January 18, 2003	Saturday	Ziqa'ad 14, 1423

LOS ANGELES, Jan 17: A national Muslim civil rights and advocacy group on Thursday called on Western Union, a leading US financial group, to clarify its policy on racial and religious profiling after receiving a report that the money transfer service demands to know the national origin and sought photo identification of customers named “Muhammad.”

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said a Muslim by that name recently attempted to send $80 to relatives in Connecticut from a Western Union site in Brooklyn, New York. After returning home, the African-American customer said he received a call from Western Union’s main office demanding that, because of his name, he must provide photo identification and state his country of birth, otherwise the funds would not be delivered. When the customer protested that policy and requested a refund, he was told that the funds would not be returned unless he met the company’s demands.

“Western Union must clarify whether this incident truly reflects company policy or is merely the product of individual prejudice and stereotyping.

CAIR said it responded by stating: “To single out customers transferring funds within the United States based solely on a religiously-specific name, and then to demand that they reveal their national origin, violates basic principles of equality that all Americans hold dear.”