If she lived in the greater area of the Queen City in recent years and her child was seriously ill or terminally ill, the probability that she met Ayman Soliman is great who had worked until recently as a Muslim pastor on the renowned Cincinnati Children’s Hospital.
Protests and imprisonment
Regardless of her faith or worldview, he comforted her and her family in the darkest hours. In those moments that are a nightmare for parents. He answered questions of Muslim families, such as whether a living will was compatible with the Koran. A former colleague reports that thanks to Soliman it was not necessary for many poor families to worry about the funeral costs of their babies who died in the hospital.
But all of this does not count for US President Donald Trump and his government who want to deport Soliman to Egypt. There, according to his own information and his supporters, death threatens to death – also because of his work as a journalist during the Arab spring.
Soliman received asylum during Trump’s first term. Since then he has been working on maintaining US citizenship and catching up with his family. Two weeks ago, Soliman was arrested by ICE during routine control at the Homeland Security Office in the suburb of Blue Ash from ICE. He has been in the Butler County prison since July 9th. The Trump government describes him as “Egyptian citizen who is noted on the FBI terrorist”.
His arrest triggered an outcry. Religious and political leaders are committed to him. In a protest on a bridge, more than a dozen people were arrested, including two journalists.
Hope for a fair procedure
On Tuesday morning, Soliman sent a message to Rolling Stone through his girlfriend and supporter Tala Ali: “I hope that I will get a fair procedure that will give me my life back. I am confident that I should have a strong case and receive asylum to save my life. This is a terrible mistake that will hopefully be corrected.”
Ali also reports that Soliman is in prison for Halal and Koscher meals and that even people cares for people there. If he is released, he wanted to return to prison regularly to act as a pastor.
The release against the deposit was rejected on Tuesday, another hearing is scheduled for next week. According to his lawyers, the lawyer of the Ministry of Homeland stipulation stated that the immigration court was not responsible. The government again referred to alleged connections to terrorist groups, especially the Muslim Brotherhood.
No evidence of terrorism
Robert Ratliff, one of his lawyers, emphasizes that Soliman worked for an organization that was not related to the Muslim Brotherhood and does charitable work. The lawyer Nazly Mamedova explains that the Ministry of Homeland has not submitted any evidence of the support of terrorist groups.
Soliman has been living in the United States for more than ten years and tries to maintain citizenship. His defenders speak of confusion and emphasize that a real terrorist would hardly submit a lawsuit against the FBI to clean his name.
“He deserves his process”
Congressman Greg Landsman (D-Ohio) in question why Soliman had not been arrested earlier by the FBI if he was a real threat. Much indicates that he is a sincere person who is deeply rooted in the community.
Numerous well-known, including politicians, activists and former colleagues, cannot bring the trump government’s accusations into harmony with the image they have from Soliman. “When he is a terrorist, he is the worst terrorist ever,” says pastor Elizabeth Diop. Even in prison, he donated to other prisoners.
A source of the consolation
One parent tells anonymously how Soliman supports her family to her child during a serious phase of illness. A nurse describes him as indispensable for working in the intensive care unit: “He was where it was needed. He did not run away from the pain.”
Marc Zumhagen, a former colleague, reports of a case in which a Muslim family was faced with the decision at night whether they should stop life -prolonging measures. Soliman came, spoke Arabic to them and explained what Islam says in such a situation. He brought peace to the room.
Selfless help
Soliman ensured that poor families were able to organize burials for their late babies free of charge by finding a funeral home in Kentucky that took over these cases without fees.
Already towards the end of the Biden-Amtzeit, Soliman received evidence that his asylum status could be revoked. In June, after Trump’s taking office, this was officially. The circumstances made it almost impossible to continue working on the children’s hospital.
His lawyers see his detention as a result of the restrictive and quota-driven immigration policy of the new Trump government. Under another government, they say, how to deal with the case would probably have been more humane.
Soliman continues to sit in prison. Its number serves the Trump government as a further counter in the daily deportation rate, regardless of guilt or innocence.
Many of his supporters in Ohio and Kentucky react with anger, grief and hope. An anonymous mother says that she would just spin Trump and his government towards: “Fuck you. You are a shame.” Judy Ragsdale, which Soliman once stopped, calls the deportation attempts “blatant anti -mussia and cruel”.
Marc Zumhagen concludes: “As much as I would like to scold, I think of what Ayman would say:” Hello, my friend. There are many people who suffer. We have to find out how we can help them. “