US border officers detained and interrogated the son of Muslim African-American Boxing legend Muhammad Ali about his religion after he flew back home from Jamaica, a family lawyer said.
“Where did you get your name from? Are you a Muslim?” American immigration agents asked 44-year-old Muhammad Ali Jr. -- a US citizen born in the city of Philadelphia – when he landed at a Florida airport earlier this month, local and British news outlets reported Saturday quoting his attorney.
When Muhammad Ali confirmed to immigration authorities at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood international airport that he was a Muslim, they began questioning him about where he was born, said family friend and lawyer Chris Mancini in an interview with local daily Courier-Journal, which noted that Ali’s interrogation lasted for nearly two hours.
Mancini further underlined that the February 7 incident marked the first time the family had been detained or questioned in such a way by US officers despite regular international travel.
The family regarded the incident as religious profiling in line with US President Donald Trump’s Islamophobic campaign pledge to establish a “Muslim ban” and his short-lived executive order banning citizens from seven Muslim-majority nations from entering the United States.
“To the Ali family, it’s crystal clear that this is directly linked to Mr. Trump’s efforts to ban Muslims from the United States,” Mancini emphasized, adding that they were trying to find out how many others faced similar questioning, and were contemplating filing a federal legal action.
The incident represents the latest in a string of complaints by other travelers against US immigration controls following Trump’s inauguration.
Editor's note: This article has been edited from the source material.
