British-Muslim Singer Cancels US Shows Following Alleged Embassy Discrimination

Online, September 20, 2011 (Newswire.com) - Somali born singer Aar Maanta and his band were forced to cancel a concert performance, as well as two community workshops that were set to be the centerpiece of this year's Global Roots Festival. After visas were approved for the entire band, the US embassy in London unreasonably delayed processing Aar Maanta's visa beyond scheduled US flight dates, the Cedar Cultural Centre website reported on Monday.

Aar Maanta is a British citizen and has no history of problems with the law. But his middle name is "Mohammed" and he's the only member of his band who is a Muslim and a Somali - factors which he believes determine how you are treated when traveling. In 2010 he released a protest song about the mistreatment of Somalis by US and UK immigrations officials based on his own experiences.

Aar Maanta who has assembled a multinational band in his new home of London, was to be the main act on Thursday September 22nd, the third night of the festival which was set to honor travellers, migrations and their evolution of music. The event which takes place at the Twin Cities Cedar Cultural Centre was due to attract a lot of young Somalis from an area which recently had bad press associated with "external extremist recruitment" and "gang violence".

Cedar Cultural Centre director Robert Simonds said that the concert and workshops had aimed "to provide positive role models, particularly young males who embody tolerance and the successful integration of Somali immigrants into the fabric of the greater community. There are few better examples of this than Aar Maanta". In response to Aar's treatment by the US embassy he stated, "Something needs to change, because we've arrived at the point where aiming for greater security at all costs is actually shooting ourselves in the foot."