Batikh

MEMORANDUM **

Talal Ibrahim Batikh, a native and citizen of Syria and a member of the Maronite *607 Christian religion, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) decision, which summarily affirmed the Immigration Judge’s (“IJ”) order denying his application for asylum, withholding of removal and relief under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252 . We uphold a determination regarding asylum eligibility if it is supported by substantial evidence, and may reverse only if petitioner shows that the evidence he presented was so compelling that no reasonable factfinder could fail to find the requisite fear of persecution. See Prasad v. INS, 47 F.3d 336, 338 (9th Cir.1995). We deny the petition for review.

Where, as here, the BIA affirms without an opinion, we review the IJ’s decision directly. See Falcon Carriche v. Ashcroft, 350 F.3d 845, 849 (9th Cir.2003).

The IJ properly concluded that Batikh did not suffer religious persecution because there is no evidence establishing that the incidents occurred on account of Batikh’s religious beliefs. See Singh v. INS, 134 F.3d 962, 970 (9th Cir.1998) (stating a petitioner…