If you happen to be a Muslim who is the son of Somali immigrants, this may not be the best time to plan a trip to Yemen. At least, that appears to be what happened to Yahya Wehelie, 26, a Washington, DC-area resident who was taking classes at Norfolk State University a few years ago.
Now Wehelie, as reported in "The New York Times" (we heard about it through twitter.com/Egytweets), has been trapped by circumstance as the FBI put his name on a no-fly list which prevented him from boarding a plane back home to the United States at the Cairo Airport.
So, Wehelie has been trapped in Egypt for six weeks after his 18-month trip to Yemen which the FBI apparently saw as very suspicious though they are not telling the press why they placed his name on the no-fly list.
Wehelie's parents insist that he is not a Muslim fundamentalist and that he hates Osama bin Laden.
But, Yemen is also a hot recruiting place for anti-American jihadists and many sons of Somali immigrants have joined such dubious causes. So, the question is simply: "Is this a case of guilt by association?" or "Is Wehelie a radical who is a legitament threat to our national security?"
Alas, it appears we will not know for quite some time, but both the Council on American-Islamic Relations and the ACLU are taking up Weheli's case.
Since my late father was a Muslim immigrant from Turkey (I am agnostic), I certainly realize how one can get caught up in a real-life "Twilight Zone" episode and get accused of being involved with terrorist causes just as I realize people we may never suspect can get caught up in such disturbing activities. This is truly a dark and unsettling time for all of us.
SIDEBAR: Winston Reid, 21, a New Zealand national player of Maori heritage who scored the game-tying goal against Slovakia yesterday in a 1-1 draw is being hailed as a national hero even though he spent much of his youth in Denmark where he plays professional soccer.
No comments:
Post a Comment