Six Muslim imams removed from U.S. airliner

[steppinthrax]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15824096/

Why dosen't this surprise me?

 

[conjur]

I admit I'd be concerned, too. And if it's a requirement to pray at various times of the day, why didn't they ALL pray? Why only 3 of the 6?

I'm against profiling but these guys have to understand that actions such as that *will* cause nervousness among Americans, esp. on a freakin' plane!

 

[sandorski]

Passengers on a plane shouldn't have any say who stays or goes. Everybody went through Security, everybody on the plane has been cleared. If they don't like it, let them leave.

 

[athithi]

Originally posted by: conjur
I admit I'd be concerned, too. And if it's a requirement to pray at various times of the day, why didn't they ALL pray? Why only 3 of the 6?

I'm against profiling but these guys have to understand that actions such as that *will* cause nervousness among Americans, esp. on a freakin' plane!

I find it ironic that these Imams are complaining about Americans not knowing enough about Muslims/Islam while being totally oblivious to how their actions can seem strange and disconcerting to Americans, especially after 9/11. I have been profiled at airports and I hated it too. But I wasn't doing anything weird. For the most part, I don't even speak in my native tongue at public places when I am within earshot of others. I believe that is considered impolite in western culture and if I don't like it, I shouldn't have traveled all the way across the world to live in a western society. There's enough prejudice going around without these people having to conjure up imaginary ones. Stop acting weird and perhaps you won't be kicked out of the airplane the next time.

 

[Red Dawn]

Originally posted by: athithi

Originally posted by: conjur
I admit I'd be concerned, too. And if it's a requirement to pray at various times of the day, why didn't they ALL pray? Why only 3 of the 6?

I'm against profiling but these guys have to understand that actions such as that *will* cause nervousness among Americans, esp. on a freakin' plane!

I find it ironic that these Imams are complaining about Americans not knowing enough about Muslims/Islam while being totally oblivious to how their actions can seem strange and disconcerting to Americans, especially after 9/11. I have been profiled at airports and I hated it too. But I wasn't doing anything weird. For the most part, I don't even speak in my native tongue at public places when I am within earshot of others. I believe that is considered impolite in western culture and if I don't like it, I shouldn't have traveled all the way across the world to live in a western society. There's enough prejudice going around without these people having to conjure up imaginary ones. Stop acting weird and perhaps you won't be kicked out of the airplane the next time.

They have their fellow Muslims to thank for our paranoia.

 

[dmcowen674]

This is good news, at least Gays are not alone anymore in the U.S. of being hated and discrimnated against.

 

[ayabe]

Shucks, no taser involved. :thumbsdown:

 

[techs]

If passengers complained I was praying and the passengers considered that suspicious and then they ordered me off the plane, because I was Jewish, I wouldn't get off either.

 

[Forsythe]

Originally posted by: techs
If passengers complained I was praying and the passengers considered that suspicious and then they ordered me off the plane, because I was Jewish, I wouldn't get off either.

Oh man, people would freak about that.
It's disgusting they were thrown off.

 

[Gunslinger08]

Originally posted by: Red Dawn
They have their fellow Muslims to thank for our paranoia.

Hey, you may not be a racist, lazy, murdering, pedophile, but you have your fellow WASPs to thank for my paranoia.

You are no less ignorant than the people on the plane who notified the flight crew.

 

[DaWhim]

racial profiling saves time, I am all for it.

who knew if those guys were making their last prayer to Allah for their 72 virgins before hijacking the plane.

 

[MiniDoom]

It has happened to Jews before.

 

[steppinthrax]

I don't really think this will happen more with any other ethnicity then that of Arabic descent. Mainly with what happened in 9/11. If a group of Christians got on a plane and started praying it would all be normal because they don't fit the Profile. And the fact that certain people should keep a watch on what they do is ridicouls. It just reinforces the knowledge that people profile. We are living in a society today where the government and people will disregard the rights of a small few to protect the lives of the mass based on the feeling that there exist a possibility that group will do something illegal.

 

[cumhail]

Originally posted by: conjur
I admit I'd be concerned, too. And if it's a requirement to pray at various times of the day, why didn't they ALL pray? Why only 3 of the 6?

I'm against profiling but these guys have to understand that actions such as that *will* cause nervousness among Americans, esp. on a freakin' plane!

It is within specific periods of time for each of the five prayers. Those periods, furthermore, vary slightly from day to day, along with the varying lengths of the day. So while many pray right at the beginning of a time frame for a prayer, it's not as simple as "right at 1pm, each day" or anything like that; and it's not unusual for some to pray minutes or even hours later than others.

 

[cumhail]

Originally posted by: rdubbz420
It has happened to Jews before.

Yes and it was just as wrong then. In both cases, these were people quietly praying while sitting in their seats, making unobtrusive motions that affected others in the plane in no other way than to, supposedly, "make them feel uncomfortable." They weren't in the middle of an aisle, were not encroaching on others' seating areas, and were not being loud nor making any kind of motion that even comes close to seeming aggressive or disruptive. So this isn't about inappropriate, or even irregular, behavior... it's about discrimination.

