A Muslim student had to pay extra for security checks when applying for a visa to visit the United States, because his name was Mohammed.

Mohammed Umar Haleem Khan, 22, was told by US Embassy officials that "a lot of bad people" shared his name.

 

The Manchester Metropolitan University student had to pay an extra $80 (£45) to have his fingerprints checked against a US terror suspect database.

 

An embassy spokesman said it could not say how visa applications are assessed.

 

"We do have expedited procedures for exchange visitors and students that should allow us to process the visa before the travel date," he said.

 

"In general, there are any number of reasons why one visa application may be different than another or take longer to process.

 

"The important point I must make is that if someone needs a visa, they should apply well in advance of the travel date."

 

Mr Khan was planning to work for the Camp America project in Philadelphia.

 

He said: "She asked me all the usual questions like what was my purpose for visiting and what was the nature of my job and then she said there was a problem with my name.

 

"She said there were a lot of bad people in the world with that name, meaning terrorists.

 

"Then she told me I would have to have some additional security checks, which meant all my fingers were fingerprinted and she told me these would be compared to a database in Washington. I had to pay an extra 80 dollars.

 

"I was totally speechless. I didn't know what to say to her.

 

"Now I am worried I may not get a visa and travel to the States because of my name.

 

"I'm sure that if some white candidate came along there would have been no problem."

 

Mr Khan added that he had never visited Afghanistan or any other trouble hotspots and could think of no reason why his name would cause a problem.

 

A spokesman for the Muslim Council of Britain Inayat Bunglawala said: "This is a worrying incident and seems to fit a recent pattern whereby the USA appears to be treating all Muslims as potential terrorists just because of their religion.

 

"Although Muslim parents name their children from a wide variety of names - just like other parents - many of them, especially those from the Indian subcontinent, will often give their male children the name of Muhammad as a kind of respectful prefix in honour of the Prophet, even though the actual name by which these children are known will be something else.

 

"US Embassy officials ought really to have had the training to cope with basic elements of Muslim culture which would help prevent these kinds of unfortunate situations."

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk

What the hell is going on. We catch more innocent people than terrorists. Our homeland security is PATHETIC. :angry: I'm ashamed of this, I can't believe they target people now just because their name is associated with "bad people" (wow, nice vocabulary use by people in high positions of power).

 

I hate to think if your name was "Osama"! Cripes....

This is just not fair...what happen to open minded citizens of United states...

what happen to "no discrimination..." don't disciminate us for what we believe..because we never do that to all of you..

Presidents have long felt that when they are in charge during a wartime they are justified to do whatever they will to ensure success and the "security of the general American public". It's very Machiavellian (end justifies the means). I guess our homeland security feels that wasting people's time by pulling them out of line because of their name, or their nose size, or their skin color is "fighting terrorism". Has it worked? I'm sure people on here are going to say yes. "There hasn't been another 9/11 now, has there!" But think of the message that this is sending out to the Muslim extremists. "See, they hate us and they target our people!" Maybe they won't think that.... but god, they could be.

 

 

It happened during World War I, when the German Americans were prosecuted for no reason (two or three were hung from a bridge just because they were of German heritage). The Japanese in this country were put into pseudo concentration camps in California. FDR justified this as necessary to win the war.

 

 

I think that a government should not exploit upon the publics fear towards a certain race, because of a war raging in another country. It simply targets innocent civilians and gets in the way of catching the real terrorists. It's like the Sabotage and Sedition Act back during World War I. It made it impossible for anyone to speak out against the war, or you were thrown in jail and heavily fined. It was against the socialists, unionists, and German Americans mainly (Eugene Debs, the socialist, was thrown into jail with a 10 year sentence for criticizing the war). Not much has changed, huh? And what good did that do, except cause more unfounded animosity among the country....

Presidents have long felt that when they are in charge during a wartime they are justified to do whatever they will to ensure success and the "security of the general American public". It's very Machiavellian (end justifies the means). I guess our homeland security feels that wasting people's time by pulling them out of line because of their name, or their nose size, or their skin color is "fighting terrorism". Has it worked? I'm sure people on here are going to say yes. "There hasn't been another 9/11 now, has there!" But think of the message that this is sending out to the Muslim extremists. "See, they hate us and they target our people!" Maybe they won't think that.... but god, they could be.

