Religious exception granted in DUI fatality case

A man who is confined to his parents' Algonquin home while facing charges in a crash that killed four friends won a temporary leave from his court order Thursday to take part in Islamic religious services.

Fakir M. Jaffrie asked a Kane County judge to allow him to leave his home for a few hours for the Eid al-Adha, considered one of the most important holy days on the Muslim calendar.

Even though Jaffrie, 25, of Crystal Lake, can leave his family's home only to work at his father's vitamin store, prosecutors did not try to oppose the request, granted by Judge Patricia Piper Golden.

"If this guy had said, 'I want to go to a New Year's Eve party,' we would have said, 'No,'" said Clint Hull, the county's first assistant state's attorney. "But in religious matters, we usually leave it to the court's discretion."

Jaffrie is accused of being high on marijuana when he crashed his 2003 Infiniti G35 into a tree Sept. 8 on Dietrich Road near Brier Hill Road and Route 20 west of Huntley.

Four passengers in the car - Ayush Joshi, 20, of Hoffman Estates; Zohair Husain, 18, and Henry Onwualu, 19, both of Huntley; and Kumail Husain, 20, of Algonquin - died at the scene or later from their injuries.

Jaffrie, who also was seriously injured, was charged with aggravated driving under the influence and reckless homicide and other offenses after traces of marijuana were found in his blood, according to authorities.

He has not been arraigned, but is expected to plead not guilty to the allegations, defense attorney David Camic said Thursday.

Jaffrie's bond was set at $75,000. Terms of his home confinement also require him to wear an electronic monitoring device and undergo random drug and alcohol tests.

Eid al-Adha, which began Wednesday, is celebrated by Muslims worldwide. The Feat of the Sacrifice commemorates Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son for God and is marked with prayers and family reunions.