Muslim Family 'Humiliated' After US Holiday Ban

[Hassj168]

A British Muslim man who was stopped with his family at Gatwick airport and prevented from flying to California has said they felt "humiliated and alienated".

The group of 11, including nine children, was about to travel to Los Angeles on a dream holiday last Tuesday when they were approached by US Homeland Security officials in the departure lounge.

Officials told Mohammad Tariq Mahmood and his party, which included his brother and nine of their children aged between eight and 19, that their authorisation to travel on the flight had been cancelled without further explanation.

Mr Mahmood told Sky News an official said there was a problem with their entry visas (ESTAs) for the US and that they were not allowed to board the plane


"As far as we're concerned we haven't done anything wrong. We've not had a problem with the police.

"We're normal, law-abiding citizens. We work here and pay our taxes and we're just like normal people.

"We actually felt humiliated, alienated, because the way we were dealt with was just out of the ordinary. Everyone's eyes were on us, it was embarrassing."

Labour's Stella Creasy, who is the family's local MP, has written to David Cameron to try to find out why the family were stopped.

She also said a growing number of British Muslims claim they have received similar treatment.

Ajmal Masroor, an imam in east London, told Sky News he was also banned from flying to the US last week, something he described as "crazy" and an "insult".

Mr Masroor had been invited to lead Friday prayers at a mosque in New York.

But when he arrived at the gate to board his flight, he was told by someone who said they were a US official that his visa had been revoked.

Mr Masroor said: "He would not give me any reason, he said he was only a messenger.

"But when I questioned him a bit more, he said 'maybe you've done something wrong, you need to speak to the embassy'.

"I was very furious he would make accusations against me without any proof or any substantial evidence that he could provide me and they would arbitrarily refuse or revoke a visa

A week on from the cancellation of their flight, Mr Mahmood said they still had not been given a reason.

The family have also reportedly been told by their airline, Norwegian Air, that the £9,000 cost of their flights will not be refunded.

Ms Creasy believes a lack of information from US authorities about why they were prevented from travelling is fuelling resentment within British Muslim communities.

The claims come after Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump recently called for all Muslims to be stopped from entering the United States.

Ms Creasy said: "It is not just the family themselves who are livid.

"The vacuum created by a refusal to provide any context for these decisions is fuelling resentment and debate.

"Online and offline discussions reverberate with the growing fear UK Muslims are being 'trumped' - that widespread condemnation of Donald Trump’s call for no Muslim to be allowed into America contrasts with what is going on in practice."

She also said there has been no further contact from either the UK or US security services to follow up any potential threat the family were perceived to be.

The family, from her Walthamstow constituency in northeast London, had applied for and were granted travel authorisation online a number of weeks before their flight.

Mr Mahmood said the children had been excited about the trip for months, and were devastated not to be able to visit their cousins in California and go to Disneyland and Universal Studios, as planned.

Ms Creasy has hit a "brick wall" in her own inquiries and has asked Mr Cameron to press US officials for an explanation as to why the Mahmoods were prevented from flying.

A Downing Street spokesman said: "The Prime Minister would consider the issues raised and respond in due course."

Sky News has asked the Home Office to comment.

Norwegian Air said in a statement: "We can confirm that a group of passengers were denied the right to board a flight from London Gatwick to Los Angeles on Tuesday at the request of the US Department of Homeland Security.

"Norwegian fully complies with requests from the border controls of each country we serve.

Damn!

 

[UchiGOD]

Poor Muslims

 

[Gerkak]

How unfortunate. Humans discriminate between themselves, a pitiful species

 

[Troyg39]

It's going to be like that unfortunately. I remember when 9/11 happened and everyone was up in arms about Muslims and travelling until everything died down a bit for them when the recession became the main focus. The attention then shifted from Muslims to Mexican Immigrants (the whole "illegals taking jobs" thing). Now with so much attention on ISIS and the focus shifting back I'm not surprised that we're returning to this kind of stuff again. It sucks I feel really bad for them but it's kind of what we do in America. When there's something going on everyone is a suspect. It'll only get worse before it gets better. Until the focus shifts again we're going to be hearing a lot about this kind of thing.

 

[Hassj168]

How unfortunate. Humans discriminate between themselves, a pitiful species

Umm... I dont know if you have noticed but you are a part of that "pitiful" species

 

[Legendary Saiyan]

How unfortunate. Humans discriminate between themselves, a pitiful species

We are the lowest of the low. I can't blame animals for bearing hatred against us.

