Sir, Your Refund Check Will Be In The Mail
By: Guy in General, War on Terror, National Security, Islam on November 22, 2006 - 6:54 pm
Sorry, but US Airways did the right thing. The six Muslim clerics that were recently removed from a US Airways flight have demanded an investigation and an apology from the airline. The whole bruhaha began when the clerics said their evening prayers prior to boarding a flight from Minneapolis to Phoenix. Okay. No problem there. The real issue began when they were overheard to complain about the US conflict in Iraq; and, while praying, were heard to repeat the name Allah over and over in raised voices. Once aboard the aircraft, they were asked by the captain to leave. Additionally, it was found out later that three of the six had one way tickets and no checked luggage.
As you would expect, CAIR, a Muslim advocacy group, whose activities some sources say, actually support terrorism, has thrown in their two cents worth and is demanding a full congressional investigation.
Yeah. I understand. All six clerics were upset at having been removed from the flight and having to revise their travel plans. Give me a break though. In this post 911 atmosphere, one has to exercise common sense about what one says and does…particularly in and around airports.
UPDATE 11/28/06 @ 1732: The facts surrounding the removal of the immams from the US Airways flight are slowly beginning to float to the top of the pot. It appears that their actions were not as innocent as the immams, CAIR, and others of their ilk would have us believe. The Washinton Post has a fairly extensive rundown of all the important facts.
Here is just a sample. Just to whet your appetite:
Passengers and flight attendants told law-enforcement officials the imams switched from their assigned seats to a pattern associated with the September 11 terrorist attacks and also found in probes of U.S. security since the attacks — two in the front row first-class, two in the middle of the plane on the exit aisle and two in the rear of the cabin.
“That would alarm me,” said a federal air marshal who asked to remain anonymous. “They now control all of the entry and exit routes to the plane.”
Please read the entire piece. Those of you that have been critical of the airline’s actions, may just change your minds when presented with all the important information.
Is it, do ya think, that maybe, just maybe, these upstanding men were testing our security measures and just how much they could get away with without raising suspicions? Just wonderin’.
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“The real issue began when they were overheard to complain about the US conflict in Iraq; and, while praying, were heard to repeat the name Allah over and over in raised voices.”
Complaining about the US conflict in Iraq is done by many non-muslims too. In fact, as a white person I complain about it a lot. Just because someone is a muslim and complains about the Iraq war, does not mean they should be thrown off a flight.
Repeating the name Allah is a part of muslim prayer. Allah is the muslim name for God. If you were told as a Christian that you could not use the word God in your prayers, how would you feel?
These imams were removed from the plane because of ignorance on the part of the other passengers and the US Airways staff. A little bit of understanding goes a long way.
November 22, 2006 - 9:24 pmCraig…Thanks for the comment. What the immans did, if it had occurred on Sept. 10, would have been written off as just different behavior. However, when taken in the context of 911, an entirely different light is shed on the incident. I don’t find it unusual at all that the passengers and crew found the behavior disturbing. Is part of that due to lack of knowledge of the Muslim faith? You bet. But, nevertheless, still disturbing. My beef is not so much their behavior, but their inability to see how their behavior could have created concerns. Additionally, CAIR, rather than being helpful by attempting to foster understanding, assumes the bulldog position and screams for a congressional investigation. If you’re not familiar with CAIR and their activities, I’d suggest that you spend some time researching the organization. I was really shocked when I took the time to research them. They’re not all that they would have Americans believe that they are.
November 22, 2006 - 9:46 pmAdvocacy groups are always screaming blue murder whenever something offends their members. Without it they wouldn’t get heard.
I understand where you are coming from but why should the actions of fifteen Saudi’s and a few other Arabs of different nationalities reflect on one and a half billion people. One and a half billion people, a quarter of the world’s population, seems to make the US weak at the knees. All the fear associated with Islam is due to ignorance and/or misunderstanding.
American people seem to forget that up until September 11, US-based extremists were doing pretty well in killing US citizens. People like Timothy McVeigh, Ted Kaczynski, Eric Rudolph and numerous abortion clinic attackers don’t have people looking at white people in a suspicious way.
November 22, 2006 - 10:40 pmCraig…Thanks for your comments….all well thought out and valid. HAve a Happy Thanksgiving!
November 23, 2006 - 6:16 amCraig,
I don’t know if you’ve heard or not, but there has been some speculation that Mcveigh may have been tied to AQ. Also, yes many people do look at white’s with a critical eye because of abortion clinic bombings. Look at the way that anti-abortion evangelicals are looked at or are portrayed. Or, how about the way that southern gun lovers are looked at? How about the way that “red necks” are looked at?
Furthermore, the GWOT and problem with Islam has become far more than 19 Saudi’s and a few other Arabs of different nationalities. Terrorism is now world wide. It is becoming a religious war between “Christian” nations and radical Islam. The sooner people stop making excuses for these people the better off we’ll all be.
Jim C
November 24, 2006 - 11:57 amI forget, did the 9/11 hijackers publicly pray to Allah and complain about US policies in the terminals before boarding their flights? Is this a good indicator of a possible terrorist? Is this reasonable and effective profiling?
The answer to all of these questions is no. If profiling is to be an effective tool (and I think it can be) it must be used intelligently and judiciously. Otherwise, what’s the point. Does anyone honestly think we’re more secure because those imams couldn’t fly?
November 24, 2006 - 11:49 pm“Also, yes many people do look at white’s with a critical eye because of abortion clinic bombings. Look at the way that anti-abortion evangelicals are looked at or are portrayed. Or, how about the way that southern gun lovers are looked at? How about the way that “red necks” are looked at?”
Can you cite a single example of a anti-abortion evangelical, souther gun lover, or red neck being pulled off the plane because they talked about abortion, loving guns, or loving Jeff Foxworthy before boarding the plane? If not, then they’re not being looked at the same way.
November 24, 2006 - 11:53 pmCS…
I must be slipping in my old age. I agree with you. I suspect one of the things that motivated the passengers was the fact that they, for the most part, don’t trust the authorities to do a proper job in screening and profiling. IMHO, our airport screening is next to worthless. Some years ago, Joe Foss, Medal of Honor winner, had the medal taken from him during the screening process, from him because it was a sharp object. Gimmea break! Effective screening? Mt fat &*%$#ss.
Are we safer because six immans….? Probably not. As pointed out before - just indicative of passengers lack of trust in ‘govment’.
November 25, 2006 - 7:30 amSo then what “right thing” did US Airways do?
November 25, 2006 - 10:57 amBased on the information at hand, they made the decision that best served the majority of the customers and the company as a whole. Was it the correct decision…you bet. Were there disgruntled customers…you bet. That was going to happen regardless of the decision they made.
November 25, 2006 - 11:05 amBut giving in to uneducated sheeple who think all muslims are gonna blow themselves up in the name of Allah is right?
They say that in business, the customer is always right, but in some cases a gentle nod and ignoring them is better.
November 25, 2006 - 11:38 pmCraig…Point well taken
November 26, 2006 - 6:28 amCraig…One additional thought. I didn’t mean to imply that removing the immams was a PR move. There’s no doubt in my mind that it was done in the interest of security. Remember, the so called odd behavior didn’t begin until *after* the screening process was complete.
November 26, 2006 - 6:35 am