Former Lodi imam leaving due to threats, attorney says

His family in Lodi has received death threats, he could have faced a lengthy jail stay while he fought immigration charges and his elderly father has health problems.

Because of those reasons, Mohammad Adil Khan decided not to fight deportation to Pakistan, his attorney said in a statement issued Tuesday.

At a Friday immigration court appearance, the Muslim religious leader, 47, and his 19-year-old son, Mohammad Hassan Adil, decided not to fight deportation. In exchange, authorities dropped allegations that Khan had misrepresented himself as a religious leader in order to get a visa.

The two are expected to return to Pakistan within about two weeks. Family members, including Khan's wife, have also decided to return to Pakistan, according to his immigration attorney, Saad Ahmad.

Due to death threats and obscene phone calls, "The family has been forced to stay at the houses of various friends in Lodi, constantly moving around," Ahmad said in a written statement.

The two "continue to worry that their family could become victims of violence, especially following the recent terror attacks in London," the statement continued.

The two were arrested last month when FBI agents moved a Lodi terror investigation into high gear. They arrested another Pakistani father and son, who now face federal charges of lying to agents, and detained Khan and his son for alleged immigration violations.

Religious leader Shabbir Ahmed also faces immigration charges, but he is still fighting deportation. He is scheduled to return to court Aug. 9.

The case was complicated, attorney Ahmad said, by a rift within the Muslim community. Since 2001, Khan had been in Lodi and had served for a time as imam (similar to a pastor or priest) at the Lodi Muslim Mosque. He then shifted his focus to building an Islamic school known as the Farooqia Islamic Center, so Ahmed became imam.

Khan's immigration status then came under question by some of the mosque board members. Four members said Khan had never been imam, and they filed affidavits with immigration officials who were in the process of reviewing Khan's application to extend his religious visa, according to Ahmad.

Khan denies that claim, but the issue could have dragged out his immigration case even further, according to the attorney. The father and son could have been jailed without bail "for a long and indefinite period of time," Ahmad said.

Despite the claims of death threats, FBI spokesman John Cauthen and Lodi Police Chief Jerry Adams said they knew of no such reports.

Ahmad countered, "The family is not going to contact the FBI or the LPD for every harassing phone call. Plus, the family is resilient. It's something they feel they can deal with on their own."

Contact reporter Layla Bohm at layla@lodinews.com.