Poor Treatment of Muslim Passengers

[Abu3baid]

https://en-maktoob.news.yahoo.com/two-men-kept-boarding-us-plane-speaking-arabic-023345180--finance.html?vp=1

Quote

Maher Khalil and Anas Ayyad were told by a gate agent at Midway Airport that they wouldn't be allowed on the plane because a fellow passenger had overheard them speaking Arabic -- and was afraid to fly with them.

Ultimately, the two friends reportedly of Palestinian origin and in their late 20s, got on the Southwest flight Wednesday night, but only after being questioned by airport security and police, ....

This is obviously something that impacts me a lot.  I travel once a year to and from the US currently, and usually it is with my wife who wears hijab and my 3 kids.  Usually we are speaking Arabic to each other. In terms of policy I think it is absurd that because another passenger at the gate made a complaint that they are afraid to get on the plane because my wife and I are speaking Arabic (and obviously Muslim) that I am interrogated and treated as a criminal.

Quote

Once on board, Khalil told NBC 5 that some passengers made him open a white box he was carrying -- filled, it turns out, with sweets.

"So I shared my baklava with them," he was quoted as saying.

I'm not sure what this means and how can passengers make him do anything, but even being asked nicely by a passenger to open a box that I have is not acceptable in my opinion (I would probably open it just to avoid someone accusing me saying bomb or something)..

Quote

In Florida on Thursday, a Spirit Airlines flight en route to Minneapolis turned around and returned to Fort Lauderdale after a young passenger "heard what she believed to be a conversation during which the subject made a remark about blowing up the plane," according to a police report quoted by the Sun Sentinel newspaper.

Abotbul was let go, with the police report quoted by the Sun Sentinel saying "intensive interviews revealed no actual threat was made to the flight and the incident appears to be a miscommunication from a juvenile witness."

So, is that what the passenger thought she heard??  

 

Quote

A woman and three men described by fellow passengers as being of Middle Eastern descent were escorted off a plane headed to Chicago's O'Hare International Airport when a witness reported suspicious activity to the flight crew, the Baltimore Sun reported, citing police.

In the end, police determined that one of the passengers had simply been watching a news report on a smartphone, according to the newspaper.

I will also remember not to watch any news on the plane..

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I understand the heightened sense of fear, but what I don't understand is the inability of people to act like rational adults.  This is exactly what the terrorists want, and we are giving them all they want on a gold plate.. 

[Pretzel]

It's truly sad to see stuff like this. I traveled to and from California this week to visit my great-grandmother in hospice care, and had the entirely pleasant experience of being seated next to a Muslim couple on my way to California. Other passengers visually shunned them or shied away but I found them to be great conversational partners that helped the trip go much faster than anticipated. Blaming all who practice Islam for the extremist actions of ISIS is the same as blaming all who practice Christianity for the actions of the KKK. My greatest fear on the plane ride was the potential reappearance of the enchiladas I had earlier eaten that had given me trouble before boarding, not my fellow passengers who were all (excepting the loud baby) excellent people.

[boogielicious]

This is what bigotry brings, paranoia. We are letting our politicians cultivate the paranoia. Very sad. 

[RandallT]

Yes, discouraging to hear. We should all be better than this.

[pganapathy]

Sadly bigotry exists across all cultures and religions anywhere in the world.  Only by being rational can we solve this, but unfortunately too many regular people are not.  Ignore the fringe element in any religion and a large majority of the 90% of regular people from all religions have pre-conceptions and tend to be bigoted due to various reasons and this can only be corrected by education

[saevel25]

6 hours ago, Abu3baid said:

I think it is absurd that because another passenger at the gate made a complaint that they are afraid to get on the plane because my wife and I are speaking Arabic (and obviously Muslim) that I am interrogated and treated as a criminal.

It is absurd. The blame can put on the terrorist who ingrain this paranoia into people. You can also blame it on the person for letting that paranoia drive their actions to make a stereotypical judgement on a person who has shown no signs of hostility. Sadly the actions of a small group is driving home a xenophobic mentality in many Americans. 

