Ibrahim

ORDER

Respondent’s petition for panel rehearing is GRANTED. The memorandum disposition filed on December 2, 2003, is hereby withdrawn and the accompanying memorandum disposition shall be filed in its stead.

MEMORANDUM **

Petitioner Kamaal Abdulkadir Ibrahim (“Ibrahim”) appeals the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA’s”) denial of his application for asylum. We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252 . We affirm the BIA’s order of removal.

Because the facts are known to the parties we do not repeat them here.

We review the BIA’s findings for substantial evidence. See Andriasian v. INS, 180 F.3d 1033, 1040 (9th Cir.1999). The BIA’s decision must be upheld unless the evidence would compel a reasonable adjudicator to reach a contrary result. 8 U.S.C. § 1252 (b)(4)(B). Where, as here, the BIA affirms the IJ’s decision without issuing an opinion, we review the IJ’s ruling. See He v. Ashcroft, 328 F.3d 593, 595-96 (9th Cir.2003).

The IJ denied Ibrahim’s application solely on the basis of an adverse credibility finding. Under the substantial evidence standard, the IJ “must have a legitimate articulable basis to question the petitioner’s credibility, and must offer a specific, cogent…