Muslim-American mayor blocked from White House Eid celebration

Mohamed Khairullah suspects he has been racially profiled by the FBI

Mohamed Khairullah, Mayor of Prospect Park, New Jersey, with members of the city council during the signing of an executive order. Photo: Mohamed Khairullah

A Muslim-American mayor from New Jersey was prevented from attending an Eid Al Fitr celebration at the White House this week after the US Secret Service blocked his access, without giving a reason.

Prospect Park Mayor Mohamed Khairullah told a news conference on Tuesday that shortly before he had been set to arrive at the event belatedly marking the end of Ramadan on Monday, he received a call from organisers that his clearance had not been not approved by the Secret Service.

Mr Khairullah, 47, who was born in Syria, is serving his fifth term as mayor of Prospect Park, New Jersey.

He said that he suspected the problem was that his name was the same as someone else's who is on an FBI terrorism watch list.

He said that he had faced problems when travelling over the past couple of years.

"The heart of our issue today is not this invitation of Mohamed Taher Khairullah, who happens to be me and who is listed on the selectee list with my birthday," Mr Khairullah said.

"Our core issue today is that there is a secret list that everyone knows exists but our government continues to use it despite it being discriminatory and ruled illegal by a federal judge."

After the 9/11 attacks, the US set up what is known as the Terrorist Screening Data Set, a secret FBI list of known or suspected terrorists.

Being on the list subjects people to more security screening at borders, with some placed on the No-Fly List, barring them from air travel.

For years, rights groups have called on the US government to end the use of the lists, arguing that the process of determining who should be on them is unconstitutional and discriminatory.

Civil liberties groups who have viewed the lists say most of the people on them are Muslim and Arab.

Several Muslim Americans have sued the US government in recent years, saying they were mistakenly and without warning put on the list, causing humiliation at borders and limiting work and travel opportunities.

In 2019, a federal judge ruled that the FBI watch list breached the constitutional rights of American citizens.

"When I first ran for office in 2001, just one year after I became a naturalised citizen,I was hopeful that I could help implement systematic changes within New Jersey that would make life better for American Muslims and everyday Americans," Mr Khairullah said.

"And while I have been able to see this come to fruition for the most part, incidents like this, being flagged on a watch list and denied the honour that every leader should be given, makes me question our progress."

In a statement, US Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi confirmed that Mr Khairullah had not been allowed into the White House, but did not say why.

“While we regret any inconvenience this may have caused, the Mayor was not allowed to enter the White House complex this evening,” Mr Guglielmi said.

“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.”