In today's feature article at FrontPage, I discuss the Minneapolis airport incident (news links in the original):
“I never felt bad in my life like that. I never. Six imams. Six leaders in this country. Six scholars in handcuffs. It’s terrible.”So spoke Imam Omar Shahin, director of the Islamic Center of Tucson, after he and five other imams were removed from a Phoenix-bound US Airways flight at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. What were they doing to get removed from the flight? “We did nothing,” Shahin maintains – and the Council on American Islamic Relations has seized on the incident as evidence of American “Islamophobia.” “We are concerned that crew members, passengers and security personnel may have succumbed to fear and prejudice based on stereotyping of Muslims and Islam,” said CAIR’s executive director, Nihad Awad.
However, there were indications that this was not a straightforward case of prejudice and profiling. Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport official Patrick Hogan said that “there were a number of things that gave the flight crew pause” about the imams: some of them had made anti-American statements before boarding the plane, and some asked for seat belt extensions despite not appearing to need them. There was also an inconsistency in the accounts of the incident by Shahin himself: initial reports held that the men had been removed from the plane after ostentatiously standing and praying Islamic evening prayers; however, according to Associated Press, “Shahin said Tuesday that three members of the group prayed in the terminal before the six boarded the plane, although on Monday night he said they had prayed on the plane.”Nonetheless, CAIR announced its intention to file a complaint: “Because, unfortunately, this is a growing problem of singling out Muslims or people perceived to be Muslims at airport, and it’s one that we’ve been addressing for some time,” said CAIR spokesman Ibrahim Hooper. This gibes with a statement by incoming Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi: “Since September 11, many Muslim Americans have been subjected to searches at airports and other locations based upon their religion and national origin. We must make it illegal.” This new incident may give such an initiative the impetus it needs in order to be taken seriously. If legislation were passed outlawing airport searches based on religion or national origin (which are already frowned upon as it is), airport officials would be wary of detaining any Muslim, for fear of facing prosecution on discrimination charges. Such legislation therefore would in effect hand Islamic terrorists a free hand to operate in American airports with impunity. CAIR has made no statement about the potential damage the criminalization of such searches could have on national security.
There are also lingering questions about just what the six imams on the flight to Phoenix were intending. It seems clear that they had no terror plans, but there is a possibility that they were being intentionally provocative: one woman wrote to US Airways: “Having been married to a Muslim (deceased husband) I might add that evening prayers can be said quietly and while sitting in a chair. Those Muslims knew that yet refused to behave properly and respectfully towards the other passengers. It is obvious that they planned to taunt the authorities.” Supporting this possibility is the fact that Imam Omar Shahin was involved with the Islamic charity Kind Hearts, which has had its assets frozen by the U. S. Treasury Department because of its connections to the terrorist group Hamas. And according to a September 2001 story in the Arizona Republic, Shahin “said members of the Tucson mosque may have helped bin Laden in the early 1990s.” He maintained, however, that this was consistent with the practice of the CIA itself: “They (the CIA) called him a ‘freedom fighter.’ Then they tell us he is involved in terrorist acts, and they stopped supporting him, and we stopped.” On a dime, no doubt.
None of these questions about Shahin surfaced in the mainstream media. Instead, MSNBC’s Contessa Brewer compared the imams to Rosa Parks, offering a grateful Ibrahim Hooper a “defense that could be used for these imams”: the possibility that in refusing to get off the plane, as some unconfirmed reports held, the imams were engaged in an act of civil disobedience. Hooper suggested that even if this were not an act of civil disobedience, “it may come to that in the future, where people are just fed up and they say, ‘No, I am not going to be vulnerable to anybody’s stereotyping and bias, and their hysteria based on fear and prejudice, and I’m not going to give up my seat.’ Boy, it’ll be interesting to see what happens in that case.” Kenneth Quinn, general counsel for the Aviation Security Administration, spoke against the appropriateness of civil disobedience on airplanes, but called the incident “regrettable” and spoke of what he called the “But For Test:” “But for the person’s religious orientation in this case, would they have taken the security procedures that they actually took? And here I think it’s questionable. We’ll have to look at all the facts, but you don’t want to single people out on unfounded fears or through racial or gender or religious bias. In the post-9/11 environment, we have to really be careful about not singling people out and taking them off of airplanes.”
