Alkifah Refugee Center Inc., and the Islamic Committee for Palestine, also known as Islamic Concern Project.

If convicted, Damrah cold face up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine. In addition, if convicted Damrah could have his citizenship revoked. Palestinian Islamic Jihad has been identified by the U.S. government as a terrorist organization, White said. He said the indictment focused on false statements made in order for Damra to get his citizenship but did not allege any terrorist activities.

"We are strictly dealing with issues, activities and incidents prior to his becoming a naturalized citizen and what he was required to disclose prior to becoming a naturalized citizen in April 1994," White said. Damra, who was born in Palestine, has been a permanent resident in the United States since 1988, White said. Damra's past has been public knowledge for several years. White would not say why the indictment has been filed now.

"It's not something I can comment on. We had opened our case, investigated the matter and returned an indictment, so the record speaks for itself," White said.

Damrah, who leads Ohio's largest mosque, apologized in 2001 when a 10 year-old videotape surfaced showing him making anti-Semitic comments in a speech. Lay leaders of the Islamic Center of Cleveland accepted the apology and said he was forgiven. The videotape was released by immigration agents in 2002 in a deportation case in Florida involving another man. Damrah, apparently videotaped in Chicago in 1991, was shown calling for rifles to be directed at Jewish people, and referring to them as animals.

Damrah represented the Islamic community at interfaith gatherings in Cleveland after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington. His mosque was rammed by a car six days after the attacks. The suspect was drunk and upset about the terrorist attacks, police said.