CHICAGO: Syrian American Mayor Mohamed T. Khairullah Wednesday called on US President Joe Biden to “stop” what he described as the racism and discrimination that targets Arab and Muslim Americans after he was denied entry to a White House Eid celebration.
Khairullah, who emigrated from Syria in 1980 where he served as a volunteer firefighter, was first elected as a trustee in the borough of Prospect Park, New Jersey, in 2001 and has served as mayor of the city since 2005. He was invited by the White House to attend Biden’s Eid celebration on Monday May 1, but was turned away by the Secret Service, which has refused to say why.
During an appearance on The Ray Hanania Radio Show, Khairullah said it was Biden’s responsibility to end this “racism” and “discrimination” against Muslims and Arabs that is a part of the system.
“The responsibility of the president now is to stop this nonsense. This was started back in 2003 by the Bush administration which was a Republican administration. I was added in 2019 during a Republican administration. Now it is the obligation of the Democrats to show they are not like the other side,” Khairullah said.
“This is an issue that is not about me. I am completely at peace with myself. I have been to the White House before. It would have been great to meet the other Muslim leaders and to meet the president. However, this is about those who cannot speak for themselves at this point. That list is illegal. It is unconstitutional. And in so many ways it is discriminatory. It needs to be disbanded by the president and it has to stop right now.”
Not mentioning Arabs or Muslims who were denied entry to the event, like mayor Khairullah, Biden enthusiastically welcomed more than 400 Muslims at the White House reception including Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib.
Biden said: “We’re determined to confront all forms of hate, including Islamophobia, which is important to me. This is a priority for my administration, which is why I established an interagency task force to address attacks on Muslims and anti-Muslim bias and discrimination.”
“And this was a focus of United — the United We Stand summit we convened last September. Standing up against anti-Muslim hate is essential to who we are as a country founded on freedom and justice for all. Let me close with this. Muslims have been part of the United States from the very start. Muslims fought along(side) the patriots during the War for Independence.”
Khairullah said he would have loved to hear Biden “stand up for justice” for Muslims and Arabs, but is instead “disappointed” that instead of getting answers, he is getting the “run around” from the White House and the Secret Service regarding the “security list” of Arabs and Muslims on which his name is apparently included.
“I’m on some type of list. I am a target of some type. When they start putting up walls and not giving answers, when there is lack of transparency, that’s when we move to this level of making this public. I am not the only one. There are 1.5 million entries on that list and that list continues to grow. People like myself do not have a due process. There is nothing to clear yourself off the list. They will not even acknowledge the list. If it wasn’t for the list being leaked on January 26, they would continue to say they don’t know what’s going on, you have been randomly selected. It’s a joke. This is not something that our government should be doing,” Khairullah said.
“I guess because of your name your background, you are a suspect in someone’s eye. I am going to say it like this. There is deep racism within the system. Our Constitution, our institutions are designed to serve the people. But that doesn’t mean there is not racists within the system.”
Khairullah said that the issue was not really about politics, but about racism adding that the government must be answerable to the public “but that is not what happens.”
“They refuse to issue an apology. They refuse to really comment about it. At the White House press conference. They basically said go talk to the Secret Service. And guess what the Secret Service is going to say, we can’t comment on it. They are putting us into that loop. Some people said the event was for Muslims. It’s not racist. You are just ... I agree, the event was for Muslims. But there is an issue of racism in our system.”
Khairullah said he has not been back to Syria since December 2015, claiming he was first “placed on the list” in 2019 during the administration of former President Donald J. Trump. Trump is a Republican and Khairullah is a Democrat, which might explain the inclusion.
He said while in Syria, he was contacted by FBI agents asking him to “be an informant,” but responded he “doesn’t have connections with anyone in Syria.”
“Some people are placed on the list as punishment for refusing to be an informant for the FBI,” Khairullah alleged.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment. The Council on American Islamic Relations or CAIR of New Jersey held a press conference calling for Biden to “apologize” to Khairullah and disband the so-called “watch list.”
The Ray Hanania Radio Show, which is broadcast live on WNZK AM 690 Radio in Greater Detroit and on WDMV AM 700 in Washington D.C., including Khairullah’s full interview, is available on Arab News Podcast.
You can listen to the radio show’s podcast by visiting ArabNews.com/rayradioshow.
