Sheikh Mansour, 47, has been given six weeks to leave Australia.

ASIO considers him a security risk but he has been unable to find out the allegations against him.

Hundreds of his supporters flocked to the Iman Husain Islamic Centre in Earlwood on Monday night after the news broke.

One of Sheikh Mansour's main supporters, Father David Smith of the Holy Trinity Church, Dulwich Hill, said people were still in shock.

"People came rolling into the centre like the sea expressing their concern,'' he said.

"The ramifications and pain will be felt quite broadly across our community.''

Sheikh Mansour has lived here for 16 years. His twin sons Sadiq and Reza have residency and his daughter, Fatima, 14, is an Australian citizen.

His wife, Marzieh and another son, Ali, 20, also faced deportation but have been allowed to stay.

Sheikh Mansour lodged an appeal for ministerial intervention with Immigration Minister Senator Chris Evans.

The minister decided last Monday it was not in the public interest to intervene in his case.

This was despite a request from the United Nations office in Geneva that the government not deport the sheikh while his case is under consideration by the UN's Human Rights Committee. The sheikh's supporters had written to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights saying that his human rights had been ignored.

"We are now following up with the United Nations and hope it will put in a stronger request with the Australian government,'' he said.

Sheikh Mansour said that despite being allowed to stay, his wife and daughter would leave Australia with him.

"My wife said they would have no reason to stay if I had to leave and my daughter is a minor and would have to go with us,'' he said. "They are forcing us to break up a family and we unhappy about that.''

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