Apparentlyangry with how his dinner was prepared, Imam Shuaib-ud Din on Jan. 2punched and kicked his wife and beat her head against a freezer untilthe door broke, the woman alleged in a petition for a protective order.
The next day, the imam - the recently fired religious leaderof the Islamic Society of Greater Salt Lake - threw a kitchen knife ather and threatened to kill her, according to a petition for a temporaryprotective order filed last week by Ayesha Siddiqa Din.
The order, signed by 3rd District Judge John Paul Kennedy onJan. 16, requires that the imam not contact his wife. It also requireshim to stay away from their home and that he may not take his twochildren out of Utah, among other restrictions.
The allegations of abuse - and the Islamic Society board'sreaction to them - have sparked a schism in the Muslim community, withmany members criticizing the way the board has handled the situation.
Shuaib-ud Din was not available for comment Monday. But afamily representative in Chicago, where he has taken refuge, insistedthat while there were marital concerns, the allegations in his wife'spetition are "lies," inherently one-sided and do not tell the wholestory.
The representative, who asked not be named out of safetyconcerns, said "This was an angry woman and [group of men] trying tocreate and use a situation. . . to get rid of him." Certain individuals in the Islamic Society "were worried about the influence he has and knew he was onto something that wasn't right," the representative said.
The protective order was never served on Shuaib-ud Din, despitetwo attempts by the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office. Hisrepresentative said that's because he was whisked off to the Salt LakeCity International Airport - with the suggestion that he leave thecountry - by members of the Islamic Society on Jan. 13.
At least one man who reportedly took him to the airportdeclined to comment on Monday. Speaking through Tarek Nosseir, thesociety's executive committee president, the man said his lawyer hadtold him to keep quiet.
According to the petition for the protective order, AyeshaSiddiqa Din said the abuse on Jan. 2 occurred when the imam came homefrom work and became upset when she reheated his dinner. "The actionsby [Shuaib-ud Din] broke the freezer door which further enraged him andhe continued to hit and kick her," the petition states.
The next day, Shuaib-ud Din took the only phone from thehouse, "threw a kitchen knife at her and threatened to kill her if shesaid anything to anyone," the petition states.
The representative speaking for Din countered that he wasupset because his wife was serving the children, ages 5 and 6, spoiledfood. The suggestion that he would throw a knife and threaten hiswife's life is "absolutely absurd," said the representative.
According to the order, it wasn't until Jan. 11, when the imamleft his phone at home, that Ayesha Siddiqa Din called friends, whotook her to the West Valley City police station to report theincidents.
However, police Lt. Matt Elson said officers only gotinvolved when they responded to the couple's home on Jan. 13 on a"domestic related incident." No arrests were made at that time and nowarrants have been issued, Elson said.
The imam was terminated from his position on Jan. 15 and hasnot been seen at the mosque or his home since Jan. 13, said IqbalHossain, a member of the Islamic Society's board of directors. ThoughHossain said in a Friday afternoon address at West Valley City'sKhadeeja mosque that he knew nothing about Shuaib-ud Din's whereabouts,a flurry of e-mails and calls to The Salt Lake Tribune refuted this claim, saying Hossain knew where the imam was and admitted he had lied Friday night at a closed meeting.
In her petition, Ayesha Siddiqa Din told authorities thather husband "has been extremely violent towards her throughout theirrelationship and has often beat her leaving bruising and injuries thatwould have been visible had it not been for the fact she is required towear a 'hijab,' " a religious head-covering.
The imam's representative denied the allegations, saying hiswife was often in the company of other women and separated from men,providing ample opportunity for people to notice if she were hurt.
"When you associate with other women, you don't cover," therepresentative said. "To say that he did this regularly is an absolutelie."
Shuaib-ud Din's wife states in her petition that she is endingher relationship with the imam for fear of more violence and the safetyof her children. She and the children are reportedly staying withfriends in the Salt Lake Valley.
She says her husband has "threatened to take her children outof the country if she ever tried to end the relationship" and hasconfiscated her "green card," ID and passport, the petition states.