But Rosa Parks did not have ties to terrorist organizations. In light of repeated targeting of aircraft by Islamic jihadists operating by their own account out of their sense of duty as Muslims, discrimination against American blacks is hardly comparable to the scrutiny of Muslims in airports that CAIR is almost certain to try to stop by means of this case. But the apology that is likely to come from US Airways will set a precedent that ostentatious and even suspicious behavior by Muslims is not to be questioned, in the name of avoiding discrimination. What can that do but embolden Islamic jihadists?
If America is to survive, it is eventually going to have to choose national security over political correctness. Shahin has complained that he was “humiliated” and that the way the imams were treated was “terrible.” Indeed. It is terrible. It is terrible that he and the other imams who were taken off the plane, as well as other Islamic leaders in America, have allowed those who commit violence in the name of their religion to do so unimpeded and unchallenged. It is terrible that these and other Islamic scholars have responded only with vilification when asked about the teachings of their faith that promote violence, instead of with honest dialogue and attempts to reform those teachings. It is terrible that, if they were indeed removed from the plane for praying, they are among those who have allowed their religion to become so associated with violence that American citizens on an airplane become alarmed at the sight of Islamic prayer.
In a sane world, officials would tell the imams that if they’re upset about being taken off the plane, they should redouble their anti-terror efforts in the Muslim community in the U.S. – which are sorely deficient in any case. They would ascribe their inconveniencing to the sacrifices that are incumbent upon all of us during wartime. But instead, they are compared to Rosa Parks, and it is likely that their canonization is just beginning.
Osama bin Laden, who predicted after 9/11 that soon many more planes would be falling out of the skies, is no doubt enjoying the spectacle.
“We are concerned that crew members, passengers and security personnel may have succumbed to fear and prejudice based on stereotyping of Muslims and Islam,” said CAIR’s executive director, Nihad Awad.
Could it be that Muslims have succeeded in sowing
terror in the hearts of the infidels, by striking
off their heads and maiming them in their limbs
(as per Sura 8:12), and are simply reaping the
fruits of what they have sown?
'We must make it illegal.'
kj, nariz, Big Brother is coming, with his little smart-mouth sister skipping just ahead of him- And neither one of them can be bothered to notice the scimitar at their throats, because the same people are dangling votes in front of their faces.
"Such legislation therefore would in effect hand Islamic terrorists a free hand to operate in American airports with impunity. CAIR has made no statement about the potential damage the criminalization of such searches could have on national security."
Well, if this happens I wonder what a few more good attacks with jetliners will do to the PC crowd in Washington?
I hate to say it but maybe that is what is needed. However the cost of such a attack on America could be so devastating that we my never recover from it.
Frodnum, I fear the PC crowd's response will be to make Big Brother even bigger. They would rather crack down on OUR rights than protect us. Witness the legislation that Conyers, Rangel and Kuccinnic (sp) have in mind.
"If America is to survive, it is eventually going to have to choose national security over political correctness".
Words of wisdom folks. Unfortunately, over 40 years of PC has caused such rot in the US that PC could very well win out over national security. The incoming Congress will continue that rot. If the US dies it will be more from internal decline and national suicide than from dozens of 9/11's or a nuke attack from the likes of China. We let a bunch of utopian nutcases prepare the way for all this to happen. I just hope we can reverse the decline before it's too late.
Good morning all...
"evening prayers can be said quietly and while sitting in a chair"
This is true...and i think that these scholars should have been much more sensitive to the feelings of the passengers. One can pray quietly sitting in one's seat. I just find it odd that, if they were so called "scholars" why did'nt they pray queitly given the current security risks in this country...?
Peace
"This gibes with a statement by incoming Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi: “Since September 11, many Muslim Americans have been subjected to searches at airports and other locations based upon their religion and national origin. We must make it illegal.”
We must convince Nancy and other politicians to accept the truth... that Islam does not meet the definition of 'religion' that our Founding Fathers intended.
Islam is not a religion at all... it is a Supremacist political movement dedicated to the extermination of all human beings on the planet, who are not Muslims.
I can just imagine the 'prayers' these 'imams' were reciting... 'Allah, please help us to murder all the Americans, all the Jews, all the Christians, all the Hindus, and everyone else on the planet, who are not just exactly like us... amen.'
