The imam of Portland's biggest mosque collected money from worshippers after 9/11, sending the Portland Seven to Afghanistan to fight against coalition forces, the U.S. Department of Justice alleges in its fight to deport the imam.Arguments between lawyers for Mohamed Sheikh Abdirahman Kariye and the Justice Department reveal new details of the government's legal maneuvers to strip the imam of his citizenship.
As religious leader of Masjed As-Saber, Kariye told several members of the plot that "Muslims should fight with fellow Muslim brothers of Afghanistan against Americans" and that this combat was a "righteous fight ... legitimate jihad," Justice Department lawyers wrote in an exhibit filed earlier this month in the immigration case.
"Kariye was present when members of the Portland Seven left to go wage jihad, and he wished them good luck on their journey," according to an exhibit filed earlier this month in the government's lawsuit to strip Kariye of his citizenship.