Specter of Trump’s racism still haunts US Muslim minority

It seems that the specter of racism from former US President Donald Trump is still haunting the American Muslim minority, even under the administration of current President Joe Biden.

Even after receiving an invitation to attend the White House celebration of Eid Al-Fitr, New Jersey Mayor Mohamed Khairullah, a Syrian-American, was denied access to the White House on May 1, just a few hours before the celebration, as he has been on the FBI watch list since Trump expanded the terrorism watch list to allow the government to monitor nationals without a warrant.

In an interview with News 12 New Jersey’s Alex Zdan, Khairullah said that it is not circumstantial, because he was arrested at the airport and was added to the list in 2019.

Khairullah, who is one of 1.5 million others on the list, added that he could not defend himself, which is a violation of his constitutional right, saying that there is still racism in the US system, as the majority of people on the list are Arabs and Muslims.

The mayor called for making the issue of racism against the Muslim community a vocal point by Arab and Muslim citizens in the upcoming presidential elections.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) called on Biden to apologize, as well as to abolish the list.

“That a well-respected Muslim leader would effectively be disinvited from the White House Eid celebration, just hours ahead of time, is wholly unacceptable and insulting,” said CAIR-NJ Executive Director Selaedin Maksut.

In January 2023, CAIR called on Biden’s administration to suspend the watch list after names on the no-fly and watch lists were leaked by a Swiss hacker named “maia”.

CAIR Trial Attorney Justin Sadowsky said in a statement, “Even a cursory review of the lists show they are both almost entirely lists of Arabic and Muslim names. Children who were at most 10 years old at the time are on the No-Fly List. A then 7-year-old is on the Selectee list.”

US Senators Bob Menendez and Cory Booker, both Democrats from New Jersey, and Congressman Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-09), sent a letter to the United States Secret Service and the Biden administration, asking for an explanation about denying Khairullah’s entry to the celebration.

On multiple occasions, US Muslim organizations have challenged the watch list, which was created following the September 11, 2001 attacks. In March 2021, the US Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit ruled that the list is constitutional, as it “falls under the government’s power to guard its borders,” the Washington Post reported.