6 hours ago, Abu3baid said:

I'm not sure what this means and how can passengers make him do anything, but even being asked nicely by a passenger to open a box that I have is not acceptable in my opinion (I would probably open it just to avoid someone accusing me saying bomb or something).... 

They can't, but would the guy want the negative hostility from not opening it. I could see a situation where someone would get really paranoid and just outright take the package from the guy. Yea, that was stupid. Especially if it was food since then it was bought after security. I am pretty sure you are not allowed to carry on food past security. 

[Mr. Desmond]

I admit to being an imperfect human being, and whenever attacks of this nature or when violence, etc.occurs, I do look with suspicion at others - whatever the race of the person whose race/religion committed the act. That fear is typically spurred from lack of knowledge or ignorance -- we do not receive a great education on the nature of Islam here - most hear it from the media -- and the bias of that report depends on how the media wishes to shape your mind.

It works, I assume, in a similar fashion in the ME where the USA and other Western nations are attacked by influential leaders, whether it be Mullahs or political leadership. Hysteria, hate, and paranoia are encouraged. It may be abusive Mullahs or it could be a Putin, or a US political leader or candidate. We've all seen it, so the reaction is not surprising. And one of the few US political voices in the wilderness against paranoia is our President - and he is skewered for it. And yes, I do agree that our immigration/visa system should be reviewed to cut loopholes before more gain entry (although the entry is 2-3 years for Syrians).

The airline incidents are the result of ignorance, paranoia, fear. You rid people of it with better information, more education, and a more responsible media. Tough job.

Edited November 23, 2015 by Mr. Desmond

[RussUK]

A complete knee jerk reaction. I can understand the passangers uneasyness at the situation but the staff should be reassuring them that there is no threat rather than persecuting an innocent person. This is what ISIS want, make the western world fearful of the muslim community. Reading that op made my blood boil 

[newtogolf]

A few thoughts;

• ISIS lurks in the dark amongst Muslims for the purpose of forcing western cultures to alienate Muslims from their communities.  When the non-radical Muslims are shunned and isolated ISIS believes they will join their efforts to rid the world of non-Muslims.  ISIS is basically creating a self fulfilling prophecy.
   
• Our intelligence has been focused on foreign governments and is lacking when it comes to ISIS and other terrorists.  Most terror cells are too small and under the radar to be detected in time by our current means of intelligence gathering.  Despite what our elected officials say, we will have no better success in defeating ISIS than we have in the war against drugs.  Our governments will use this to push legislature that further violates our rights to privacy.   
   
• Non-radical Muslims must take up the fight to rid the world of the radicals.  Radicals will only continue to escalate the isolation and violence towards Muslims and make it more difficult for Muslims to integrate into non-Muslim communities.  We had a civil war in the United States because half of the country didn't agree with how the other half was treating slaves and representing the overall view of Americans. 
   
• The elected officials of the United States and other countries need to accept responsibility for bringing ISIS into power, especially in Syria and assist the non-radical Muslims in defeating ISIS. 
   
• Just as every German wasn't a Nazi, or every Italian isn't in the mafia, every Muslim isn't a terrorist.  We have to keep that at the forefront and embrace those who wish us no harm.  That said, we have to be very certain when we invite refugees into our country that we vet them properly to ensure radicals do not enter the country, as any future terrorist actions will escalate the ignorance and hatred towards Muslims overall.

[mcanadiens]

I consider myself fortunate to not have to travel by airplane on any regular basis. You hear stories every day about various issues the TSA has, unruly passengers and the like.  In that environment, rational behavior can be in short supply. With things the way they are today, you only need one scared person to ground a flight. 

 

 

[newtogolf]

13 minutes ago, mcanadiens said:

I consider myself fortunate to not have to travel by airplane on any regular basis. You hear stories every day about various issues the TSA has, unruly passengers and the like.  In that environment, rational behavior can be in short supply. With things the way they are today, you only need one scared person to ground a flight.

