A Muslim New Jersey mayor stated Monday the Secret Service denied him entry to the White Home for a reception hosted by President Joe Biden to have fun Eid al-Fitr, marking the top of Ramadan.
Prospect Park Mayor Mohamed T. Khairullah informed NBC Information that Secret Service knowledgeable him shortly earlier than he was on account of arrive that he didn’t obtain the clearance required to enter the premises.
Khairullah added he believes his identify was on an FBI watchlist by mistake. He stated it has been a problem when touring up to now, however he thought it had already been resolved.
“I’m baffled,” he informed NBC Information.
In a Fb put up, Khairullah wrote the incident “reeks of #Islamophobia by sure federal companies.”
The Secret Service confirmed Khairullah was denied entry, however declined to offer additional particulars.
“Whereas we remorse any inconvenience this will likely have brought on, the mayor was not permitted to enter the White Home complicated for this night’s occasion,” Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi stated in an announcement shared with a number of information retailers.
Khairullah informed the Related Press he was questioned for 3 hours at New York’s JFK airport in 2019 after coming back from a visit to Turkey together with his household. Authorities on the airport requested if he knew any terrorists, he stated.
He stated he additionally was beforehand held on the U.S.-Canada border upon returning to the U.S.
“It’s not a matter of I didn’t get to go to a celebration,” he informed AP about Monday’s incident. “It’s why I didn't go. And it’s an inventory that has focused me due to my id. And I don’t suppose the best workplace in america ought to be down with such profiling.”
Khairullah, who fled Syria in 1980 and have become a U.S. citizen in 2000, has served as mayor of Prospect Park since November 2005. He was reelected in January.
Selaedin Maksut, the chief director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in New Jersey, referred to as Monday’s occasions “wholly unacceptable and insulting.”
“We name on the White Home to override the Secret Service and reinstate the mayor’s invitation, disband the key watchlist, and subject an apology to the Mayor,” Maksut stated in an announcement.
“If these such incidents are taking place to high-profile and well-respected American-Muslim figures like Mayor Khairullah, this then begs the query: what is occurring to Muslims who wouldn't have the entry and visibility that the mayor has?” Maksut continued.
In a Twitter put up following the reception, Biden wrote “We should all the time stand in opposition to anti-Muslim hate. And arise for the rights and dignity of all individuals.”
“It’s important to who we're: a nation based on the thought of freedom and justice for all,” he added.
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