It has been more than a year since local Muslim community leader Rabih Haddad was taken into custody and he continues to fight a battle with the federal government to remain in the United States.

Two weeks ago, Haddad's lawyers appealed a November decision by U.S. Immigration Judge Robert Newberry to deny asylum to Haddad and his family.

Haddad's attorney, Ashraf Nubani, said he filed the appeal with the Federal Board of Immigration Appeals, located in Falls Church, Va. He hopes to argue in front of the board sometime in the next couple of months.

The family will be able to remain in the United States as the appeals process continues.

At Haddad's October asylum hearing in Detroit, his lawyers argued that Haddad would be in danger if he was deported back to Lebanon, saying al-Qaida operatives could take retaliation against him for speaking out against the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, or the Lebanese government could take action against him to prove to the U.S. government that they are fighting terrorism.

"Governments of these countries would be eager to please the U.S.," Haddad said. "I fear torture, imprisonment and even death."

But in his ruling, Newberry said there was no substantial evidence that Haddad would be in danger if deported. Newberry added that Haddad was a danger to national security.

"A plethora of public evidence circumstantially links respondent to terrorist elements," Newberry said in his ruling.

Haddad, first arrested in December 2001 on a visa violation, has been held in Monroe County Jail for the last year.

He has also been suspected of having links to terrorist organizations as the founder of the Global Relief Foundation, an Islamic relief charity.

He had three closed hearings in front of Immigration Judge Elizabeth Hacker in December 2001 and January 2002.

But in April, U.S. District Court Judge Nancy Edmunds ruled Haddad's hearings had to be open in response to a lawsuit filed at the end of January by a group of Detroit newspapers, the Michigan chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union and U.S. Rep. John Conyers (D-Detroit).

The U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Edmunds' decision in late August.

On Dec. 14, the one-year anniversary of Haddad's arrest, his supporters held a rally in front of the Federal Building in Ann Arbor.

Speakers expressed their love for Haddad and anger at the government for his detainment.

"He has been in jail for over a year without criminal charges," Michigan ACLU Director Michael Steinberg said.

"We all would like to see Rabih walk down the street," he added.

But Phillis Englebert, a member of the Ann Arbor Adhoc Committee for Peace, pointed out that the rally was about more than releasing Haddad.

It was also a protest against the federal government's attempts to curtail democracy and civil rights since Sept. 11, she said.

"It's up to us to not let the Bush administration misdirect our anger," Englebert said.

Steinberg noted the recent efforts by the federal government to gain access to people's lives. He said the Bush administration is straying away from democratic principles, all in the name of democracy and national security.

"We can be both safe and free," Steinberg said.