WASHINGTON, DC – USA Today reports that a Muslim mayor in New Jersey is moving to sue the White House after he was banned after his name apparently appeared on a terrorism watch list.
Mayor Mohamed Khairullah, who leads Prospect Park, New Jersey and is the state’s longest-serving Muslim mayor, is set to file a lawsuit against the Biden administration. He claims his sudden disinvitation from a White House Eid al-Fitr event was due to his name being on a terrorism watchlist.
Khairullah revealed to USA Today in May that he had been denied security clearance by the Secret Service, preventing him from attending a gathering with President Joe Biden and other prominent Muslim leaders. The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a group opposing the watchlist for allegedly targeting Muslims, announced its intention to file the lawsuit on Monday in a federal court in Massachusetts. The case joins a string of legal challenges against the government’s use of such lists.
“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 said in a May interview with the paper.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s leading Muslim civil rights group, will host a news conference on Monday, Sept. 18 to unveil a lawsuit with twelve plaintiffs who aim to end the U.S. government’s controversial secret watchlist. The list has been criticized for predominantly targeting Muslims, causing them inconvenience and embarrassment while traveling.
Mayor Mohamed T. Khairullah of Prospect Park, New Jersey, is among the plaintiffs in the lawsuit. He gained attention earlier this year when he was prevented from attending the White House’s annual Eid al-Fitr celebration due to his name appearing on the watchlist.
The announcement of the lawsuit coincides with the 20th anniversary of the Terrorism Screening Dataset, the foundation for the watchlist. CAIR chapters in New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Michigan are also slated to host news conferences, revealing the lawsuit for plaintiffs residing in these states.
Khairullah, the long-standing Mayor of Prospect Park, embodies the essence of public service and leadership. His life journey began in Syria, which he left in 1980, and continued in the United States where he has been a beacon of hope through civic engagement and activism.
Not just another politician, Mayor Khairullah served as a volunteer firefighter, confronting dangers that many would flee from. His service extends beyond local community efforts to international initiatives, including relief work in war-torn Syria.