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You can no longer wire money to anyone named Mohammed

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pocketfluff

Joined: 30 May 2006
Location: Washington, DC (school) and Los Angeles, CA (home)

Posted: Fri Jul 07, 2006 7:57 am Post subject: You can no longer wire money to anyone named Mohammed

Well, that's a bit of an exaggeration, but read on:

Entire story here.

Quote:

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- Money transfer agencies have delayed or blocked thousands of cash deliveries on suspicion of terrorist connections simply because senders or recipients have names like Mohammed or Ahmed, company officials said.

In one example, an Indian driver here said Western Union prevented him from sending $120 to a friend at home last month because the recipient's name was Mohammed.

"Western Union told me that if I send money to Sahir Mohammed, the money will be blocked because of his name," said 36-year-old Abdul Rahman Maruthayil, who later sent the money through UAE Exchange, a Dubai-based money transfer service.

In a similar case, Pakistani Qadir Khan said Western Union blocked his attempt this month to wire money to his brother Mohammed for a cataract operation.

"Every Mohammed is a terrorist now?" Khan asked.

...

In Washington, U.S. Treasury spokeswoman Molly Millerwise said foreign banks have used the department's list of terrorist names to freeze $150 million in assets since Sept. 11. Millerwise didn't know the value of money transfers blocked using the list, but said frustrations endured were regrettable but necessary.

"We have an obligation to do all we can to keep money out of the hands of terrorists," Millerwise said.

The list of names, available on the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control Web site, contains hundreds of Mohammeds.

Inconveniences from the screening go far beyond money transfers in the Middle East.

In the United States, banks, car dealers, title companies, landlords, and employers have used the list to unjustly block scores of ordinary transactions, said Shirin Sinnar, a San Francisco attorney with the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights.

In one case, a couple in Sacramento, Calif. was thwarted from purchasing a treadmill on a financing plan, simply because the husband's first name was Hussein, Sinnar said in an e-mail interview.

Brilliant business move, since Mohammed is only one of the most common names on the planet.

I guess it's a good thing that I'll be wiring money to a friend named Timothy. He's no threat, he's a white guy.

bigverne

Joined: 12 May 2004

Posted: Fri Jul 07, 2006 8:09 am Post subject:

Quote:

He's no threat, he's a white guy.

Unless of course he has converted to Islam.

pocketfluff

Joined: 30 May 2006
Location: Washington, DC (school) and Los Angeles, CA (home)

Posted: Fri Jul 07, 2006 8:16 am Post subject:

bigverne wrote:

Quote:

He's no threat, he's a white guy.

Unless of course he has converted to Islam.

Unless you were taking my joke to the next level, it looks like you, sir, need a reminder. I was refering to Timothy McVeigh. Wink

bucheon bum

Joined: 16 Jan 2003

Posted: Fri Jul 07, 2006 9:36 am Post subject:

i guess it took a miracle of god that I was able to wire money via western union to a mohammed in yemen. that was in 2004.

OiGirl

Joined: 23 Jan 2003
Location: Hoke-y-gun

Posted: Fri Jul 07, 2006 6:01 pm Post subject:

bucheon bum wrote:

i guess it took a miracle of god that I was able to wire money via western union to a mohammed in yemen. that was in 2004.

You are funding the terrorists, you know! Rolling Eyes

happeningthang

Joined: 26 Apr 2003

Posted: Fri Jul 07, 2006 8:07 pm Post subject:

Is it just me or is the "War of Terror" (loosely known as let's get Johhny Muslim) slipping into a state of hysteria resembling McCarthyism ??

I mean really it seems to be an over the top reaction, and blatantly racist at that, to deny services to someone because s/he's got a Muslim name. Which, has nothing to do with the state of their religious fervor.

Quote:

Critics say the screening is far too broad. The number of people inconvenienced in the Emirates alone, which closely cooperates with U.S. counterterror operations, is thought to be in the tens of thousands. One Western Union clerk said about 300 money transfers from a single Dubai franchise were blocked or delayed each day - none of which has turned up a terrorist link.
http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EMIRATES_MUSLIM_MONEY_LH1?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2006-07-06-09-28-24

It's not really a big deal to be inconvenienced but if it's becoming a trend aren't we about to convert to Big Vernism and damn one third of the world's population because of their backgrounds?? Spell it with me
I-G-N-O-R-A-N-T. Basis of, and required quality to be R-A-C-I-S-T.

Quote:

In Washington, U.S. Treasury spokeswoman Molly Millerwise said foreign banks have used the department's list of terrorist names to freeze $150 million in assets since Sept. 11. Millerwise didn't know the value of money transfers blocked using the list, but said frustrations endured were regrettable but necessary.

"We have an obligation to do all we can to keep money out of the hands of terrorists," Millerwise said.

The list of names, available on the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control Web site, contains hundreds of Mohammeds.

I don't know... Isn't it a bit disingenious to assume that a suspected terrorist mightn't ...I dunno... change his name?? I'm a terrorist - the enemy have my name - gee...should I keep using it and have money sent to me under that name? Anyone can see that these measures are going to be ineffective at best. Especially if it's only going to be adhered to by American companies, so what's the point of them?

Anyway sarkyness over with, here's the big questions...

Are these kind of reactions in proportion to the threat faced??

If so, can we assume that it's justified to start treating Muslims living in the west as suspects with diminished rights? Is there enough evidence to assume that that many of the muslim population is a potential threat?

OR

Are those terrorist minded jihadists just anouther criminal element that exist in any group of people?

jaganath69

Joined: 17 Jul 2003

Posted: Fri Jul 07, 2006 8:46 pm Post subject:

bigverne wrote:

Quote:

He's no threat, he's a white guy.

Unless of course he has converted to Islam.

Yep, I'm a big threat.

OiGirl

Joined: 23 Jan 2003
Location: Hoke-y-gun

Posted: Sat Jul 08, 2006 7:45 pm Post subject:

happeningthang wrote:

Is it just me or is the "War of Terror" (loosely known as let's get Johhny Muslim) slipping into a state of hysteria resembling McCarthyism ??

No, it's not just you.

Ya-ta Boy

Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: Established in 1994

Posted: Sat Jul 08, 2006 8:06 pm Post subject:

Quote:

slipping into

I agree with the main point of your post, but want to quibble over your verb choice. Cool

I think 'plunge' would have been better.

pocketfluff

Joined: 30 May 2006
Location: Washington, DC (school) and Los Angeles, CA (home)

Posted: Sat Jul 08, 2006 8:18 pm Post subject:

Ya-ta Boy wrote:

Quote:

slipping into

I agree with the main point of your post, but want to quibble over your verb choice. Cool

I think 'plunge' would have been better.

How about 'snowballing'? Huh-huh-huh, she said 'snowballing'

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