WASHINGTON: A Muslim security guard at the Madison Hotel was told to stay away from the 10th floor of the hotel during a recent stay there by a senior Israeli official, a Muslim advocacy group said the other day.

Stephen Bello, the general manager at the Madison, confirmed that the guard, Ahmed Kadi Haji, was asked to avoid the floor. But he said the request was made by security units guarding the visiting foreign dignitary, whose name and nationality he declined to disclose.

The Israeli Embassy confirmed that Israeli Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz stayed at the hotel on a visit to Washington the second week of March, during which he met with several senior US officials. The incident involving Haji occurred on March 10.

Bello said that security units for visiting foreign officials are provided a list of all hotel employees and their Social Security numbers so they can conduct background checks.

In this instance, Bello said, the hotel followed this procedure, and the security unit subsequently asked that Haji avoid the floor where the guest was staying.

Bello noted that Haji's hours and pay were not affected. He said he has "an obligation to all the employees of this hotel to treat everyone fairly and equally."

Bello also said the hotel has an obligation to its guests. "If we're asked by a government official to comply with their wishes, we would attempt to do that," he said, adding that "we as a company would not single anyone out for any reason that way."

Haji, a US citizen who was born in Ethiopia and lives in College Park, Md., did not return messages left at his home and cell phone on Wednesday.

"We are concerned that an American citizen may have been singled out for discriminatory treatment based solely on his religion and ethnicity," said Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which reported the incident. Awad called for an investigation and an apology to Haji.-Dawn/The LAT-WP News Service (c) The Washington Post.