Local Muslim leader Rabih Haddad will remain in jail, an immigration judge ruled Wednesday.

Haddad (pictured, left), 41, has been detained since Dec. 14. Immigration and Naturalization Service agents arrested him on an expired visa violation, but have been looking into his involvement with the Global Relief Foundation.

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An immigration judge ruled that Haddad posed a threat to society and denied him bail during the closed court proceeding, Local 4 reported. He appeared via video screen from the Monroe County Jail.

Another hearing has been scheduled for Jan. 8. INS officials could be headed toward deportation proceedings, according to Local 4.

The Global Relief Foundation is a charity that Haddad co-founded in 1992. The group's Chicago-area offices were raided last month. The government has frozen the foundation's assets because agents suspect the agency of funding terrorist activities.

Haddad is currently an assistant imam at the Islamic Center of Ann Arbor and a board member and former chief executive officer of the Global Relief Foundation.

Friends and family say that the group only helps people in need, and call Haddad a peaceful man.

Lawyer Ashraf Nubani said that federal agents have not asked his client about his involvement in the Global Relief Foundation.

Haddad is a native of Lebanon and lives in the Ann Arbor area with his wife and four children. His wife, Salma Al Rashad has been able to see her husband in jail, according to Local 4.

INS officials confiscated a hunting rifle from the family's home.

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