Imam arrived at the ‘best time’
Al-hidaya teacher made it to U.S. just ahead of shutdown
After waiting more than a year, Houssem Marzouk finally made it to America.
The Tunisia native was planning to come to the U.S. on a work visa to serve as an imam at the Al-hidaya Center in Latham, but his application was stuck in bureaucratic limbo.
It landed in “administrative processing” and what should have only taken a few days took 14 months. He finally made it to America in early March, when the nation was on the cusp of the coronavirus pandemic. Despite the delay, Marzouk said he feels fortunate to have come over when he did.
“I actually came at the best time,” Marzouk said. “It was maybe two days before the outbreak.”
About a week after he arrived, the Overseas Security Advisory Council, which is run by the Department of State, issued travel restrictions from Tunisia, outlining plans that “significantly reduced all airline travel.” On
March 19, the State Department issued a Level 4 “do not travel” advisory, recommending that United States citizens avoid any global travel.
By the time the Department of State approved his visa, and Marzouk was able to come to America, places of worship across the country had to close their doors.
“It’s special circumstances we are going through — all of the state and all of the world,” Marzouk said. “We are still doing our jobs here.”
Although he can’t physically hold classes in the mosque, it
hasn’t stopped him from teaching. He still holds classes virtually every day. Depending on the subject matter, he could be teaching up to 100 people.
Djafer Sebkhaoui, an imam at the Al Hidaya Center, said Marzouk is needed more than ever. Sebkhaoui said the mosque has demand for more imams to accommodate the communities growing population. Now that they are having to do remote learning, Marzouk has helped with coordinating the logistics and bringing classes online.
“As soon as he came, once the traditional way was not working anymore — with teaching people face-to-face — he was ready,” Sebkhaoui said.
Some of the people who worship at the mosque already know Marzouk because he would often visit during the time of Ramadan. However, others have yet to meet him. Sebkhaoui said it has been a mix of emotions since Marzouk came to the U.S.
“People are happy in one way that he came back, but sad that they are not able to meet with him,” Sebkhaoui said. “It was very interesting that after 14 months waiting for him they cannot meet him in person.”
The community did go through great lengths to get him back to the U.S. This
past winter, more than 300 people signed a petition letter to U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko, D-amsterdam, asking him to encourage the consulate to approve Marzouk’s application.
Marzouk’s lawyer, Seth Leech, of the Albany-based firm Whiteman Osterman & Hanna, thinks the attention the case had from the community and the media put pressure on the Department of State to approve it, noting that there was no reason the application was put on hold for so long.
Leech and Tonko’s office forwarded an article the Times Union wrote about the situation to the Department of State. Shortly after, Marzouk’s application was taken out of administrative processing.
It seemed to be a general practice for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services that if there was news coverage about an issue, it should be a factor in the consideration over whether to take action on a case, Leech said.
“We operated on the assumption that they (the Department of State) would have the same kind of theory, and it looks like they did,” Leech said.
Sebkhaoui said Marzouk’s return has been a moral boost for everyone at the Alhidaya Center, especially during a difficult time. May is the month of Ramadan, which ended on Saturday.
“We are trying to be creative in keeping the community attached to the mosque,” Sebkhaoui said. “People want to be here.”