DEARBORN — Sayed Hassan Qazwini will leave the Islamic Center of America for at least two months, while the center’s Board of Trustees discusses the responsibilities of the spiritual leader, revises the bylaws and finds a solution for the issues at the ICA, a board member said.

The board came to this decision on Wednesday evening.

The board member, who spoke to The Arab American News on condition of anonymity, said Qazwini will be presented with a contract at the end of the 60-day suspension and that he can either sign it or leave.

He described the next two months, as a “cool-off period.”

“We will discuss Khums and donations; giving a greater role to the youths; and everything that the trustees had concerns about,” the board member said. “The proposal was approved by the vast majority of the board. We solved the problem and we will emerge stronger from this.” 

Sheikh Ahmad Hammoud will lead the prayers at the center during that period, according to the board member.

After his suspension, Qazwini called for Friday prayers at Dearborn’s Ford Community & Performing Arts Center, sparking mixed reactions on social media between those who will stick to the ICA and supporters who will follow him to the Civic Center.

The center’s image has been tarnished in the mainstream media, with local media outlets reporting on a leaked letter by the center’s former treasurer that alleges financial irregularities, including diversion of funds by Qazwini. 

The sayed denies the accusations and says donations are distributed according to alms’ rules in Shi’a Islam. 

On Jan. 29, the Detroit Free Press published a story titled, “Finances questioned at Islamic Center in Dearborn.” And on Feb. 2 WXYZ-TV (channel 7) aired a report in which it described the center as “toxic to some” because of corruption allegations.

Qazwini announced his resignation on Jan. 22, citing anonymous letters that insulted him, lack of support from the administration and diminished prospects of growth as the reasons behind the decision. He later said he would withdraw his resignation if the board dissolves itself. 

However, on Friday, Jan. 29, Qazwini said he was reconsidering his resignation. The sayed said during his sermon that a committee will oversee the negotiation between himself and the board to find a satisfactory solution for all the parties involved. 

“Out of respect for the wellbeing of the community and the wellbeing of the center, I will reconsider my resignation,” Qazwini told a prayer room packed with worshippers on Jan. 29. 

The congregation erupted in cheers.

However, most board members rejected the proposal of an external committee because they did not want outsiders to tackle the center’s problems. 

The sayed said he has now left the matter in the hands of the community and will do whatever the community decides. 

“No matter how different our opinions are, we remain one community,” Qazwini told the crowd. “We cannot allow for people who don’t want the good of our community to intervene in our affairs.”

Qazwini criticized the mainstream media, accusing newspapers of instigating the problem. He said outsiders should stay out of the ICA matters. 

“We are like siblings who might have disagreements, but at the end of the day, we are one family,” he added. “We share a common fate and common enemies who are plotting against us and against Islam, who wish evil upon all of us.”

The Detroit Free Press falsely reported that Qazwini withdrew his resignation on Jan. 29. The newspaper’s reporter was asked to leave the mosque by worshippers after Qazwini’s speech. 

The sayed thanked Muslims who stood by him and singled out Lebanese supporters in his gratitude, saying that he considers himself a part of the Lebanese community.

“The target of this controversy is not the person of Hassan Qazwini,” the sayed said. “The target is the Islamic center and the entire Muslim community.”

A day earlier, Qazwini’s exit seemed inevitable. Community activists and board members had visited the sayed in his house and agreed with him that his last Friday sermon would be on the Jan. 29 and that he would deliver a message of unity to leave the ICA on good terms. 

ICA chairman Ron Amen had also confirmed Qazwini’s exit, so the sayed’s decision to reconsider his resignation came as a shock to the community.

Reforms and pleads

Before Qazwini’s sermon on Friday, Amen promised reforms in the center to ensure greater role for young Muslims.

Amen said the board never asked the sayed to resign and that most of the trustees rejected his stepping down.

The ICA chairman said some of the older board members should step aside to allow the seven new members, who were elected over the past three years, to grow and exercise their individual talents. The board has 35 trustees. 

“I and other board members propose that the size of the board be reduced,” Amen declared. “You will have a new, slimmer and faster-reacting board in the future. I guarantee you this will happen.” 

Amen said the Islamic Center and the sayed will be forever linked.

“You may resign,” Amen said. “You may walk away. But for those of us who have known you over the years and have grown up in this center, I have one thing to say. You can take the man out of the center, but you can never take the center out of the man.”

Then, real estate agent Ramzi Chammout took the podium and heaped praise on Qazwini, urging him to withdraw his resignation. He started his speech by asking worshipers to allow him to speak on behalf of the entire congregation. 

“I beg you to reconsider your decision,” Chammout told Qazwini. He slammed the attacks on the sayed, comparing them to violating the sanctity of the Prophet Mohamad in Islam.