A British man who was stopped along with 10 other members of his family from boarding a flight to the U.S. said on Wednesday (December 23) he believed his family had been singled out because they were Muslim.
Gym instructor Mohammed Tariq Mahmood said he and his family were getting ready to board a flight to Los Angeles for a dream holiday to Disneyland when they were stopped by U.S. officials and told they could not board the plane.
“We checked in, we got our boarding passes, and we was waiting in the lounge and we was about to board the plane by then. We were in the queue while a gentleman came and introduced to us as border control and he wanted our passports. So we gave him our passports. He came back five minutes later and said ‘there’s a problem with the ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorisation),” Mahmood said.
“So he took us out of the queue, out of the room, took us into the corridor and then he went again and he came back after 10 minutes and he said ‘right, yup, there’s definitely a problem with your ESTAs, you can’t board the plane’. So upon asking him questions as to why this happened, he said he’s got no knowledge of why this happened. All he understands is that they’ve had a phone call from Washington D.C. telling that there’s a problem with the ESTAs and we’re not to board the plane,” said Mahmood.
Anti-Muslim sentiment is on the rise in the U.S., after attacks there and in Paris, as well as rhetoric from U.S. presidential candidates like Donald Trump, who has called for a ban on Muslim immigration.
Mahmood said the children were heartbroken by the experience.
“We were devastated. We’d planned this trip for like two months. Kids are excited and all of a sudden, some person just comes and says to you, you’re not allowed to board the plane, with no explanation given. It is devastating. It’s like we were alienated, the way we were just taken out of the room.”
Some politicians have called on British Prime Minister David Cameron to investigate the incident.
Mahmood said he believes his family was stopped from going on the flight because of their religious beliefs.
“The only thing that comes to my mind is because I have a Muslim name perhaps, and that’s the only thing that comes to my mind. Because in our cabin where we were standing, I didn’t see anybody who was a Muslim. ‘Cos we stood out like a sore thumb amongst, in the whole cabin.”
The gym instructor denied reports some of his family members had ties to Syria and that his son had posted violent material on his Facebook page. (Reuters)
