Take a ride on the short bus
Well the facts are starting to come to light concerning the Imam's on that USAirways flight. Apparently this has happened to some of them before, so they knew it was going to trigger a reaction. Maybe they should take the short bus. Any questions?
By Audrey Hudson
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Published November 29, 2006
| Advertisement |
Air marshals, pilots and security officials yesterday expressed concern that airline passengers and crews will be reluctant to report suspicious behavior aboard for fear of being called "racists," after several Muslim imams made that charge in a press conference Monday at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
Six imams, or Muslim holy men, accused a US Airways flight crew of inappropriately evicting them from a flight last week in Minneapolis after several passengers said the imams tried to intimidate them by loudly praying and moving around the airplane. The imams urged Congress to enact laws to prohibit ethnic and religious "profiling."
Federal air marshals and others yesterday urged passengers to remain vigilant to threats.
"The crew and passengers act as our additional eyes and ears on every flight," said a federal air marshal in Las Vegas, who asked that his name not be used. "If [crew and passengers] are afraid of reporting suspicious individuals out of fear of being labeled a racist or bigot, then terrorists will certainly use those fears to their advantage in future aviation attacks."
But Rabiah Ahmed, spokeswoman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), said Muslims "have to walk around on eggshells in public just because we don't want to be misconstrued as suspicious. You have to strike a balance between legitimate fears which people may have, but not allow passengers to have so much discretion that they can trigger a process that would violate a traveler's basic civil rights." "Because one person misunderstood the actions of other law-abiding citizens, they were able to trigger a very long and daunting process for other travelers that were pulled off the plane in handcuffs and detained for many hours before they were cleared."
The imams say they were removed from the Phoenix-bound flight because they were praying quietly in the concourse. They had been in Minnesota for a conference sponsored by the North American Imams Federation. But other passengers told police and aviation security officials a different version of the incident. They said suspicious behavior of the imams led to their eviction from the flight. The imams, they said, tested the forbearance of the passengers and flight crew in what the air marshal called a "[political correctness] probe."
"The political correctness needs to be left at the boarding gate," the marshal said. "Instilling politically correct fears into the minds of airline passengers is nothing less than psychological terrorism."
The passengers and flight crew said the imams prayed loudly before boarding; switched seating assignments to a configuration used by terrorists in previous incidents; asked for seat-belt extensions, which could be used as weapons; and shouted hostile slogans about al Qaeda and the war in Iraq. Flight attendants said three of the six men, who did not appear to be overweight, asked for the seat-belt extensions, which include heavy metal buckles, and then threw them to the floor under their seats.
Robert MacLean, a former federal air marshal, expressed the fear yesterday that the situation "will make crews and passengers in the future second-guess reporting these events, thus compromising the aircraft's security out of fear of being labeled a dogmatist or a bigot, or being sued." Flight attendants said they were concerned that the way the imams took seats that were not assigned to them -- two seats in the front row of first class, exit seats in the middle of the plane and two seats in the rear -- resembled the pattern used by September 11 hijackers, giving them control of the exits.
A Minneapolis police officer and a federal air marshal who were called to the plane after the imams refused to leave the plane for questioning said "the seating configuration, the request for seat-belt extensions, the prior praying and utterances about Allah and the United States in the gate area ... was suspicious." One pilot for a competing airline said the incident would have a chilling effect on the flight crews. "The flight crew may be a little more gun-shy about approaching people, they may have a higher standard for the next few weeks for screening unusual behavior. I hope that's not the case, because I do think US Airways did the proper thing."
Andrea Rader, spokeswoman for US Airways, said its employees "are going to do what is appropriate" to ensure that airplanes are safe and will not be dissuaded by uproar over last week's incident. "I don't think people will be less vigilant as a result of this, and I think that's appropriate. There is a balance, and I think we will continue to achieve that. Our crews and people on the airplanes are going to watch for behavior that raises concerns." Many airports offer private rooms for prayer, but CAIR's Miss Ahmed said travelers required to arrive at airports two hours in advance to go through security inspections are too exhausted and must pray at the gate.
"It's convenient to check in then get to the gate and pray there," she said.
Comment(s) »
» Leave a comment
- Your E-mail address is never displayed. If you enter it, it will only be visible to the blog author
- Since there already are over 25 comments to this post, your eventual comment will no longer trigger a notification e-mail to the persons that commented before you.
- The line and paragraph breaks automatically
Comment by Barry G.— 2006/11/29 @ 02:20 PM — (Reply)
Comment by jim— 2006/11/29 @ 03:16 PM — (Reply)
Comment by Elmers Brother— 2006/11/29 @ 06:15 PM — (Reply)
...I can't wait until the Moslem's threaten to stop riding airplanes throughout the country.
