By Caryle Murphy
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, December 3, 2004; Page A24

Ten days ago, Alexandria resident Abdelhaleem Ashqar decided that the recent death of Yasser Arafat had presented him with an opportunity he could not pass up: becoming a candidate in next month's Palestinian presidential elections.

But in addition to the long commute, there were a few obstacles to this dream.

First, the 46-year-old Ashqar was not a registered voter in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, which he'd left 15 years ago to come to the United States as a graduate student.

More of a problem was that Ashqar is confined to his Alexandria home while he awaits trial in this country on federal racketeering charges.

But Ashqar pushed ahead anyway. And yesterday, the former Howard University professor was informed by the Palestinian elections committee that he has been accepted as one of 10 official candidates in the Jan. 9 vote.

"I hope that I'll win, and I'm going to do whatever it takes to win," said Ashqar, who is running as an independent. "I hope to capitalize on the votes of independents and those who want real change."

Ashqar was indicted in August with two others on racketeering conspiracy charges in Chicago for allegedly raising millions of dollars for the Islamic Resistance Movement, or Hamas. No date has been set for the trial.

Randall A. Samborn, spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office in Chicago, said he had no comment on Ashqar's candidacy. The terms of Ashqar's release on a $2.6 million bond prohibit him from leaving his home but do not appear to bar him from running for office.

Ashqar has pleaded not guilty to the charges. His attorney, Thomas Durkin, called them "preposterous" and "an improper attempt to criminalize political conduct in an international political dispute," referring to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Ashqar denies ever being a member of Hamas, which the United States designated a terrorist organization in 1995 for carrying out suicide bombings in Israel. However, he has been jailed twice for refusing to testify before U.S. grand juries investigating Hamas, and then protested those detentions by going on hunger strikes. He told one judge that testifying would violate his religious and political beliefs and betray colleagues.

Ashqar said he learned Monday that the Palestinian electoral authorities had accepted his voter registration under a provision for imprisoned Palestinians.

Indeed, one of Ashqar's biggest rivals is Marwan Barghouti, 45, who is serving five life terms in an Israel jail for his role in leading violent attacks on Israeli settlers and soldiers.

Barghouti is widely regarded as one of the two top contenders to win the election; the other is Mahmoud Abbas.

Ashqar, who must wear an electronic monitoring device on his ankle and file a written motion in federal court in Chicago each time he wants permission to leave his house, said the restrictions make his situation similar to that of many Palestinians living under Israeli occupation.

"It happens that I am living here in the United States under abnormal circumstances," he said. "Some Palestinians [who] live there in the West Bank or Gaza . . . they cannot leave their towns." After his voter registration was accepted, Ashqar paid the $3,000 candidate filing fee and asked relatives and friends back home to get the required 5,000 signatures from registered voters. He said they gathered 7,000 to 8,000 signatures in less than 48 hours.

Ashqar said he believes "in a two-state solution" based on U.N. resolutions for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

He disagrees with Hamas's decision to boycott the upcoming elections, which both Washington and Israel hope will produce a strong Palestinian leader.

Ashqar, who received his doctorate in business from the University of Mississippi in 1997, is married, has three children and worships at Dar Al Hijrah Islamic Center in Falls Church.

And if, perchance, he wins?

"I'd like to do whatever it takes here to be released and go home," he said, adding that his indictment is "a political case, and there is no point ofholding me and depriving me from my rights."