Islamophobia: US rejects British Muslim newlyweds - Group says Islamophobia on the rise
26 July 2017
US rejects British
newlyweds, bride believes it is because husband is Muslim
A British woman says she believes she and her husband were prevented from
enjoying their dream Hawaiian honeymoon because her groom is Muslim.
Natasha Politakis, 29, and husband Ali Gul, were headed for the Pacific island
on their $9,130 trip when they were detained by authorities in Los Angeles,
before being put on a plane back to the UK.
Gul, who is of Turkish origin, was described in the MailOnline as a
“successful estate agent.”
Despite having the relevant paperwork, including a visa for the US, they were
told they would be interviewed for “five minutes,” but according to the report
they were held for more than a day.
“I am in utter shock that this has happened. We had just got married, we were
on our way to our honeymoon as excited as anything and never expected that we
would be deported,” Politaksi said.
“We were treated like criminals and we had all the relevant documentation and
answered all their questions. It’s not okay to treat people like that.”
She said she was convinced that with Donald Trump in power, the immigration
officers “took one look at his name, thought he was Muslim and didn’t let him
in.”
She said that when they asked why they were being questioned officers
handcuffed them and confiscated their phones.
They did not get their phones back, she said, until the plane landed in the
UK.
British passport holder, Gul, told the website that his business partner had
previously applied for eight Estas, the visa issued to Britons traveling to
the US, for his stag-party but all were rejected.
He said he had eventually been granted a 10-year visa, but this was canceled
after the ordeal and they eventually got their passports back with a stamp
that read: “Refused in accordance with INA section 217.”
But added: “I didn’t ask for the 10-year visa, I just wanted to go on this
holiday but I assumed it was the right one.”
The experience has left the newlyweds $9,130 out of pocket.
The website added that it had tried to contact the US embassy about the
incident, but had not received a response.
Group says Islamophobia on the rise
Dozens gathered in White Plains this weekend for an event aimed at countering
Islamophobia.
Two local Muslim leaders spoke to people at the Ethical Culture Society on
Saxon Wood Road on Sunday.
Officials from the Westchester Coalition Against Islamophobia say subjects
like women in Islam and jihad are frequently misunderstood.
They also say anti-Muslim hostility is on the rise nationwide. "Organizations
like ISIS and so on are confusing their beliefs with the beliefs of all
Muslims [that] they are [a] radical group; Muslims do not agree with them,
they do not support them in any way, but it has been heightened much more
since [President] Donald Trump came in," says WCAI Committee member Khusro
Elley.
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