 

 

I fly fairly frequently and find that many people have some fear of flying to begin with so it doesn't take much to push them over the edge and act irrationally.  Those who are afraid to fly often turn to alcohol to calm their nerves which seems to only make them more paranoid and belligerent.

[saevel25]

2 minutes ago, newtogolf said:

I fly fairly frequently and find that many people have some fear of flying to begin with so it doesn't take much to push them over the edge and act irrationally.  Those who are afraid to fly often turn to alcohol to calm their nerves which seems to only make them more paranoid and belligerent.

I think in some part it is coupled with a fear to fly. Others it might just be outright paranoia with association of a Muslim to terrorism. 

 

[Abu3baid]

no comment, but had to share.

 

[Lihu]

The actions taken by the authorities was ridiculous. They did not substantiate anything the witnesses stated. They let the bigotry of another passenger affect how a fellow passenger was treated?

They should have held the plane citing that the passenger in seat so and so made a mistake thinking there was a bomb threat, or that there were bigots who didn't feel comfortable sitting close to a couple Arabic passengers and could someone volunteer to switch seats with them?

There should be some accountability when a mistake is made.

If this type of thing happens in Taiwan or China, I would be really embarrassed. So far not.

[colin007]

2 hours ago, saevel25 said:

 I am pretty sure you are not allowed to carry on food past security. 

 

if im not mistaken, you can bring all the food you want on a flight. ive certainly done it many times and no one ever says anything. its the liquids they restrict.

[rkim291968]

... and the GOP candidates are fueling the fire.   Trump's recent comment that thousands of "Arabs" in New Jersey was cheering when 9/11 was happening is grossly irresponsible.    Carson and others are not too far behind in putting more woods in the fire.   

[Golfingdad]

7 minutes ago, colin007 said:

 

if im not mistaken, you can bring all the food you want on a flight. ive certainly done it many times and no one ever says anything. its the liquids they restrict.

Correct.  Liquids over 4 oz. are what is forbidden (through security only - you can bring all the liquids you can carry on the flight that you purchase after tsa) and even then it's not cut and dried.  Baby formula or breast milk is ok even in larger containers than 4 oz.

Coincidentally, were flying in 5 hours and as always, I'm nervous as hell. But not because of terrorists or crashing ... But rather because of the 3 unpredictable kids (totalling 12 years old) that are tagging along with us.

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The racist actions of the people in the OP are deplorable, but I love the reaction of the man ... Sharing his baklava with them.  Kill em with kindness, I say.

[newtogolf]

1 hour ago, rkim291968 said:

... and the GOP candidates are fueling the fire.   Trump's recent comment that thousands of "Arabs" in New Jersey was cheering when 9/11 was happening is grossly irresponsible.    Carson and others are not too far behind in putting more woods in the fire.  

You're getting the liberal interpretation of what they are saying.  I've avoided the Trump thread as promised but your throwing out a lot of misinformation that I feel obligated to respond to.  There's a difference between being xenophobic and requesting due diligence.  Being allowed into this country isn't a right, it's a privilege and therefore we need to ensure that people entering this country do so with the best of intentions.  The CIA, FBI and Homeland security all acknowledge that the vetting of refugees is difficult, if not impossible beyond the information the refugees provide on their application.

Trump nor any GOP candidate to my knowledge requested anything beyond a database to track the refugees throughout our country to ensure they are not part of ISIS or other terrorist organization.   Trump never requested or suggested a database to track all of the Muslims in the country today that was mis-reported and retracted by NBC.

For the record, we are all in numerous databases already, SSN, IRS, State databases, criminal history databases, commercial databases, gun registration databases, security clearance databases, etc.  I'm sure NSA has a database of all social media and online participants too.  Being in a database doesn't mean much, if it did, we should all be outraged.