The imam's representative maintained that these issues run much deeper than a story about domestic strife.
jbergreen@sltrib.com
jravitz@sltrib.com
The next day, the imam - the recently fired religious leaderof the Islamic Society of Greater Salt Lake - threw a kitchen knife ather and threatened to kill her, according to a petition for a temporaryprotective order filed last week by Ayesha Siddiqa Din.
The order, signed by 3rd District Judge John Paul Kennedy onJan. 16, requires that the imam not contact his wife. It also requireshim to stay away from their home and that he may not take his twochildren out of Utah, among other restrictions.
The allegations of abuse - and the Islamic Society board'sreaction to them - have sparked a schism in the Muslim community, withmany members criticizing the way the board has handled the situation.
Shuaib-ud Din was not available for comment Monday. But afamily representative in Chicago, where he has taken refuge, insistedthat while there were marital concerns, the allegations in his wife'spetition are "lies," inherently one-sided and do not tell the wholestory.
The representative, who asked not be named out of safetyconcerns, said "This was an angry woman and [group of men] trying tocreate and use a situation. . . to get rid of him." Certain individuals in the Islamic Society "were worried about the influence he has and knew he was onto something that wasn't right," the representative said.
The protective order was never served on Shuaib-ud Din, despitetwo attempts by the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office. Hisrepresentative said that's because he was whisked off to the Salt LakeCity International Airport - with the suggestion that he leave thecountry - by members of the Islamic Society on Jan. 13.
At least one man who reportedly took him to the airportdeclined to comment on Monday. Speaking through Tarek Nosseir, thesociety's executive committee president, the man said his lawyer hadtold him to keep quiet.
According to the petition for the protective order, AyeshaSiddiqa Din said the abuse on Jan. 2 occurred when the imam came homefrom work and became upset when she reheated his dinner. "The actionsby [Shuaib-ud Din] broke the freezer door which further enraged him andhe continued to hit and kick her," the petition states.
The next day, Shuaib-ud Din took the only phone from thehouse, "threw a kitchen knife at her and threatened to kill her if shesaid anything to anyone," the petition states.
The representative speaking for Din countered that he wasupset because his wife was serving the children, ages 5 and 6, spoiledfood. The suggestion that he would throw a knife and threaten hiswife's life is "absolutely absurd," said the representative.
According to the order, it wasn't until Jan. 11, when the imamleft his phone at home, that Ayesha Siddiqa Din called friends, whotook her to the West Valley City police station to report theincidents.
However, police Lt. Matt Elson said officers only gotinvolved when they responded to the couple's home on Jan. 13 on a"domestic related incident." No arrests were made at that time and nowarrants have been issued, Elson said.
The imam was terminated from his position on Jan. 15 and hasnot been seen at the mosque or his home since Jan. 13, said IqbalHossain, a member of the Islamic Society's board of directors. ThoughHossain said in a Friday afternoon address at West Valley City'sKhadeeja mosque that he knew nothing about Shuaib-ud Din's whereabouts,a flurry of e-mails and calls to The Salt Lake Tribune refuted this claim, saying Hossain knew where the imam was and admitted he had lied Friday night at a closed meeting.
In her petition, Ayesha Siddiqa Din told authorities thather husband "has been extremely violent towards her throughout theirrelationship and has often beat her leaving bruising and injuries thatwould have been visible had it not been for the fact she is required towear a 'hijab,' " a religious head-covering.
The imam's representative denied the allegations, saying hiswife was often in the company of other women and separated from men,providing ample opportunity for people to notice if she were hurt.
"When you associate with other women, you don't cover," therepresentative said. "To say that he did this regularly is an absolutelie."
Shuaib-ud Din's wife states in her petition that she is endingher relationship with the imam for fear of more violence and the safetyof her children. She and the children are reportedly staying withfriends in the Salt Lake Valley.
She says her husband has "threatened to take her children outof the country if she ever tried to end the relationship" and hasconfiscated her "green card," ID and passport, the petition states.
The imam's representative maintained that these issues run much deeper than a story about domestic strife.
jbergreen@sltrib.com
jravitz@sltrib.com
