BREAKING NEWS

Muslim group: More pilgrims' passports delayed

WASHINGTON — A Muslim civil rights group said Tuesday it's concerned that the US government is delaying the shipment of passports to those who are trying to make religious pilgrimages to Saudi Arabia.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations raised the issue after a northern Virginia mosque reported that 17 people missed their flight to Saudi Arabia when their passports were temporarily seized. The US Customs and Border Patrol bought replacement tickets for those passengers, the mosque said.
On Tuesday, the council said it had learned of three other packages sent via UPS from California containing pilgrims' passports with hajj visas — for travel to Mecca — being held up by security checks or government seizure.