It's going to be like that unfortunately. I remember when 9/11 happened and everyone was up in arms about Muslims and travelling until everything died down a bit for them when the recession became the main focus. The attention then shifted from Muslims to Mexican Immigrants (the whole "illegals taking jobs" thing). Now with so much attention on ISIS and the focus shifting back I'm not surprised that we're returning to this kind of stuff again. It sucks I feel really bad for them but it's kind of what we do in America. When there's something going on everyone is a suspect. It'll only get worse before it gets better. Until the focus shifts again we're going to be hearing a lot about this kind of thing.

Power of propaganda influence. I'm not surprised at all. Ignorance is showcased even in young adults. Shameful.

 

[Gerkak]

Umm... I dont know if you have noticed but you are a part of that "pitiful" species

Yeah that's why I know so well. There is no reason for me to excuse behavior just because I am part of the species in question.

The point was meant to emphasize negative human behavior as a whole your post being a single example of such

That was the point in case you missed it.

 

[Troyg39]

Power of propaganda influence. I'm not surprised at all. Ignorance is showcased even in young adults. Shameful.

It's certainly a powerful thing for sure. Too powerful.

 

[Hassj168]

Yeah that's why I know so well. There is no reason for me to excuse behavior just because I am part of the species in question.

The point was meant to emphasize negative human behavior as a whole your post being a single example of such

That was the point in case you missed it.

Oh.. ok, sorry I misunderstood u and thx

 

[Zlad]

It's not gonna get any better if that fool trump is getting the throne in America.

 

[Gerkak]

Oh.. ok, sorry I misunderstood u and thx

It's all good no need to apologize

 

[Vex]

Source? o-o

 

[ArabianLuffy]

Could I assume this ban thing will last for eight years? Until year 2024/2025?

 

[Troyg39]

Source? o-o

You must be registered for see links

Not sure if it's his exact source but it's a source for the story and more. A simple google search did the trick

 

[Vex]

You must be registered for see links

Not sure if it's his exact source but it's a source for the story and more. A simple google search did the trick

Thanks. As a US citizen, I can say not everyone here is as islamophobic as certain political candidates claim us to be :|.

 

[Melanin]

It's not gonna get any better if that fool trump is getting the throne in America.

The realist post on the net.

+1 Rep

 

[Troyg39]

Thanks. As a US citizen, I can say not everyone here is as islamophobic as certain political candidates claim us to be :|.

As a fellow US citizen I can say that you are right

 

[Vex]

Trump won't get elected lmao, he doesn't have the political support.

 

[Troyg39]

Trump won't get elected lmao, he doesn't have the political support.

I think he just might bro. This shit'll probably be decided by Republicans. It'll probably be the toughest election for them ever. They been waiting 8 years to shift the balance from Dems to Reps. They succeeded in the House and Senate. It's gonna come down to which they think is more important: Taking a gamble on Trump for the sake of not voting for Hillary or voting for Hillary and putting up with another Democrat as president that they don't like. If enough choose the former then it'll likely be enough to push him over the hump, especially if he gets key states.

I can guarantee you one thing...this election will show us where we are as country. What a time

 

[Vex]

I think he just might bro. This shit'll probably be decided by Republicans. It'll probably be the toughest election for them ever. They been waiting 8 years to shift the balance from Dems to Reps. They succeeded in the House and Senate. It's gonna come down to which they think is more important: Taking a gamble on Trump for the sake of not voting for Hillary or voting for Hillary and putting up with another Democrat as president that they don't like. If enough choose the former then it'll likely be enough to push him over the hump, especially if he gets key states.

I can guarantee you one thing...this election will show us where we are as country. What a time

Most current republicans really dislike him:

Well the Republican National Convention is still a ways off, Trump has the support of a lot of the American masses, not really that many delegates have pledged to vote for him at the convention. The Speaker of the House (who happens to be the leader of the Republicans in congress, as well as the person presiding over the Republican National Convention) has said: "It's not who we are as a party,"(

You must be registered for see links

) in regards to Donald Trump. He was also supported by the head of the republicans in the Senate. Quite frankly, if Trump is elected it is almost suicide for the Republican party. It's a few week from the Iowa caucuses, and as of right now, Ted Cruz is winning in terms of GOP candidates (

You must be registered for see links

).
I can't see Trump winning the Presidential nomination at the convention, in fact, I don't even see him getting more than a handful of delegates. If anything, he'd have to run as an independent come June - that'd be his best shot. It depends on a lot of factors though, so he probably won't make a decision until June or July. As of right now, Sanders and Clinton are the only Democratic candidates worth mention. If the nominee is Trump, no presidential elector in his right mind would ever elect Trump. The democratic candidate would then have it in the bag. It's actually a political strategy that hasn't really been used much in recent years, but it has some precedence especially in more low profile elections, and elections at the state level.