Imams, ministers and a rabbi staged a “pray-in” here at Reagan National Airport yesterday morning, demanding an apology from US Airways for removing six imams from a flight last week.
They also called on Congress to combat religious and racial profiling.
“Whether it’s driving while black, flying while Muslim or traveling with a Torah, racial and religious profiling is not acceptable in America,” said Mahdi Bray, executive director of the Falls Church, Va.-based Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation. “I believe we can protect the safety of our nation and still treat our Muslim citizens fairly.”
The removal of the six imams from the Minneapolis-to-Phoenix flight after several passengers reported “suspicious” behavior – and US Airways’ refusal the next day to let the men board another flight even after police had cleared them – has become a cause celebre in the civil liberties and civil rights communities.
One of the detained imams, Omar Shahin, has called for a boycott of the financially beleaguered airline. Two Muslim advocacy groups are asking for congressional hearings on religious and racial profiling. And US Airways and the Department of Homeland Security’s Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties are reviewing the incident.
The imams, who were returning from a religious conference before Thanksgiving, laid out mats and prayed in the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. After boarding the flight and attracting additional notice for purportedly making anti-U.S. comments, among other things, they were escorted off the plane, handcuffed and questioned for several hours by federal and local law enforcement officials.
A spokeswoman from US Airways denied that the pilot’s decision was based on the men’s praying.
“Praying was never the issue,” Andrea Rader said. “Some customers thought they heard them making pro-Saddam or anti-U.S. statements. And then, when they got on the plane and were seated in different areas, they appeared to be moving about a lot. One asked for seatbelt extenders although he didn’t appear to need them. All that gave rise to concerns among customers.”
But while defending the pilot’s “on-the-spot” judgment to remove the men for questioning, Rader called the decision to bar the men from flights the following day “a miscommunication over their boarding status that we are still trying to sort out.
“We’re sorry that they were inconvenienced the next day,” she said.
Isaac Yeffet, a former Israeli security chief, defended the pilot’s decision as the right one under the circumstances – based on the men’s behavior, not their religion: “If you are about to fly and you see me behaving abnormally, would you accept that risk after 9/11, especially if you are traveling with your children?”
Bray, however, said that as an African-American, “I know very intimately about other people’s lack of comfort with me and how that can be connected to irrational fears.
“No one wants to jeopardize airline safety, but the standard is so subjective that it leaves open the airline’s ability to validate someone’s irrational fears. And that isn’t right.”
(Newsday)
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11 Responses
This is absolute craziness. We do not learn from 9/11 that no Moo-slim is to be trusted? Look anywhere in the world, and where you see strife, bombings and fights: THEY ALL INVOLVE MOO-SLIMS! If you know that you are by default suspect, don’t do things, like laying out carpets and praying, in public. Who knows what these people were? Scouts? A dry run? Just a test to see how far their complaints can get, and if perhaps they can change the policy to allow for weakening the security process? While I admit they may be perfectly innocent, it certainly raises questions.
And another thing: When will the poor civil libertarians finally get off their high horse and admit that racial profiling is necessary in the US? Another 9/11? Two more? The Israelis don’t give a darn about racial profiling. They will single anyone and everyone out if they have to. The security process is so successful in Israel because… that’s right… they RACIALLY PROFILE!
From what I have heard, I would justify the pilot’s reaction. (Perhaps there is more information I have not received.) But one wonders why the imams, who claim to know full well just how much they are discriminated against, weren’t more careful while onboard to not do anything that could arouse suspicion or anger against them. Granted, it may be unfair (and it may not be, at that), that they have are always suspected and hated (due, one conjectures, to the overflowing love for mankind that their religion preaches), but since the fact remains that people think of them that way, wouldn’t it just be wise to be a little more discreet and quiet? Jews know what that’s like. Yes, it’s certainly unfair in our case, but nevertheless during most of the previous century we knew to be discreet and not get people suspicious of us in punlic. At home, we did what we wanted. Those are simply the facts of life, as unfortunate as it may be.
According to some reports that I read, they did not sit in their assigned seats, but rather divided up: two sat in the front of first class, two sat in the middle of economy near the the exit and two sat in the back near an emergency exit. According to the reports this was the seating pattern used by the highjackers on the 9/11. One pilot explained that those seats give them control of all the exits on the plane. In addition people claim they heard them talking about Bush, Iraq, and Al-Queida. Some reports say they were praying in the terminal and made sure to say the word Allah very loud repeatedly. Sure they may be innocent but when you make certain moves you can expect to get in trouble. It is sort of like making a joke about bombs: although you were JUST KIDDING, you cant cry anti semitism when they take you off the plane!!!
If they didn’t intend to make a scene, and push the envelope so to speak, they could have told the stewerdess they wanted to pray and there would have been no incident. But these guys were delibrately being provacative, and this is exactly what they wanted: to be “discriminated” against so that they can get more publicity. I hope the airline and the US Gov. don’t back down on this. Let them learn a lesson that an arrogant Muslim doesn’t get his way in America. This isn’t London!
The whole thing was a set up and the FBI should investigate. We should not roll out the red carpet for these muslims (like the liberals in this country are doing), but rather kick them out of our beautiful country.
What’s the rabbi doing in this mess? He should keep out, Because being nice to Muslems will never pay off.
Must have been a Neturei Karta “Rabbi”.
yishmael , get out of our country. Racial profiling is 100% necessary. This country is going to go down the toilet if they allow anyone to do anything that they want.
Regarding the comment from esg78, whats the sheiches to london. I think thats a sort of racist remark! Anyway regarding muslims, i treat them as noise so lets not make a big thing out of this!
Lipa, Racist against London?
To ac123: Speaking as a Jew in a time of galus, I wish to gently remind you that this is not “our” country. I say this, mindful of the fact that the Torah telsl us that we must be patriotic. So to a degree we must call this “our countyry,” but we must never lose sight of the fact that we are all in galus, no matter where we are, and we don’t REALLY have all the rights that the goyim have, and we never will until Moshiach comes. In the USA, as in Eretz Yisrael, and everywhere in the world, any equal rights we seem to have are an illusion, and can be ripped away from us in the blink of an eye. Of course I hope and pray it doesn’t happen, and that Moshiach comes without any more pain to any Jew. We’ve certainly had enough pain. Zol shoin zein der Ge’ulah!