'Oh, and Allah, we almost forgot, death to all non-submissive women, too... especially that Nancy Pelosi bitch... amen, with a catital M-E-N'.
It is most disturbing to learn that none of the msm reports identify the links between the imams and terror groups. It is so important to have reports like this one by Robert identify the imam by name alongside the terror organization, by specific name - so that each time one of these peaceful (spit) imam's name comes up for a search, the links become clearer and clearer.
I am FED UP with the PC charade.
The PC crowd cannot change the fact that sensible and intelligent Americans have correctly made the connection between the jihad and Islam. And more are going to be able to do this, thanks in no small measure to Robert and others. You cannot legislate the truth out of people's minds, and going forward citizens are going to do what needs to be done. And if the government in the future has gone far down the path of appeasement of Islam and even allowed the threat to our liberties and religions to be seriously harmed by Muslims, we will find the courage to seize the moment and rebel against the government. And if I am alive if that day occurs, I will enjoy the look of shock on the faces of our multi-culti babbling politicians and media elites. Especially as they are on their way to the gallows...
You bet it was a stunt. They heard Peolsi say that profiling the poor misunderstood Muslims should be illegal and they cooked up this stunt to add fuel to that fire. These people are masters of illusion for the media's sake. they know that the far left America haters in the media will play this up big.
"The PC crowd cannot change the fact that sensible and intelligent Americans have correctly made the connection between the jihad and Islam."
From the popular discussion forum at digg.com (there were a handful of sane anti-Islamic posts there, but the vast majority are represented by the typically ridiculous posts I selected below):
"What a disgraceful airline. After they kick these guys out of the plane based on sheer hysteria, they refuse to give them seats on a subsequent flight."
***
"Can anyone say racial profiling? Fuckin' airline."
***
"of course this doesn't happen only to muslins
"Jewish man removed from airplane for praying"
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2006/09/05/qc-hasidicprayeronplane.html
doesn't make it right though."
***
"This is pure religious/racial bias. Men, seen praying in the terminal, then sitting on an airplane, one of them "suspiciously" wearing sunglasses (forget that he was blind)? This is not even circumstantial evidence of anything. It can be described as nothing except discrimination."
***
"One of the guys was blind. Yup, that's textbook terrorist right there."
***
"Muslims pray five times a day while facing towards Mecca. They try to find a holy place to do this, but it's not always possible. This is not suspect behavior--this is a central part of their religious practice.
This would be like assuming that any Christian who attends church on Sunday is plotting to bomb an abortion clinic. Or, whoa, 6 Christians attending church at once! They must be up to no good. One has sunglasses! One wants to change pews! That's textbook suspicious right there."
***
"Dont think that any organization would send a blind guy on a mission to blow anything up, blindness and explosives/vehicles dont mix."
***
[a sane post] "I honestly can't understand how or why some of you people have blinded yourselves to the fact that there is no 'silent majority' of Islamic people that don't condone beheading civilians, blowing up schools and hospitals, and wanting to kill, convert, or subjugate every human being on this planet.
Oh wait, but Islam means 'peace'....so then it doesnt matter that their actions are anything but peaceful. Keep up the mantra "Islam is peace, Bush is bad, the Democrats will save us. All is right with the world."
[Response to the above:] "Have you ever actually met a single Muslim person?"
***
"That's BS! How about just going back to the original passenger who was complaining and telling him/her to get off the plane?"
***
"Oh dear god... they may have tried to pray!!! Whether they prayed on the plane, in the terminal or both doesn't matter.
If Muslims want to pray in airports. I fail to see the problem."
***
"whether or not the imams had a victim mentality, having people removed from a plane because one passenger wanted to be a racist bitch is inexcuseable."
***
[in response to another anti-Islamic viewpoint:] "what about Ghandi or Mandela? A victim mentality is the best way to prove your point when you're being unfairly targeted...Otherwise, no one will notice or care that the discrimination is happening. If this truly was a planned event, I'll applaud their efforts for being an effective non-violent protest of the prejudice. Of course, comments like yours about jihadists is further evidence of the prejudice as well."
***
"October 2, 2004 - Christian terrorist group kills 44 Hindus, wounds 118 in Northeast India.
