Posted on 08/21/2006 2:40:17 PM PDT by A. Pole
The decision to remove two men from a flight before it took off from the Spanish port of Malaga for the English city of Manchester after fellow passengers feared they might be terrorists was condemned by Muslim leaders in Britain, it was reported yesterday. Some among the 150 passengers on board the Monarch Airlines flight demanded that staff remove two men after they expressed alarm about their behaviour on Wednesday, a spokesman for the airline said.
Cabin crew informed Spanish authorities of the passengers’ fears and the men - who apparently looked Asian and spoke Arabic - were taken off the flight and questioned by police. The pair flew back to Manchester later in the week and were not arrested by British police. Khalid Mahmoud, a governing Labour Party MP, told The Guardian the decision was "hugely irrational". "You can’t just accuse anybody who’s of Asian appearance and treat them like a terrorist.
"If somebody is threatening anybody it’s understandable, but when they are just travelling for their own needs it’s not. "People just need to calm down." The Islamic Human Rights Commission told the newspaper that "ever-increasing Islamophobia" was to blame for the removal of the men.
The Daily Mirror, meanwhile, quoted Muhammad Abdul Bari, head of the Muslim Council of Britain, as saying: "While it is sensible for all of us to be vigilant, it is not sensible to pick on Muslims simply because they happen to dress differently or appear to be speaking to each other in Arabic." Travellers have been increasingly jittery in the wake of Britain’s announcement that an alleged terror plot was foiled about ten days ago.
Bump
If governments are going to be overly sensitive and weenie and PC, the passengers will do their own profiling. I applaud those passengers.
I suggest all Muslims protest this by no longer flying on commercial airlines. That'll show 'em! ;)
"People just need to calm down."
Yeah, they'd like that.
Why oh why, do the Brits constantly call Middle Easteners (Arabs, Muslims, etc)... ASIANS????? Realizing that some of the Pakistani's can be called Asians, but why do it? When one says Asians, one thinks of China, Japan, Korea, Singapore, etc..
"People just need to calm down."
Muslims need to stop blowing up planes.
Would love to see a list of how many of these Muslim leaders in Britain condemned all the Muslim murderous terrorist attacks on innocent people all over the world.
Like hell we do.
Too F'n bad.
Exactly...They are not Asians...
quoted Muhammad Abdul Bari, head of the Muslim Council of Britain, as saying:
Unapologetically, I will assert as clearly as I can, "I don't care what someone named Mahmoud, or Abdul Bari has to say about how safe or unsafe I should feel around muslims.
Just as I have no business telling sandmaggots in their own country that they shouldn't hack heads off or eat each other... So long as they stay home.
That's like an inverse Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval.
Maybe the Islamic Human Rights Commission sould ask the question, who is to blame for the "ever-increasing Islamophobia"?
Since the governments are too chicken to do it, I'd like to see the airlines take things in hand and do their own profiling. If they're going to end up losing gobs of revenue due to a large number of passengers profiling and mutinying (who knows, it probably won't happen, but it could), then maybe some laws would need to be passed to protect them from lawsuits if the cap'n decides, Hey, Ahmed, you're OUTTA here.
I'm warming to that idea the more I think about it. Why wait for the airlines to lose gobs of money? Just have Congress give the airlines legal immunity if their employees decide someone is too suspicious looking to let him / her get on that plane.
"You can’t just accuse anybody who’s of Asian appearance and treat them like a terrorist.
Asian? Us that uber-PC-speak for Arab?
Yup, and it's gonna keep getting worse until you stop TRYING TO MURDER ALL OF US.
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