US state apologises for issuing 'FMUSLMS' licence plate

The US state of Minnesota's Department of Public Safety apologised on Monday for issuing a licence plate that reads "FMUSLMS," local media reported.

A picture of the plate - which the department called "offensive and distasteful" - on the back of a red Chevy truck went viral on social media on Monday.

"The Department of Public Safety apologises for this error," a department statement said. "This personalised license plate should never have been issued."

Governor Mark Dayton said in a separate statement that he was "appalled that this license plate was issued by the state of Minnesota". 

"It is offensive, and the person who requested it should be ashamed. That prejudice has no place in Minnesota. I have instructed the Commissioner of Public Safety to retrieve this plate as soon as possible and re-review agency procedures to ensure it does not occur again.”

Though the licence plate only came to public attention in recent days, it was issued in June of last year in the town of Foley.

The head of Minnesota's chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said he was "extremely concerned" by the fact that the state issued the plate.

"In a personalised licence plate, there should be much more careful view because of a lot of people who want to create certain types of messages," executive director Jaylani Hussein told the local ABC news station.

The department's policy states that personalised licence plates must not include obscene or offensive content.

Minnesota has a sizeable Muslim population, with thousands of Somalis settling in the state starting in the mid-90s. In 2006, the state became the first to elect a Muslim congressman, Keith Ellison. 

The social media posts and news reports come amid increasing Islamophobia in the US, fuelled in part by Republican candidates in the ongoing presidential race.

President Barack Obama, in his first visit to a US mosque while in office, called anti-Muslim rhetoric "inexcusable" earlier this month.

“Islam has always been a part of America," he said. "You fit in here, right here. You’re right where you belong. You’re part of America, too. You aren’t Muslim or American. You are Muslim and American.”