Islamic Principal Files Suit Over Firing

Islamic Principal Files Suit Over Firing

By IMAN KHAN

Pakistani national Reza Naqvi filed a federal lawsuit against Iraqi Sheikh Fadhel Al-Sahalani, for firing him from his post as principal of Queens-based Al-Imam School.

The suit alleges that Naqvi was fired by Al-Sahalani because he previously had brought criminal charges against another of the school’s employees, maintenance director Adnan Al-Harbi, also of Iraqi descent, for allegedly sexually molesting Naqvi’s daughter on school property in December 2003.

Al-Sahalani is the spiritual leader and director of the El-Khoei Center, which runs Al-Imam School. According to the group’s Web site, he is also the U.S. representative of Iraq’s Shia community and of its leader, Grand Ayatollah Sistani, an assertion Naqvi says is false.

The lawsuit alleges that Al-Harbi pulled Naqvi’s daughter, a student then 14 years old, from the elevator into a basement boiler room of the school where he molested her. Rather than make the public, Naqvi wished to handle the matter internally.

“I didn’t want to have a Catholic priest scandal on our hands and have the school’s image be damaged,” Naqvi said. “Also, according to our religion, such matters should be decided by our leader, who was Sheikh Al-Sahalani.”

Naqvi claims that he tried for two years to do just that. He initially recommended that both parties, Al-Harbi and his daughter, be given lie detector tests using the Quran. Naqvi said that he asked Al-Sahalani to be the judge of the test, and whatever decision he made would be accepted.

“When this approach failed, I asked that Al-Harbi be fired,” Naqvi said. “This request was also denied, but this wasn’t just about my daughter, there are other children at the school.”

Naqvi finally turned to the police in March of 2006. On April 24 Al-Harbi was arrested and ordered to stay away from the school, an order which Naqvi claims Al-Harbi ignored, proven by the fact that he continued to have unfettered access to the school, including the girls’ locker room. Naqvi also claims that Al-Sahalani was blatant about disregarding the order, calling Al-Harbi over the loudspeaker to appear at various places in the school.

On April 28, Naqvi claims he was physically attacked at the center by a friend of Al-Harbi’s, Raza Yousufzai.

On June 28 Naqvi went to work to find he was locked out of his office. He was informed by the assistant principal that the faculty was notified the day before that Naqvi was no longer the principal of the school. Naqvi claims that his medical benefits were immediately cut off and his pay was withheld.

“I didn’t receive a letter informing me of my termination until Aug. 23, even though it was backdated to June 26, a day I was still on the job and school was still in session” Naqvi said.

Naqvi is suing Al-Sahalani, Al-Imam School, Al-Khoei Islamic Foundation and Al-Khoei Benevolent Foundation, seeking to be reinstated as principal of the school, with the authority to fire Al-Harbi as well as compensation for lost wages and for the trauma he and his family have gone through.

A spokesman for Al-Sahalani declined to comment on the case.