A feud between two factions over control of a mosque in Lodi,California has now made its way to the courtroom in Stockton, California, according to a report in Friday's Lodi News-Sentinel. The judge continued the case until August 12. The major legal issue, according to an earlier report by the News-Sentinel seems to be whether Mosque President Mohammad Shoaib resigned his position, or merely threatened to do so. That in turn is unclear because the alleged resignation letter was written in Urdu, the language spoken in Shoaib's native Pakistan. (July 13 Tracy Press story.) If Shoaib had resigned, then his firing of the mosque's imam, Shabbir Ahmed, would not be valid. Shoaib claims he fired the imam two days after the clergyman told an immigration judge in San Francisco that he had once made speeches in Pakistan supporting the Taliban’s efforts against the United States. Shoaib also removed four of the mosque's board members.
Plaintiffs challenging Shoaib's actions are represented by high profile attorney Brian Chavez-Ochoa who says that the suit is necessary to keep the mosque in compliance with state corporation law and its own bylaws. "This is just about the corporation," Chavez-Ochoa said. "If we don't seize control, the state of California could suspend the status of the (mosque) corporation." The mosque has also been the subject of national attention because two of its members were arrested in June in an FBI terrorism investigation. (Detroit News report.)