 

 

It happened during World War I, when the German Americans were prosecuted for no reason (two or three were hung from a bridge just because they were of German heritage). The Japanese in this country were put into pseudo concentration camps in California. FDR justified this as necessary to win the war.

 

 

I think that a government should not exploit upon the publics fear towards a certain race, because of a war raging in another country. It simply targets innocent civilians and gets in the way of catching the real terrorists. It's like the Sabotage and Sedition Act back during World War I. It made it impossible for anyone to speak out against the war, or you were thrown in jail and heavily fined. It was against the socialists, unionists, and German Americans mainly (Eugene Debs, the socialist, was thrown into jail with a 10 year sentence for criticizing the war). Not much has changed, huh? And what good did that do, except cause more unfounded animosity among the country....

 

 

the war is raging in our country too, but that is no excuse for this. but just letting you know. and targeting innocent civilians does NOT get in the way of catching terrorist, if anything its a byproduct of catching terrorist.

A Muslim student had to pay extra for security checks when applying for a visa to visit the United States, because his name was Mohammed.

Mohammed Umar Haleem Khan, 22, was told by US Embassy officials that "a lot of bad people" shared his name.

 

The Manchester Metropolitan University student had to pay an extra $80 (£45) to have his fingerprints checked against a US terror suspect database.

 

An embassy spokesman said it could not say how visa applications are assessed.

 

"We do have expedited procedures for exchange visitors and students that should allow us to process the visa before the travel date," he said.

 

"In general, there are any number of reasons why one visa application may be different than another or take longer to process.

 

"The important point I must make is that if someone needs a visa, they should apply well in advance of the travel date."

 

Mr Khan was planning to work for the Camp America project in Philadelphia.

 

He said: "She asked me all the usual questions like what was my purpose for visiting and what was the nature of my job and then she said there was a problem with my name.

 

"She said there were a lot of bad people in the world with that name, meaning terrorists.

 

"Then she told me I would have to have some additional security checks, which meant all my fingers were fingerprinted and she told me these would be compared to a database in Washington. I had to pay an extra 80 dollars.

 

"I was totally speechless. I didn't know what to say to her.

 

"Now I am worried I may not get a visa and travel to the States because of my name.

 

"I'm sure that if some white candidate came along there would have been no problem."

 

Mr Khan added that he had never visited Afghanistan or any other trouble hotspots and could think of no reason why his name would cause a problem.

 

A spokesman for the Muslim Council of Britain Inayat Bunglawala said: "This is a worrying incident and seems to fit a recent pattern whereby the USA appears to be treating all Muslims as potential terrorists just because of their religion.

 

"Although Muslim parents name their children from a wide variety of names - just like other parents - many of them, especially those from the Indian subcontinent, will often give their male children the name of Muhammad as a kind of respectful prefix in honour of the Prophet, even though the actual name by which these children are known will be something else.

 

"US Embassy officials ought really to have had the training to cope with basic elements of Muslim culture which would help prevent these kinds of unfortunate situations."

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk

 

i didn't find the news shocking..i mean unfair treatment towards muslims in the states seemed normal to me...the us government's thoughts and applications are usually a bit thought-provoking...

the war is raging in our country too' date=' but that is no excuse for this. but just letting you know. and targeting innocent civilians does NOT get in the way of catching terrorist, if anything its a byproduct of catching terrorist.[/quote']

 

 

And I ask you:

 

Have we caught any terrorists in our country yet?

 

 

(obviously, that we DIDN'T know about already. People who have been associated with previous attacks such as 9/11 and finally apprehended do not count. I'm talking about people who are an immenent threat that we had no idea about until we pulled them out of the line at the airport, or found them on the internet. Give me an example and I'll rethink my statement.)

And I ask you:

 

Have we caught any terrorists in our country yet?

 

 

(obviously, that we DIDN'T know about already. People who have been associated with previous attacks such as 9/11 and finally apprehended do not count. I'm talking about people who are an immenent threat that we had no idea about until we pulled them out of the line at the airport, or found them on the internet. Give me an example and I'll rethink my statement.)

 

Yes.

Ok.... second half of my question then. Examples............?

Mrcool, you make my world dude.

