by Brandon Tensley, CNN
Watch CNN’s “Shine A Light,” a commercial-free 9/11 20th anniversary tribute, hosted by Jake Tapper and featuring musical performances by Maroon 5, H.E.R., Brad Paisley, and Common on Saturday, September 11 at 8 p.m. ET.
Washington (CNN)A version of this story appeared in CNN’s Race Deconstructed newsletter. To get it in your inbox every week, sign up for free here.He did nothing wrong, the man. He hadn’t engaged in illegal activity. But his innocence didn’t matter, he said, because he was Muslim.
Muhammad Tanvir, who was living lawfully in the US, said that, in 2007, FBI agents approached him and asked him to consider working as an informant against Muslims. Tanvir refused, but the FBI continued to pressure him over the next several years, eventually placing his name on the no-fly list, he said. Being on the list limited his ability to travel domestically, and made it impossible to travel abroad. He quit his job as a long-haul trucker because he couldn’t fly, and alleged that after he bought a ticket to visit his ailing mother in Pakistan, he wasn’t allowed to board.
