West News Wire: A Muslim mayor from New Jersey was denied entry to a Sunday Eid celebration with President Joe Biden at the White House.
“This was a surprise,” said Mohamed Khairullah, mayor of Prospect Park, New Jersey said. “I did get an invitation, and then I got another one asking me to confirm. I was thus shocked.
Khairullah claimed that shortly before reaching the White House, he received a call informing him that the secret service had denied him access and that he was therefore unable to attend the Eid celebration. No justification was given, he claimed.
“The mayor was not permitted to enter the White House complex this evening, and we apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused,” The spokesperson for the US Secret Service, Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement.
“Unfortunately, we are not able to comment further on the specific protective means and methods used to conduct our security operations at the White House.”
According to reports, two lists the no-fly list and the selectee list were leaked online in January 2023 when a regional American airline left them on a data server.
About 1.5 million entries made up the list, which was from 2019. The FBI was disproportionately targeting the Muslim community, according to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (Cair), which got copies of the no-fly list and said its contents proved it featured predominantly Muslim and Arab names. According to Cair, the dataset contained a person with Khairullah’s name and birthday.
In 2019, according to Khairullah, he was once stopped at the JFK International Airport and held there for close to three hours.
“The White House currently has a chance to undo the damage done by the previous administration. A federal judge has deemed a list to be unlawful, and the White House needs to strongly object against it, Khairullah told MEE.
“They have the chance to fix mistakes made by the prior government. They have the chance to show that they support a diverse America, including immigrants and underrepresented minorities.
Muslims have criticised Muslims who visited the White House Eid celebration on social media, with some calling them “gross out.”
You don’t feel embarrassed about hanging out with a war criminal and self-declared Zionist president at an Eid party? According to a Muslim on Twitter.
Khairullah claims to be aware of the criticism. He claimed that Obama’s “stance on Syria” was the reason he declined to attend a Ramadan event at the White House during his presidency.
“I am aware that everyone experiences emotion differently. And it might be founded on their beliefs,” the speaker stated. “However, I don’t think that we should all boycott a particular organisation or government. That’s not how bridges are constructed.
The White House is being urged by Cair-New Jersey to end the watchlist and apologise to Khairullah.
“If these such incidents are happening to high-profile and well-respected American-Muslim figures like Mayor Khairullah, this then begs the question: What is happening to Muslims who do not have the access and visibility that the mayor has,” Selaedin Maksut, the executive director of Cair-New Jersey said in a statement.