January 16, 1997 - Christian Identity terrorist Eric Robert Rudolph bombs a gay nightclub.
July 27, 1996 - Christian Identity terrorist Eric Robert Rudolph bombs Centennial Olympic Park. Kills 1, wounds 111.
1983 - Posse Comitatus militia member Gordon Kahl kills two Federal marshals in North Dakota. Three others are wounded.
1969-2001 - over 3000 people are killed in Ireland and the United Kingdom as a result of bombings and other violent acts between the predominently Roman Catholic Irish nationalists on one side, and the predominently Protestant Unionists and secular British Crown forces on the other. More than 1800 of those killed in "The Troubles" are civilians, many the victims of sectarian attacks.
1940s - Terrorist organization Christian Identity is formed on the West Coast of the United States. Followers believe Armageddon will take place as a race war between Aryans, the "pure" people, against Jews, Muslims, and non-whites."
***
"I am an australian white male, and I dispise american culture and wish it to change (ie. change your way of life)
why, because your culture is destructive to the entire world, your foriegn policies, the amount of pollution you produce (and doing better then china is not something be proud of and nor is it a good defence, "we are doing better then the worst people in the world")
A large part of the world dislikes american culture, does that mean we should ALL be denied access to things because we perform daily routines?
what if someone had complained about a black person and found them, i dunno, listening to rap music (just some bs stereotypical example) and was under the impression that because they were black and listening to rap they probably were on drugs and were armed, and wanted them removed from the flight
what would happen then?
this is the same situation"
***
"80% of Americans are Christian (US Census) therefore it's reasonable (but probably not the most accurate) to assume that 80% of crime committed in America is perpetrated by Christians. In 2005 there were 16,692 murders and 93,934 rapes reported in America (disastercenter.com). Using those figures, in the year of 2005 Christians, in America by themselves, were responsible for 13,354 murders and 75,147 rapes."
***
Etc. Ad Nauseam.
http://digg.com/world_news/Six_Muslim_imams_taken_off_plane
"" I just find it odd that, if they were so called "scholars" why did'nt they pray queitly given the current security risks in this country...?
Peace
Posted by: jihadlove ""
That's the issue as far as i'm concerned^^^. It's the lack of compassion and sensitivity for what the west and specifically what the US has and is going through since 911 ,by people who claim to be following Gods Will . It's really annoying to hear Muslims beat the drum of Predudice and bigotry everytime we take minimal precautions.they don't care about 911 , they don't care that people are afraid when they hear Muslims praying before they board a plane, after all i'm sure the last words uttered by the slime who perpetrated 911 was " Allah ackubar " . show some solidarity or show some discretion for where and when you flaunt your faith!!.
Islamists will cry foul no matter what we do. regardless of how many Muslims Kill around the world , we are never allowed to be cautious or even make a minor err in judgement. those 6 Imams were not tortured or anything , I doubt that a westerner would get treated with any dignity or decency. in fact we know they usually don't.
It's maddening that they are so unsympathetic. It's eveidence IMO that Moderates are not so Moderate.
Edit my post above:
"I doubt that a westerner would get treated with any dignity or decency IN THE MID EAST . in fact we know they usually don't.
Ann Coulter tells it like it is.
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=18180
Robert,
Today on the Sean Hannity Radio talk show, Sean mentioned you by name, as having authored a great online piece about the 6 imams removed from US Airways. He continued by quoting some excerpts from the article. Perhaps an appearance on Hannity and Colmes may still be in the cards?
They have done it to themselves, they have had no outrage against any of the horrors that their own do so of course people are scared, what do they expect....
Mohammad said that a terrorised people are easier to conqure, so they have terrorised with no outrage from them and now they expect us to not be scared...
There is non-stop world wide muslim violence where tens of thousands of people are being slaughtered and there is still no outrage so I say again, they do it to themselves...
I know of a couple of passangers saying they had a gun, or that they had a bomb just in joking. they were taken off by the federal police and charged big time, so what do these poor defenceless men expect, now I bet they will complain about harrassement and discrimination...and threaten riots etc. And what are holy leaders doing saying things against America if it is a religion of peace...religion of peace, ROT, religion of war and hate more like it...we still dont hear of the outrage from moderate muslims, I wonder why....