In April of this year, Saadiq Long, a 43-year-old African-American Muslim who now lives in Qatar, purchased a ticket on KLM Airlines to travel to Oklahoma, the state where he grew up. Long, a 10-year veteran of the US Air Force, had learned that the congestive heart failure from which his mother suffers had worsened, and she was eager to see her son. He had last seen his mother and siblings more than a decade ago, when he returned to the US in 2001, and spent months saving the money to purchase the ticket and arranging to be away from work.

The day before he was to travel, a KLM representative called Long and informed him that the airlines could not allow him to board the flight. That, she explained, was because the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had placed Long on its "no-fly list", which bars him from flying into his own country.

Long has now spent the last six months trying to find out why he was placed on this list and what he can do to get off of it. He has had no success, unable to obtain even the most basic information about what caused his own government to deprive him of this right to travel.

He has no idea when he was put on this list, who decided to put him on it, or the reasons for his inclusion. He has never been convicted of any crime, never been indicted or charged with a crime, and until he was less than 24 hours away from boarding that KLM flight back to his childhood home, had received no notice that his own government prohibited him from flying.

As his mother's health declines, he remains effectively barred from returning to see her. "My mother is much too sick to come visit me, as she has difficulty now even walking very short distances," Long told me in an interview Sunday in Doha, the sleek, booming capital city of America's close Gulf ally, where the former Senior Airman and Staff Sergeant has lived for several years.

"I don't understand how the government can take away my right to travel without even telling me," he said. What is most mystifying to him is that he has spent the last decade living and working, usually teaching English, in three countries that have been very close and compliant US allies: Egypt, United Arab Emirates, and now Qatar. "If the US government wanted me to question or arrest or prosecute me, they could have had me in a minute. But there are no charges, no accusations, nothing."

As compelling as Long's story is, it is extremely common.

Guardian, 5 November 2012

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On Monday, November 19, representatives of the Oklahoma chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-OK) will meet a Muslim Air force veteran who had been barred from returning to Oklahoma when he finally arrives at Will Rogers World Airport.

"We welcome the positive development in this case and hope Mr. Long will not face any bureaucratic difficulties when he returns to his native land," said CAIR-OK Executive Director Adam Soltani.

Following intervention by CAIR-OK, Saadiq Long, a U.S. citizen and Air Force veteran living in Qatar, was allowed to board a Delta Airlines flight (3316) due to arrive at 5:02 p.m. on Monday. He has been struggling to return home for six months after being denied boarding on two previous flights to visit his terminally-ill mother, apparently because he had been placed on a government no-fly list.

CAIR press release, 18 November 2012

See also "Oklahoman on 'no fly' list allowed to fly home", KOCO.com, 18 November 2012

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A Queens man has been trapped in Europe for the last 17 days, says a civil rights group, because his name is allegedly on the no-fly list.

Samir Suljovic, 26, first tried to fly back home to New York from Vienna, Austria, on October 1. Airline agents told the New Yorker that he could not board a return flight at the request of his own government.

On Wednesday, the New York Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY) issued a statement that demands that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) allow Suljovic to return home from his current location, Germany.

Muneer Awad, executive director of the CAIR-NY, said he has no way to know whether this is a case of mistaken identity because he claims authorities have been unresponsive.

"This is not a unique case for American Muslims who have been traveling abroad," Awad told the Daily News. "He has no criminal record, he has never been charged with anything criminal. A Muslim happened to be traveling abroad and it raised a red flag for no other reason than that he is Muslim."

Suljovic tried to contact the DHS and CBP liaison at JFK International Airport but has not received a response, says the rights group. He was advised to ask for help from the Germany's U.S. embassy. But instead of support he was allegedly interrogated and his cell phone was searched without his consent.

"I cannot sleep, eat, and sometimes I feel like I can't breath [sic], knowing my son is homeless in a strange land and our government has done nothing to help us," Suljovic's mother was quoted by CAIR-NY as saying.

"This is an abuse of power by our federal agencies," said Awad. "Our government cannot ban American citizens from returning home without due process of law."

CAIR-NY sent a letter with its demands to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano, New York members of the U.S. Congress and the U.S. Embassy in Munich, Germany.

"The denial of Mr. Suljovic's right to return home without due process of law constitutes a grave violation of his civil rights and liberties," the letter reads. "Instead of protecting this young U.S. citizen while he traveled abroad, the government has effectively stranded him in an unfamiliar country without shelter or protection."

Suljovic, born and raised in Oakland Gardens, Queens, was attending Queensboro Community College, according to CAIR-NY's statement. He initially traveled to Europe to visit family and friends in Montenegro.

"He has never done anything wrong," his mother said. "He choses [sic] to be a good Muslim. That's not a crime in America."

New York Daily News, 17 October 2012

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An American-born Muslim student who was prevented from flying to San Diego from Costa Rica after being told his name was on the U.S. government no-fly list returned home Thursday evening after flying to Mexico and then walking across the pedestrian border crossing to his waiting family.

Kevin Iraniha, 27, was met by his father, Nasser, brothers Jahan and Shervin, and several representatives from the San Diego chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, including executive director Hanif Mohebi. The council came to Iraniha's aid this week after a friend referred the family to the organization, Mohebi said.

Iraniha was born and raised in San Diego and is a San Diego State University graduate. He graduated this week from a yearlong master's program in international law at the University for Peace in San Jose, Costa Rica. His father and brothers went to his graduation.

When they all went to the airport on Tuesday to return to San Diego, Iraniha was told he could not get a boarding pass for the flight. He was later told his name was on the no-fly list. He said he was questioned by an FBI agent about recent travels to Iran, and about trips to India and Egypt.

He said Thursday night that he had flown home in December for winter break, spending several weeks in San Diego, and had no problems.

Iraniha is a self-described peace activist. He said he was disappointed to be treated in a skeptical way that people in other countries "are really fighting" against.

U-T San Diego, 8 June 2012

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