Oh stop mocking me and being sarcastic. It's immature.

Ok.... second half of my question then. Examples............?

 

Do you live in america. because i could have sworn in the last few years theres has been multiple stores about terrorist being caught. ill do some research on it.

Oh stop mocking me and being sarcastic. It's immature.

 

1. I was in no way mocking you. It was a compliment. That didn't involve you.

 

2. I was in no way sarcastic, because I do believe mrcool makes my world.

Yes, I do live in America. I just haven't seen any valid terrorists being caught. At least not in THIS country. I do know that recently some people were caught in CANADA, but not here.

 

 

Overall, though, I still don't think that our homeland security is acting to the best of it's ability, not nearly so. Some people here and there who might be neo-nazi's are very good to get, but I don't know.... Has it REALLY stopped anything? I think the real threat is indeed coming from the Middle East, and less so this country.

1. I was in no way mocking you. It was a compliment. That didn't involve you.

 

2. I was in no way sarcastic, because I do believe mrcool makes my world.

 

 

Alright, alright. Fine. *drops it*

Yeah sorry, didn't mean for you to take it the wrong way. While I may disagree with you in every aspect of life, I still respect you somewhat. I tend to get a little aggressive(and that means cussing, a lot) when I'm angry, and these past few weeks haven't been the best for me. Hard times. So sorry for all the bad things I've said to you lately, I should have worded them nicer.

And you have no idea how hard it is for me to apoligize.

Yes, I do live in America. I just haven't seen any valid terrorists being caught. At least not in THIS country. I do know that recently some people were caught in CANADA, but not here.

 

 

Overall, though, I still don't think that our homeland security is acting to the best of it's ability, not nearly so. Some people here and there who might be neo-nazi's are very good to get, but I don't know.... Has it REALLY stopped anything? I think the real threat is indeed coming from the Middle East, and less so this country.

 

Just because its not on the news does not mean we havent stopped many plots or terrorist. i remember something about some terrorist plot in america to do something i think in LA and some terrorist caught in Ohio. but dont quote me on that, i remember something like that on the news but i havent found a source yet.

 

but anyways a good book to read is shadow war. its about the war on terror and what bush has been doing.

 

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0895260522?v=glance

Yeah sorry' date=' didn't mean for you to take it the wrong way. While I may disagree with you in every aspect of life, I still respect you somewhat. I tend to get a little aggressive(and that means cussing, a lot) when I'm angry, and these past few weeks haven't been the best for me. Hard times. So sorry for all the bad things I've said to you lately, I should have worded them nicer.[/quote']

 

 

I completely accept your apology. My problem is not with your opinions. I respect them, totally. Just as I expect people to accept mine. However, I took issue with the way you went about discussing them. Name calling is not needed. ;) I'm sorry about your hard times, though... I hope things start looking up for you. I know how things like that can affect you as a person. I've certainly gone through that. I'm pretty stressed out at the moment (Junior year coming to a close, SATs, college applications, generally deciding upon my future) and I feel like I just can't handle people putting me down any more (I've been taking that for 3 years of my life). So if I feel that someone is treating me badly, I speak out against it. As anyone would.

 

 

 

 

Again, I hope that we can put this behind us and get back to a real, unheated discussions. I think I'm going to get an ulcer from these threads....! LMFAO! I certainly will forgive and forget.

I completely accept your apology. My problem is not with your opinions. I respect them, totally. Just as I expect people to accept mine. However, I took issue with the way you went about discussing them. Name calling is not needed. ;) I'm sorry about your hard times, though... I hope things start looking up for you. I know how things like that can affect you as a person. I've certainly gone through that. I'm pretty stressed out at the moment (Junior year coming to a close, SATs, college applications, generally deciding upon my future) and I feel like I just can't handle people putting me down any more (I've been taking that for 3 years of my life). So if I feel that someone is treating me badly, I speak out against it. As anyone would.

 

 

 

 

Again, I hope that we can put this behind us and get back to a real, unheated discussions. I think I'm going to get an ulcer from these threads....! LMFAO! I certainly will forgive and forget.

 

Yep, definitely feeling for yah, as I am too a Junior. Damn future, haha.

It's crazy the amount of pressure and competition they put on you nowadays..... Nothing like what our parents went through.... Holy crap.