Muslim NJ mayor cries 'Islamophobia' after WH denies him entry to Ramadan event

The Muslim mayor of a New Jersey city is complaining of Islamophobia in federal agencies after the Secret Service refused to admit him to a White House Ramadan event to which he was invited.

Prospect Park Mayor Mohamed Khairullah said the incident "reeks of Islamophobia by certain federal agencies," in a Monday evening Facebook post lamenting the development.

He told Axios that he received a phone call while en route to the festivities informing him that the Secret Service could not approve security clearance for him to attend the event.

Eid al-Fitr is a major festival in the Muslim faith, marking the end of the period of fasting known as Ramadan.

Khairullah has since heard from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), who informed him that his name was on an FBI terrorism watch list and had been since 2019.

The New Jersey politician was detained at John F. Kennedy International Airport that year, per Axios. 

"I have been experiencing travel difficulties since 2019, which I thought were resolved two years ago... Only to find out today that I'm still on some type of government list," he said of the matter. Khairullah has been a U.S. citizen since 2000.

The Secret Service told the outlet that while "we regret any inconvenience this may have caused, the mayor was not allowed to enter the White House complex this evening."

The agency did not specify the specific reason it was unable to admit Khairullah.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on Twitter.