Does it make some people "feel uncomfortable?" Sure. Is it in any way understandable that some might be? Also sure. But does that make it right to discriminate against the people you feel "uncomfortable" around? It doesn't when some whites felt "uncomfortable" around blacks, it doesn't when some heterosexuals feel "uncomfortable" around homosexuals, and it doesn't in these situations either.

 

[MiniDoom]

Originally posted by: cumhail

Originally posted by: rdubbz420
It has happened to Jews before.

Yes and it was just as wrong then. In both cases, these were people quietly praying while sitting in their seats, making unobtrusive motions that affected others in the plane in no other way than to, supposedly, "make them feel uncomfortable." They weren't in the middle of an aisle, were not encroaching on others' seating areas, and were not being loud nor making any kind of motion that even comes close to seeming aggressive or disruptive. So this isn't about inappropriate, or even irregular, behavior... it's about discrimination.

Does it make some people "feel uncomfortable?" Sure. Is it in any way understandable that some might be? Also sure? But does that make it right to discriminate against the people you feel "uncomfortable" around? It didn't when some whites felt "uncomfortable" around blacks, it doesn't when heterosexuals feel "uncomfortable" around homosexuals, and it doesn't in these situation either.

I totally agree.

 

[PELarson]

Originally posted by: DaWhim
racial profiling saves time, I am all for it.

Okay so all rental truck stores/feed stores need to call the police each and every time a white male in his late 20's early 30's tries to rent a truck or purchase fertilizer!

Racial profiling doesn't save time.

 

[her209]

People... people... if someone is caught in the act of praying it means they're about to commit an act of terrorism.

 

[tvarad]

PELarson:

"Okay so all rental truck stores/feed stores need to call the police each and every time a white male in his late 20's early 30's tries to rent a truck or purchase fertilizer!"

If Oklahoma type bombings happen with the same frequency as 9/11, 7/11, Madrid, Bali, Bombay, Kenya bombings and various acts of mayhem perpetrated by MUSLIMS around the world, then I'm all for making such a call. It's a case of "if it loks like a duck, quacks like a duck, then it is a duck".

 

[tvarad]

BTW, as a frequent air traveller, I am now subjected to so many extra checks and inconveniences because of what muslims have done, I think it is only fair that muslims go through something similar to be put through similar inconveniences.

 

[Doboji]

understand this must have been frustrating for the men involved. But these are scary times in the world... I also understand how the passengers were upset too. Ask yourself... if you saw 6 muslim men stand up on your plane and start saying their prayers most likely with everyone's favorite, allahu akbar together... wouldn't that scare the crap out of you?

Yes it is prejudiced... but really... c'mmon people...

1) The men should have gladly complied with the request to depart the plane for questioning...

2) The airline should have verified who the men were, earlier.

3) SOMETHING should have been done to make people on the plane a bit more comfortable with the situation.

In the end, the 6 men should be compensated with some nice free tickets, and a public apology. Case closed.

 

[Doboji]

Originally posted by: techs
If passengers complained I was praying and the passengers considered that suspicious and then they ordered me off the plane, because I was Jewish, I wouldn't get off either.

Yes if you and several other men, gathered together on the plane and started praying... yes that would be considered suspicious and would warrant answering a few questions... and you damn well better get off the plane if they asked you to. They didnt get taken off the plane because of who they are, they got taken off the plane because what they are doing.

When I flew back from Italy a couple weeks ago, the flight attendants announced that because of heightened security restrictions, they ask that people not congregate together when not seated. It's a pretty simple rule, and it makes sense when you think about it.

We should put down the PC baton for a moment and look at this situation rationally.

-Max

 

[newmachineoverlord]

I'd boycott US airways, but i wasn't going to use their services anyway.

The only thing in the airline's defense is that some of them didn't sit in their assigned seats. This sort of discrimination should be illegal if it isn't already. Unfortunately airlines seem to be given full discretion to discriminate according to race and religion.

Flying is still the safest way to travel a long distance, but thanks to paranoid overreactions and security measures designed to hassle you until you don't care anymore, I now avoid flying.

 

[Gunslinger08]

Originally posted by: tvarad
BTW, as a frequent air traveller, I am now subjected to so many extra checks and inconveniences because of what muslims have done, I think it is only fair that muslims go through something similar to be put through similar inconveniences.

And you blame the entire group for the actions of a few. Why don't you punish all blacks for the things they're doing in Third World African nations? Oh wait, that doesn't inconvenience you. Nevermind.

 

[tvarad]

joshsquall:

"And you blame the entire group for the actions of a few. Why don't you punish all blacks for the things they're doing in Third World African nations? Oh wait, that doesn't inconvenience you. Nevermind."

Illogical comparision. To repeat, if and when blacks indulge in 9/11, 7/11, Madrid/Bali/Bombay/Kenya bombings and indulge in murder and mayhem on a daily basis, I will recommend similar inconveniences for them too.