The imam of a mosque in Lodi, California has agreed to be deported back to his native Pakistan. Shabbir Ahmed is likely to return to his native country within two weeks according to his lawyer.
Ahmed, 39 was arrested in June along with four other Lodi-area Muslims. None of the five men have been directly charged with crimes relating to terrorism although an FBI agent did testify during a bail hearing last week that terrorist leaders planned to use Ahmed as a go-between to pass orders to Hamid Hayat who the FBI claims attended an al-Qaeda training camp inside Pakistan.
Federal Immigration Judge Anthony Murry denied bail fro Ahmed and ordered him deported back to Pakistan after a brief hearing. Ahmed later told the judge he was dropping his opposition to his detention and would agree to the deportation order.
Immigration officials claim that Ahmed and another Lodi area imam had planned to establish a madrassa or Islamic school which they planned to use to teach people to engage in jihad or holy war against the United States.
'Evidence presented at last week's proceeding showed that this madrassa has been used to recruit individuals to engage in jihad,' the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency said in a statement.
'Once he leaves the United States, Mr. Ahmed will no longer be in a position to advance any doctrine of hate from within our community,' Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency chief counsel Ronald Le Fevre told CNN.
Two of the men arrested with Ahmed, Umer Hayat, 47 and his 22-year-old son Hamid still face charges of lying to investigators. Both are American citizens and have not yet been charged with any terror-related crimes.
