Posted on 11/21/2006 4:29:09 PM PST by xcamel
Spokesman for 6 Muslim clerics barred from US Airways flight
One of six Muslim imams pulled from a US Airways flight in Minneapolis last night by federal authorities is affiliated with a Hamas-linked organization and acknowledged a connection to Osama bin Laden in the 1990s.
Omar Shahin, who served as a spokesman for the clerics, is a representative of the Kind Hearts Organization, which had its assets frozen by the U.S. Treasury pending an investigation, notes Islam scholar Robert Spencer on his weblog JihadWatch
Treasury spokesman Stuart Levey in February said KindHearts "is the progeny of Holy Land Foundation and Global Relief Foundation, which attempted to mask their support for terrorism behind the façade of charitable giving."
The imams had attended a conference in Minneapolis of the North American Imams Federation, said Shahin, who is president of the group.
"They took us off the plane, humiliated us in a very disrespectful way," Shahin said after the incident last night.
Today, Shahin called for Muslims and non-Muslims to boycott US Airways unless the company changes its policy.
"They know what they have to do, they have to be fair and just with everybody," he said.
The Washington, D.C., based lobby group Council on American-Islamic Relations planned to file a complaint, said CAIR spokesman Ibrahim Hooper.
"Because, unfortunately, this is a growing problem of singling out Muslims or people perceived to be Muslims at airports, and it's one that we've been addressing for some time," Hooper said.
CAIR, however, has its own ties to Hamas, having been identified by two former FBI counter-terrorism chiefs as a spinoff of a front group for the Palestinian terrorist organization.
A Sept. 28, 2001, story in the Arizona Republic that said Arizona appears to have been the home of an al-Qaida sleeper cell, named Shahin as one of three part-time Arizona residents who "fits the pattern" of the terrorist group.
Shahin, identifed as being with the Tucson Islamic Center, said members of his mosque may have helped bin Laden in the early 1990s when the al-Qaida leader was fighting against the Russians.
The CIA at that time, Shahin said, called bin Laden a "freedom fighter."
"Then they tell us he is involved in terrorist acts, and they stopped supporting him, and we stopped," he said.
In the story, Shahin expressed doubt that Muslims were responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks and said he "didn't trust much of what the FBI has divulged - including the hijackers' identities."
As for Al-Qaida nests in America, Shahin said, "All of these, they make it up."
Witnesses to the imam's explusion last night said some of them made anti-American comments about the war in Iraq before boarding the flight, according to Minneapolis airport spokesman Patrick Hogan.
Also, some of the men asked for seat belt extensions even though a flight attendant thought they didn't need them.
"There were a number of things that gave the flight crew pause," Hogan said.
Shahin claimed three members of the group prayed in the terminal before the six boarded the plane. Last night, however, he said they had prayed on the plane.
The imams boarded the plane individually, Shahin said, except for a blind member who needed assistance. They didn't sit together and "did nothing," he contended.
>>There you have it...nice job other passengers. Expose these inmates errr...Inmans or whatever they call themselves for who they really are!<<
Yeah but they shouldn't get thrown off fro praying... the guy with Bin Laudin and Hamas ties never should have gotten that far.
Related Link:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1741897/posts
If that post was really directed at me I don't get it.
I said that somebody connected with Hamas and Bin Laudin never should have gotten far enough for the passengers to be involved - security should have stopped him. But that in general you should not get thrown off an airplane for praying.
Is that the post you really meant to criticize?
High Volume. Articles on Israel can also be found by clicking on the Topic or Keyword Israel. or WOT [War on Terror]
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I guess you really don't get it - no problem - just let me know how "jihad on your street" works out for you.
>>I guess you really don't get it - no problem - just let me know how "jihad on your street" works out for you.<<
Its certainly ok for us to disagree but I was trying to understand which part you had a problem with - the part where I criticiized security for letting somebody tied to Bin Laudin get on the plane in the first place or the part where I defended freedom to pray in public no matter your religion.
Now I understand. Best to you.
I like your idea! Excellent!
Excellent job.
http://www.usair.com/awa/content/contact/customer_relationsform.aspx
I did the same.
Work-related accident victim?
Does he also have a hook where a hand used to be?
Dear C.A.I.R.,
I am not a racist, but when it comes to your friends, I am definitely a "bigot".
Sincerely...
US Airways EMail Customer Relations Form:
http://www.usairways.com/awa/content/contact/customer_relationsform.aspx
Dear Valued Customer:
Thank you for taking the time to contact Customer Relations at US Airways. Your comments and perception of US Airways are very important to us.
We are aware of the situation involving six customers on US Airways Flight 300 from Minneapolis to Phoenix on the evening of November 20th, and are diligently conducting our own investigation. We are debriefing crewmembers and ground personnel as well as working with local law enforcement. We will cooperate fully with all of the appropriate law enforcement officials to determine the facts surrounding this incident.
We are always concerned when passengers are inconvenienced and especially concerned when a situation occurs which causes customers to feel their dignity was compromised. We do not tolerate discrimination of any kind and will continue to exhaust our internal investigation until we know the facts of this case and can provide answers for the employees and customers involved.
Thank you for sharing your comments and allowing us the opportunity to explain our position.
Sincerely,
M. Bartlett
Customer Relations
US Airways Corporation Office
IMO, you CANNOT "discriminate" against people whose "religion" tells them they are entitled to enslave, mutilate , or kill to force conversions.In that situation, discrimination is just another word for survival.
I hope I'm wrong, but I think I can smell an official apology and mandatory "sensitivity training" a-comin'.
It's a 'form letter' - the reply I received is exactly the same.
Yeah, I gathered...But the phrasing of the form (to me) suggests they might have gotten a buncha complaints from the 'Professional Offendees'. But maybe not... I am just hoping that ONE company won't cave in to these 7th century thugs!
Exactly. My first thought on this.
The security people were correct in kicking them off the plane.
They were incorrect in their timing.
I wrote this back on the 19th - and it fits here too.
"The Achilles heel of the liberalized judeo-christian western world - where great freedom is untempered by great responsibility. Where it is given that our enemies will use our children and grandchildren to destroy us. As was stated, the ability to perceive an intrinsic threat from people who would use every tool of our selfish and petty obsessions with "civil liberties" that have no definition, no rulebook, nothing but an undefined righteousness of personal selfishness.
This is the fight for responsible freedom, or surely the path to self destruction, for the enemies of our freedoms and vices will use methods and tactics beyond our comprehension - beyond our willingness to die to prevent, Because they are born only to die for their beliefs, and sadly we are born only to enjoy the vices of freedom, with our minds in a tiny box, blissfully unaware of the impending waves of death - or worse at our doorstep."
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