Muslim leader and travel internationally. In 1996, Leghaei applied for permanent residency for himself and his family, and received bridging visas whilst their applications for residency were being reviewed. These bridging visas did not permit international travel. Supporting his application were character references from two members of parliament, Anthony Albanese and Robert McClelland, who has been the Attorney-General of Australia, but at the time was an opposition backbencher. McClelland, described Leghaei as: "an erudite man, conciliatory in tone and demeanour" who would be an "asset" to both the Muslim and Australian communities. In 1997, Leghaei was refused permanent residency on the grounds that he had been assessed as a “risk to the national security of Australia.” In his appeal, Leghaei obtained a second character reference from McClelland. Despite being aware of the security concerns surrounding Leghaei, McClelland wrote in Leghaei's defence: I was most surprised to learn that Sheik Leghaei's application had been rejected on the failure to satisfy part 4002 of Schedule 4 of the Migration Regulations, that is the public interest criteria. Part 4002 of the regulations requires that an applicant "is not assessed" by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) to be directly or indirectly a risk to security. In the same year, Leghaei established the Imam Husain Islamic Centre with the stated aim of addressing the educational, welfare, and religious needs of the Muslim community. The unveiling of the centre was attended by a number of high-ranking public dignitaries, including the then Attorney-General Philip Ruddock, who provided his blessing by noting: I do note very much the inclusive nature of the centre that you have developed. Between 1997 and 2002, Leghaei pursued review proceedings and a formal assessment was carried out by ASIO. The substance of the assessment was that Leghaei was "directly or indirectly a risk to Australian national security." Between 2002 and 2010, Leghaei appealed and endeavoured to ascertain the reasoning for the adverse security assessment and had hearings and matters before a range of bodies, including the Immigration Review Tribunal, the Federal Court and the High Court of Australia. These appeals failed because as a non-citizen of Australia, Leghaei was not entitled to natural justice or procedural fairness for the reason of national security considerations, and no legal board had the authority to examine the allegations or overrule the ASIO assessment. After the failed appeals, Leghaei's next option was ministerial intervention by the