US Marine Veteran declared security risk

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Registered: 06-15-2003
US Marine Veteran declared security risk
Wed, 09-01-2004 - 4:11am
" It's bad enough that we live in a country where one has to worry about driving

while black but now it seems we have to also worry about driving while Muslim," stated Mahdi Bray,Executive Director of MAS Freedom Foundation.


http://www.masnet.org/pressroom_release.asp?id=1569

African American Muslim, U.S. Marine Veteran With

Impeccable Record Declared Security Risk

Date Posted: Wednesday, August 25, 2004

http://www.masnet.org/pressroom_release.asp?id=1569

For Immediate Release

Contact: Mahdi Bray (202) 421-3623 or (202) 496-1288

African American Muslim, U.S. Marine Veteran With

Impeccable Record Declared Security Risk by Homeland

Security And Losing Transportation Job…..Why?

MAS Freedom Foundation Presses Secretary Ridge for

Answer and contacts NAACP, Congressional Black Caucus

and Civil Rights Groups

(Washington, 8/25/04) Bilal Mahmud, an African

American Muslim father of three and former U.S.

Marine, Vietnam Veteran has had his livelihood of 28

years taken away from him by the U.S. Department of

Homeland Security.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's

Transportation Security Administration TSA informed

Mahmud on July 30, 2004 that he "posed a security

threat" pursuant to Title 49C.F.R. section 1572.107.

This ambiguous classification "precludes individual

from holding a hazardous materials endorsement on a

CDL (commercial driver's license).

If the TSA determines or suspects an individual of

being a threat to National Security, to transportation

security, or of terrorism." The notification has

forced Mr. Mahmud to surrender his commercial driver's

license to the state of Georgia department of Motor

Vehicles and to lose his career of 28 years as a

commercial truck driver. The department of Homeland

Security has refused to inform Mahmud how or why he

has been classified as a security threat.

Mahmud has no criminal record, is a model citizen and

has been an exemplary employee of the same company for

over 20 years. "I have not had as much as traffic

ticket in 17 years. I served this country and risked

my life to protect it; I pay my taxes and vote. I do

everything a good citizen is supposed to do and this

is how I am treated. I truly don't understand how

they determine who is a threat and who is not. Does

being a Muslim and believing in God make you a threat

to the United States?

MAS Freedom Foundation has contacted the Secretary of

Homeland Security Tom Ridge, as well as the NAACP

members of the Congressional Black Caucus and

Congressman John Lewis who was placed on the TSA "no

fly" security list and could not get them to remove

his name. Additionally, Senator Ted Kennedy was also

having difficulty because his name was on TSA "no fly"

security list.

"I certainly plan to solicit the support of my friends

and allies in the civil rights community concerning

this case. National Security must never be the

pretext for discrimination. It's bad enough that we

live in a country where one has to worry about driving

while black but now it seems we have to also worry

about driving while Muslim," stated Mahdi Bray,

Executive Director of MAS Freedom Foundation.

Contact: Mahdi Bray (202) 421-3623 or (202) 496-1288