This isn't the Montgomery Bus Strike.
Comment by Farmer John— 2006/11/30 @ 01:26 AM — (Reply)
Can you say DRY RUN?
I fly a couple of times a year and am one of those who would prefer to drive, I'm usually a little "on edge" when flying........any Islamist that twitches on my flight is going get my 'full attention' . If he does not like that then stay home or be civil when traveling with the infidels .
Comment by Joe Gringo— 2006/11/30 @ 03:55 AM — (Reply)
We all know how litigious our society is... A little bit of "discrimination," and those boobs are set for life.
Comment by Brooke— 2006/11/30 @ 05:42 AM — (Reply)
CAIR would like us to believe that the removal of six imans from a U.S. Airways flight was a violation and abuse of their religious beliefs.
They demand an investigation into the actions of security personnel and US Airways crew members who were only acting to protect the security of the aircraft, the crew and the passengers.
The imans originally refused to leave the plane then they chanted 'Allah' as they were escorted from the flight. In addition:
• Asked for seat-belt extensions even though a flight attendant thought they didn't need them.
• Refused request by the pilot to disembark for more screening.
Also, three of the man had only one-way tickets and no checked baggage.
Police had to forcibly remove the men from the flight.
The evening prayer or Salat al-Jama’is a communal prayer but should be performed in relative privacy to avoid staring from non-Muslims.
The imans deliberately made a show of their prayer.
The only reason I can think of doing this was to purposely attract attention.
When entering the aircraft, the six paired off and sat in unassigned seats.
Nihad Awad, CAIR's executive director, said in a news release today that the organization is "concerned that crew members, passengers and security personnel may have succumbed to fear and prejudice based on stereotyping of Muslims and Islam."
CAIR is calling for a boycott of the airline. If all Muslims follow suit, I know which airline I will feel safest flying.
Comment by American Crusader— 2006/11/30 @ 06:44 AM — (Reply)
AC- I agree! It should be the safest airline after that!
Brooke- You know where any money won would go!
Good on the airline! And CAIR can suck hind t*t!
tmw
armpit EB???????????
Comment by the merry widow— 2006/11/30 @ 08:48 AM — (Reply)
Comment by Barry G.— 2006/11/30 @ 01:03 PM — (Reply)
Comment by Barry G.— 2006/11/30 @ 01:22 PM — (Reply)
This was done on purpose I believe. They couldn't be that stupid....either they are checking the system (to see if they can actually get away with such acts) or they are just plain retards. If it's the former perhaps they should be arrested and investigated. Flying while Muslim should raise anybody's eyebrows nowadays.
Comment by Florian— 2006/11/30 @ 02:21 PM — (Reply)
Comment by Ernie Els— 2006/11/30 @ 02:28 PM — (Reply)
okay - one more time:
P U T E L A L I N C H A R G E O F
O U R A I R L I N E S ! ! !
they've expressed a desire to oversee their own security in the u.s. a few months ago - let them have all our friendly skies - i'd feel much safer flying.
joe g. - i pity the izzie who'd have a nervous twitch in my presence on an airplane!
patrol
Comment by nanc— 2006/12/01 @ 04:08 AM — (Reply)
eb,
I found a way out of my predicament. I just blamed it all on YOU. Can we still be friends?
Comment by Farmer John— 2006/12/01 @ 04:41 AM — (Reply)
FJ, why not everybody else does.
Comment by elmers brother— 2006/12/01 @ 05:06 AM — (Reply)
Thanks, eb. No more spittin' for a while. I promise.
Comment by Farmer John— 2006/12/01 @ 05:58 AM — (Reply)
btw - I hung you out to dry at longrange. I didn't mean to speak for you, I just volunteered you to be hung out to dry cuz I thought youda wanted it that way. ;-)
Comment by Farmer John— 2006/12/01 @ 06:01 AM — (Reply)
Comment by Elmers Brother— 2006/12/01 @ 05:03 PM — (Reply)
IM ABOUT TO FLY FOR THE FIRST TIME..IM SOOOO NERVOUS...AND AFTER READING EVERYONES COMMENTS...WHY CANT WE HAVE A MUSLIM-FREE AIRLINE...THEY WOULD GET MY BUISNESS!..WE OWE THEM NOTHING..THIS IS AMERICA...IF THEY DONT LIKE IT THEY CAN GO BACK HOME AND BLOW THEMSELVES UP
Comment by alison— 2008/05/16 @ 10:45 AM — (Reply)
Comment by Elmers Brother— 2008/05/16 @ 10:51 AM — (Reply)
Comment by jim— 2008/05/16 @ 03:46 PM — (Reply)