Muhammad Ali Jr says airport detention made him feel 'violated'
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Muhammad Ali's son has described feeling "violated" when immigration officials questioned him about his religion at a Florida airport.
Mr Ali and his mother, Khalilah Camacho Ali, said they were pulled aside and separated from each other on February 7 at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport as they returned from a trip to Jamaica for a Black History Month event.
Mr Ali, 44, said he was detained for about two hours, despite telling customs officials that he was the boxing great's son and a native-born US citizen.
He showed officials his passport and driver's license, said attorney Chris Mancini, a family friend.
"I was just appalled," Muhammad Ali Jr told AP in a phone interview. "I'm a US citizen and they're asking me, what is my religion?"
"I felt like I was religiously profiled.
"I felt violated."
US Customs and Border Protection spokesman Daniel Hetlage confirmed that Mr Ali was held for questioning by customs officers, but said "it wasn't because he's a Muslim and it wasn't because of his Arabic-sounding name".
The agency said in a statement that its officers processed more than 1.2 million international travellers daily, with "vigilance and in accordance with the law".
It said it did not discriminate based on religion, race, ethnicity or sexual orientation.
"We treat all travellers with respect and sensitivity," it said.
'We're having to fight for our humanity all over again'
Mr Ali and his mother said it was the first time they had been asked if they were Muslims when re-entering the United States.
His father, a three-time heavyweight boxing champion, became famous outside the ring as a civil rights champion. After his conversion to Islam, Ali refused to enter the military during the Vietnam War as a conscientious objector.
His decision resulted in a draft-evasion conviction, and he was stripped of his heavyweight crown.
Ali's legal fight ended in 1971, when the US Supreme Court ruled in his favour.
Ali died last June at age 74 after a long battle with Parkinson's disease.
Mr Ali said his treatment by the customs officials was the kind of wrong his father fought against.
"It's like history is repeating itself," he said.
"We're having to fight for our humanity all over again. And now they're sticking the religion on it."
Camacho Ali said she was detained for about half an hour and questioned about her religion and background.
"I was in a state of shock," she said.
"They started asking me about 'where did you get your name and where were you born and what religion are you?'"
While detained, she said she pulled out a half-century-old photo of her and Ali on their first date.
The customs officials gave no reason for their detention and no apology when they were released, Mr Ali and his mother said.
"They said, 'You're free to go,'" Mr Ali said.
"I was free to go as soon as I got here."
AP
Topics: immigration, community-and-society, united-states
