Emirati man confronted by US police after false ISIS accusation
When Ahmed Al Menhali entered a hotel in one of Ohio's Cleveland suburbs, he simply wanted to find an available room.
He did not imagine it would end with him having what was possibly a stroke while being accosted by gun-toting police following false accusations that he was a member of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS).
"It's still not clear whether it was a stroke or not," Julia Shearson, director of the Cleveland chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) rights group, told Al Jazeera.
Menhali, a 41-year-old businessman and father of three from the United Arab Emirates, was in Cleveland for medical check-ups following health complications, including a previous stroke.
With most of the city's hotels fully booked due to the Republican National Convention, he decided to try his luck at the Fairfield Inn and Suites in Avon, lying just outside Cleveland.
When the front desk clerk said the hotel was also booked, Menhali, who was wearing a traditional white robe, requested some assistance finding a nearby extended-stay hotel where he could book a room for the duration of his medical procedures.
"She went off and texted her sister and said I pledged my allegiance to ISIS," Menhali told Al Jazeera, speaking through a friend due to his inability to speak properly following a previous stroke.
Her sister and father then called the 911 emergency service, and officers from the Avon Police Department arrived at the hotel quickly. Menhali was standing outside the hotel and speaking on the phone in Arabic when at least five police officers approached him.
The incident was caught on tape by one of an officer's body camera. It shows an officer hop out of his vehicle and load his rifle before running towards Menhali. The officers proceed to yell at him and put him on the ground.
He was handcuffed at first, but officers eventually removed them.
In the video, the officers ask Menhali about his mobile phones and identification cards several times. He eventually collapses to the ground. Emergency responders then load him on a gurney and take him to hospital.
"There was nothing to give you cause to think [I'm] a 'terrorist'," he said. "They told the police that I was pledging allegiance to ISIS, but [said] nothing about weapons. The police responded as if there were weapons."
Menhali added: "We’re consulting with lawyers and will decide where to go from there."
Speaking to the Dubai-based Gulf News news site, the UAE's Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that the Emirati government had contacted Menhali.
The minister also advised Emiratis "to refrain from wearing the national dress when travelling abroad and specifically in public spaces to ensure their safety".
The UAE's embassy in Washington DC did not reply to Al Jazeera's emails or phone calls.
The Avon Police Department provided Al Jazeera with a press release. Noting that the incident was still under investigation, the Press release mentions Menhali's attire several times and describes him as "an Arabic-speaking male" at one point.
After officers handcuffed Menhali and held him on the ground, the statement says, "contact was then made with the front desk clerk and it was learned that the male did not in fact make any statements related to ISIS".
CAIR's Shearson said the police statement appeared to demonstrate "bigotry and cultural unawareness".
"It's very concerning when they repeat the issue about his head dress ... they repeat it as if they’re justifying they're response because of the full head dress."
Describing the incident as just the latest in a pattern of soaring Islamophobia across the country, Shearson said: "This near hysteria [against Muslims] has been created by political candidates. It's irresponsible and dangerous."
In a statement to Al Jazeera on Sunday, Shearson said Avon City officials, including the mayor and the police chief met with Menhali "in order to apologise to him".
"They told him that he was 100% blameless in this matter, and that the incident absolutely should never have happened."
On Thursday, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump made his latest comment targeting Muslims when he said he will consider replacing hijab-wearing women who work in airport security with US military veterans.
A joint study between the University of California — Berkeley and CAIR found that more than $200m was spent by dozens of organisations on promoting "fear and hatred" of Muslims between 2008 and 2013.
Of the 74 groups identified in the report, 33 are groups "whose primary purpose is to promote prejudice against or hatred of Islam and Muslims".
Between 2013 and 2015, 10 states passed anti-Islam legislation and a total of 81 similar bills — almost exclusively by the right-wing Republican party — were proposed in the US.
A group of American Muslims and interfaith leaders plan to push back against the rising tide of discrimination by encouraging thousands to march against bigotry, "extremism" and gun violence in Washington DC on July 23.
Both Democrats and Republicans are to blame for the growing anti-Muslim sentiment, Shearson said.
"The American people need to be reassured that we aren't going to turn against strangers or the ordinary tourist and that we'll treat our guests with dignity and respect."
Courtesy: Aljazeera.com
This appalling international incident will not end with an apology from US authorities. Also, it casts a SPOTLIGHT over the embarrassing state of American law enforcement profession and over the US judicial system as to whether or not prosecution and eventual conviction of the false and malicious accuser can be consummated.
Well done to the UAE for standing up for their citizen and garnering an apology
//Why just Muslims are now the target and not Hindus, Jews or people from so many other religions? //
How naive are you Accaha....aren't our people on rampage almost everywhere. Have you seen any Hindu or Jew blowing himself in western countries. We better put our house in order than blaming others for our miseries.
It is just that people like Trump are taking advantage of the situation for electoral gains.
acchabaccha: Yes, the politicians are using this for their own gain - Trump for example.
However, there is also the case that most of the major incidents lately have been caused by Muslims or so called extremists with links to ISIL
Brit: The questions of the hour are: Why has there been so much hatred towards Muslims now developing? Is it not because of some political leaders and religious bigots playing their roles to keep their jobs intact by fanning the flames of hatred? Why just Muslims are now the target and not Hindus, Jews or people from so many other religions? Is this developing hatred against Muslims conspicuous mostly in the US and in India -- the world's two largest democracies? Will there be an end to this rising phenomenon? I do not believe so. Actions such as this one that took place in the US provide fodder to the jihadis.
Mufti: This guy was wearing a local dress.. I doubt whether anyone meaning to do harm would make himself stand out in such a manner.
Any way the authorities have apologised ..
I will give an example how tricky could it get. Long ago in Kashmir security forces got information about few Jihadis hiding in a village. Army men cordoned the whole area and the Jihadis took refuge in a mosque. Security forces didn’t want to harm the mosque so they requested fighters to surrender, but in vain. After the deadlock of almost 18 hours, security forces finally stormed the mosque and killed Jihadis. The next day there was hue and cry in the whole area that mosque was desecrated by govt. forces. People started calling security forces anti –Islam and so on.
So point is that sometimes security forces go overboard, it is only to protect the lives of others. People may allege anything. The truth is that they can’t afford to take chances anymore.
acchabaccha: The reaction is to be expected after the actions of the mindless minority.. You can't blame them..
However, the authorities also need to take a more balanced approach and not jump on the bandwagon of stereotyping
It just reflects the fear and hatred that has now been ingrained in the minds of US citizens against the Muslims and the Arabs. Thanks to Donald Trump & Co. Several years back, the name KHAN would ring bells in the minds of US nationals even in the government and security agencies simply because most people from Afghanistan and the northern areas of Pakistan have this as their surname. At the back of their minds, US agencies held a view that people with such surnames may be somehow linked to terrorism. I had pointed out this folly to a US national telling him that three top Indian film stars had KHAN attached to their names. I recall Shahrukh Khan was detained at a US airport due to the KHAN in his name.
The Americans have surely now begun to think and act weird. This action against an Emirati is ample proof of that.
Actions of Jihadis is putting every Muslim under scanner of security agencies. Nothing surprising, we should be ready for many more incidents like this.
Yes, the man/lady who lied about him being ISIL member should be prosecuted. You just cannot label someone terrorist based on no evidence, call police and then face no consequences.
This shows that the police can be over zealous and more importantly, there are idiots out there who would suspect anyone not familiar to them.
It also brings to the forefront the bigotry and idiocy of some people. The lady in question should be made to apologise and possibly prosecuted for her stupidity.