US entry rules worry Asian Muslims

Whether to press an inky fingerprint for an indelible record and gain entry to the US is a question facing many Asians after Washington impo...

Whether to press an inky fingerprint for an indelible record and gain entry to the US is a question facing many Asians after Washington imposed tight new rules this week.

Some may wonder whether doing business, even taking aholiday to see the Statue of Liberty, is worth the tedious, time-consuming and probably humiliating process of entering a US gripped by fears of a new wave of September 11-style attacks.

‘‘I promised myself that I would not travel to the US until they learn the difference between terrorists and Muslims,’’ veteran former Malaysian newspaper Editor Datuk Kadir Jasin told Singapore’s Straits Times after three hours of interrogation this year at Des Moines International Airport in the central state of Iowa.

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‘‘Anything Bush says that this is a war not against Muslims but against terrorism is seen as a load of hogwash,’’ Jasin said.

At the very least the new US policy could prompt allegations of racism. Such charges could slice through the international support that Washington needs to retain and nurture in its fight against terror and that is already being put to the test as it seeks backing around the world for a war against Iraq.

‘‘At first there was just al Qaeda, but now suddenly it is being linked in the most tortuous way possible to Iraq and that is leading to possible conspiracy theories about a much larger American agenda,’’ an Asia based analyst said. ‘‘Many people immediately say that this is a way to avoid asking questions about which parties or interests have the most to gain from a war — say oil or the US military industrial complex.’’

The US will fingerprint, photograph and register foreign visitors in an anti-terrorism policy that has angered Arab groups and some nations. The programme was launched in part on September 11, a year after the attacks, and put fully into effect around the world on Tuesday, with officials focusing on citizens of certain countries or those who fit a specific profile. (Reuters)