US: Muslim Mayor of New Jersey disinvited from White House Eid celebration
May 02, 2023
By Reena Bhardwaj
New Jersey [US], May 2 : Muslim mayor in New Jersey said he was stunned after he got a call on Monday afternoon disinviting him from an annual Eid al-Fitr celebration at the White House while he was in his car just miles away from the event. Mayor Mohamed Khairullah said he was informed that the Secret Service denied him security clearance and he could no longer attend the gathering of prominent Muslim leaders.
"It's disappointing and it's shocking that this continues to happen under our Constitution which provides that everyone is innocent unless proven guilty. I honestly don't know what my charge, if you want to put it that way, is at this point, to be treated in such a manner," Khairullah told journalists.
In response to this allegation, Anthony Guglielmi, Chief of Communications, United States Secret Service said, "While we regret any inconvenience this may have caused, the mayor was not allowed to enter the White House complex this evening. 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."
Earlier, Fox Carolina reported that Selaedin Maksut, CAIR-NJ executive director, called the move "wholly unacceptable and insulting."
"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?" Maksut said.
Khairullah, who has previously done humanitarian work in Syria and Bangladesh, was previously stopped by authorities and interrogated at John F Kennedy International Airport in New York for three hours and questioned about whether he knew any terrorists, according to Dina Sayedahmed, a spokesman for CAIR-NJ.
The group said Khairullah helped the New Jersey Democratic Party compile names of local Muslim leaders to invite to the White House Eid celebration and over the weekend was a guest at an event at the New Jersey governor's mansion, according to Fox Carolina.
