Hearing on Racial Profiling Needed
Muslims in America are faced with the indignity of yet another profiling incident at a US airport. Six Imams, i.e., Muslim religious leaders, were removed from a domestic flight yesterday in Minnesota. The Imams were taken off a US Airways flight at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport Monday night because of alleged "suspicious activity."
Is the language used familiar?
The Imams, who were handcuffed and questioned for several hours by authorities before being released told the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) that they suspect that the “suspicious activity” cited by the authorities involved the performance of normal evening prayers offered by members of the group in the airport before boarding the flight.
A prominent national Islamic civil rights and advocacy group today called for congressional hearings on religious and ethnic profiling at airports after six Imams, or Muslim religious leaders, were removed from a domestic flight yesterday in Minnesota.
All of the detained Imams, several of whom are from Arizona, were in Minnesota to attend a conference of the North American Imams Federation (NAIF). A representative of the FBI was invited to attend the conference. The people at the Minnesota conference were "discussing how to build bridges" between Muslims and American society.
Instead, "they were treated like terrorists ... humiliated," said Abu Hannoud, a civil rights director for the Arizona chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. The men were taken off the US Airways flight in handcuffs.
Again, does this seem familiar?
CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad said today that security concerns are of "paramount importance," but that the incident in Minnesota was apparently triggered by prejudice and ignorance, not by real evidence of a threat to passenger safety:
"CAIR is receiving more reports of 'flying while Muslim' and racial profiling incidents from members of the Islamic community nationwide. We therefore call for congressional hearings to deal with the issue of racial, religious and ethnic profiling in our nation's airports.
"We also call on the Department of Justice and the Transportation Security Administration to conduct thorough investigations into the incident in Minnesota and to ensure that security procedures of US Airways and other airlines conform to constitutional standards mandating the protection of religious freedom and other civil rights."
He added that CAIR received a letter today from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties saying it has opened a review of the case as it relates to the actions of DHS employees.
Is the language used familiar?
The Imams, who were handcuffed and questioned for several hours by authorities before being released told the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) that they suspect that the “suspicious activity” cited by the authorities involved the performance of normal evening prayers offered by members of the group in the airport before boarding the flight.
A prominent national Islamic civil rights and advocacy group today called for congressional hearings on religious and ethnic profiling at airports after six Imams, or Muslim religious leaders, were removed from a domestic flight yesterday in Minnesota.
All of the detained Imams, several of whom are from Arizona, were in Minnesota to attend a conference of the North American Imams Federation (NAIF). A representative of the FBI was invited to attend the conference. The people at the Minnesota conference were "discussing how to build bridges" between Muslims and American society.
Instead, "they were treated like terrorists ... humiliated," said Abu Hannoud, a civil rights director for the Arizona chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. The men were taken off the US Airways flight in handcuffs.
Again, does this seem familiar?
CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad said today that security concerns are of "paramount importance," but that the incident in Minnesota was apparently triggered by prejudice and ignorance, not by real evidence of a threat to passenger safety:
"CAIR is receiving more reports of 'flying while Muslim' and racial profiling incidents from members of the Islamic community nationwide. We therefore call for congressional hearings to deal with the issue of racial, religious and ethnic profiling in our nation's airports.
"We also call on the Department of Justice and the Transportation Security Administration to conduct thorough investigations into the incident in Minnesota and to ensure that security procedures of US Airways and other airlines conform to constitutional standards mandating the protection of religious freedom and other civil rights."
He added that CAIR received a letter today from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties saying it has opened a review of the case as it relates to the actions of DHS employees.
posted by Sabrina at
9:35 AM
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