Four days ago, I attempted to wire some money via Western Union and one of their representatives specifically told me in the end that the transaction was completed succesfully without any problems. Oddly enough, they contacted me on the same day saying that I have to provide proof of ID to confirm my identity and place of birth. Since I have never used Western Union before; I assumed that it was some sort of security check for first time customers so I complied with the request. I faxed them my passport and rang them 3 hours later to inquire about the status of my order. They told me that they have forwarded the 'case' to the Legal Department in USA. Upon asking why, they told me that your first name, which is the common name (Muhammad), appeared on the US watchlist and they told me that it can take months before you are cleared. I politely asked them that I cannot wait months and that I wanted a refund. They replied saying that they cannot release the money until the Legal Department in USA releases your case. I hung up and googled if there were similiar cases.
To my suprise, a similiar (reported) incident happend in the USA a few years ago.
Western Union Money Transfer Harasses Muslims
Washington: The Council for American-Muslim Relations (CAIR) has alleged harassment campaign against Muslim customers by Western Union Money Transfer, a company that deals with money transfer across cities and nations. CAIR, alleged that Western Union seizes money being transferred by Muslim customers and launches investigations into credentials of persons whose names carry prefixes or suffixes such as Mohammad, Ahmed, Ali etc. Recently when a black Muslim American named Mohammad Ali transferred money from New York to Connecticut, an officer from Western Union insisted on his submitting a photograph as his name was Mohammad Ali. Mohammad Ali protested and wanted return of the money, but the company said the money would not be given back unless he submitted a photograph. Wendy Herbert, a spokeswoman of Western Union said the seizure of the money was in accordance with the American laws. She said that such laws were specifically applied against names bearing Mohammad or Ali etc. Mohammad Ali got back his money a day after he submitted his photograph. CAIR is seeking explanation from the Western Union as the American business laws do not allow discrimination on the basis of religion.
http://www.islamicvoice.com/april.2003/news.htm#wumWashington: The Council for American-Muslim Relations (CAIR) has alleged harassment campaign against Muslim customers by Western Union Money Transfer, a company that deals with money transfer across cities and nations. CAIR, alleged that Western Union seizes money being transferred by Muslim customers and launches investigations into credentials of persons whose names carry prefixes or suffixes such as Mohammad, Ahmed, Ali etc. Recently when a black Muslim American named Mohammad Ali transferred money from New York to Connecticut, an officer from Western Union insisted on his submitting a photograph as his name was Mohammad Ali. Mohammad Ali protested and wanted return of the money, but the company said the money would not be given back unless he submitted a photograph. Wendy Herbert, a spokeswoman of Western Union said the seizure of the money was in accordance with the American laws. She said that such laws were specifically applied against names bearing Mohammad or Ali etc. Mohammad Ali got back his money a day after he submitted his photograph. CAIR is seeking explanation from the Western Union as the American business laws do not allow discrimination on the basis of religion.
So I was wondering if anyone had any advice regarding this religious profiling and what should I do?
Jazaka'Allaahu khairun in advance
....PLace your trust in Allah. Have patience. I think i too agree with sister Halima's adice.
