Ex-Marine’s email to Muslim cleric for family advice lands him on no-fly list

A 31 year-old former U.S. Marine in Illinois was put in the controversial no-fly list for exchanging emails -- he was seeking advice on raising children in an interfaith home -- with a Muslim cleric being monitored by the FBI.

According to the Associated Press, Abe Mashal, a Muslim with a Christian wife, first discovered he was on the list last April when he tried to board a flight to Spokane, Washington for his job as a dog trainer -- and he says that he's lost business because he hasn't been able to fly. Mashal claims federal agents told him they'd take him off the list only if he agreed to go undercover to spy on mosques for them.

The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit against the government on his behalf, as well as that of 16 others who believe they've been unjustly placed on the list.