Customs officials reportedly asked Ali Jr., repeatedly, ?Where did you get your name from?? and ?Are you Muslim??
The son of Muhammad Ali, 44-year-old Muhammad Ali Jr., was reportedly detained at Florida?s Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport earlier this month for several hours and, according to friend and attorney Chris Mancini, was asked repeatedly if he was Muslim (as if the name Muhammad Ali suggested he might be a Quaker).
According to the Louisville Courier-Journal, Ali Jr. and his mother, Khalilah Camacho-Ali, were returning from Montego Bay, Jamaica, where they had gone to a Black History Month event on February 7. All went well until they arrived in the U.S., where they were detained by customs officials and, because of their Arabic-sounding names, were given the third-degree.
Camacho-Ali, Ali?s second wife, was released after showing officials a photograph of herself with Muhammad Ali, who the customs officials oddly enough recognized. But the same courtesy was not extended to her son, who was born in Philadelphia and holds a U.S. passport. He was allegedly held for close to two hours while he was drilled about his name, place of birth, and of course his religion, Mancini said. The officials reportedly asked Ali Jr., over and over again, ?Where did you get your name from?? and ?Are you Muslim??
Given how beloved Muhammad Ali is, at least in some quarters, this bit of profiling backfired (not that it will make much difference). When questioned about harassing the son of ?The Greatest,? a spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, resorting to official-speak, said, ?Due to the restrictions of the Privacy Act, U.S. Customs and Border Protection cannot discuss individual travelers; however, all international travelers arriving in the U.S. are subject to CBP inspection.?
Strengthening the already strong hand of law enforcement is supposed to protect us from the boogiemen at the gates, but I?m not convinced that it?s working, or that that is even the intent.
