(JTA) — A member of a British Muslim family that was prevented from flying to the United States for a trip to Disneyland had been refused entry to Israel two years ago.
Eleven members of the family traveling together, two brothers and nine of their children, were not allowed to board a plane departing from Gatwick Airport on Dec. 15, London-based The Guardian reported.
U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials did not tell the family why they were not permitted to fly to the U.S. even though they had travel authorization documents.
A growing number of British Muslims are being barred from entering the U.S. without being told the reason, according to The Guardian.
CBS News quoted an unnamed Homeland Security department source as saying that one of the adult brothers had been refused entry into Israel two years ago and that his teenage son posted links to terrorist websites on his Facebook page. Department officials also told CBS that not all 11 family members were barred from the flight.
One of the family members told London’s LBC radio that his brother was denied entry to Israel a decade ago when he traveled with other men to visit the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.
“It’s because of the attacks on America. They think every Muslim poses a threat,” Mohammad Tariq Mahmood, one of the family members prevented from boarding the flight to the U.S., told The Guardian.
