Muslim Group: More Pilgrims' Passports Delayed

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A Muslim civil rights group is concerned that the U.S. government is delaying the shipment of passports to those making 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 mosque says the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol bought replacement tickets for those passengers.

The council says it has learned of three other packages containing pilgrims' passports being held up by security checks or government seizure. It worries that Muslims are being singled out.

The reports follow the foiling of an al-Qaida mail bomb plot last month involving two explosive packages shipped from Yemen.

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