Imams stage airport 'pray-in' as protest (at Reagan Washington National Airport)

AP on Yahoo ^ | 11/27/06 | Leslie Miller - ap

[NormsRevenge]

WASHINGTON - Imams, ministers and a rabbi staged a "pray-in" demonstration Monday at Reagan Washington National Airport and demanded an apology from US Airways for barring six Muslims from a Minneapolis to Phoenix flight last week.

The religious leaders called for an end to racial profiling, saying it was unacceptable in America.

"These things are troubling to us," said Mahdi Bray, executive director of the Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation. "Driving while black, flying while Muslim, traveling with a Torah or getting with Jesus."

Imam Omar Shahin, one of the six imams detained last Monday at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, said they hadn't done anything suspicious.

The imams, who were returning from a religious conference, had prayed on their prayer rugs in the airport before the flight. After they boarded the flight, a passenger, who was alarmed by their activity, passed a note to a flight attendant. The men were taken off the airplane, handcuffed and questioned.

"It was the worst moment in my life," Shahin said.

US Airways Group Inc. spokeswoman Andrea Rader said prayer was never the issue.

"Apparently, as they were boarding, one passenger overheard them saying what they thought were anti-U.S. statements," Rader said.

She also said the men got up and moved around the airplane, forcing the flight crew to consult with the airline about whether they might pose a security risk. Local law enforcement and the FBI thought they did, she said.

"We're sorry the imams had a difficult time, but we do think the crews have to make these calls and we think they made the right one," she said. US Airways plans to meet with the imams this week, Rader said.

On Monday, Shahin and a handful of other Muslims bowed down on rugs and prayed in Terminal A near the US Airways ticket counter. Jewish and Christian clergy also said prayers.

After the prayer session, Shahin and other religious leaders boarded a US Airways flight to demonstrate their determination to continue praying and flying.

Hilary Shelton, director of the NAACP national office, called on Congress to pass legislation that would end racial profiling. The bill is necessary because airlines are unclear how to deal with racial and ethnic profiling, he said.

In the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terror attacks, four airlines accused of breaking federal anti-discrimination laws settled with the government. Transportation Department investigations found the airlines had unlawfully removed passengers because of their perceived ethnic or religious backgrounds.

Though the air carriers — American Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Continental Airlines — admitted no wrongdoing, they agreed to carry out civil rights training for their employees.

The Homeland Security Department's Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties said last week that it was investigating the US Airways incident.

[XR7]

http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1&section=0&article=Kingdom
The Middle East's Leading English Language Daily

(25, Jumada al-Ula, 1427)

	Media Campaign in US to Dispel Islamophobia Javid Hassan, Arab News
RIYADH, 21 June 2006 — A survey conducted by Cornell University recently found that around half of Americans have a negative view of Islam and would like the US government to curtail the political activity of Muslims in the US. Addressing a press conference at the headquarters of the World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY), Paul Findley, a former US Congressman, said that the cancer of anti-Muslim and anti-Islamic sentiments was spreading in American society and requires corrective measures to stamp out this malaise. It was also announced that the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) would be launching a massive $50 million media campaign involving television, radio and newspapers as part of its five-year program to create a better understanding of Islam and Muslims in the US. Referring to the anti-Islamic sentiments in the US, Findley said that the campaign was being spearheaded by a tiny but influential section of society, including some politicians, academics and opinion-makers. Findley commended CAIR’s initiative that he said could go a long way toward improving the image of Islam and Muslims, which has been badly dented in part due to the events of Sept. 11, 2001. Speaking on his interaction with the US media, Ibrahim Cooper, spokesman for CAIR, said that his own feeling was that American journalists are receptive to issues affecting Muslims. For this reason, nearly all American newspapers, print or online, refrained from reproducing the caricature of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) that were at the center of a controversy earlier this year. He said CAIR took advantage of the issue by distributing DVDs free of charge, bringing out a book on the Prophet, and launching an awareness campaign. “All of this had a positive impact,” said Cooper. Parvez Ahmed, CAIR chairman, spoke on what he described as the most “vicious attacks on Islam” he has ever seen in recent years, adding that the campaign is being orchestrated by a minority fringe element in the US seeking to drive a xenophobic wedge between Muslims and non-Muslims. He said a minority of Muslim extremists helps perpetuate anti-Muslim sentiment in the US, but that it is wrong for Americans to rush to conclusions based on these groups that have distorted or misinterpreted Qur’anic text. He compared it to making judgments on Christians based on the Crusades. Elaborating on the CAIR campaign to dispel misunderstandings of Islam and Muslims, Nihad Awad, CAIR executive director, said that his group proposes to spend $10 million annually for five years in a media campaign. He said that CAIR would also recruit volunteers and produce educational material as part of its initiative. “We are planning to meet [Saudi] Prince Alwaleed ibn Talal for his financial support to our project. He has been generous in the past,” he added.

[Xenalyte]

"It was the worst moment in my life," Shahin said.

Led a pretty sheltered life there, haven't you, Omar?

[Londo Molari]

"Why are all these imams, obese?"

Those suicide bomb vests only make you look that way.

[ItsForTheChildren]

getting with Jesus

Perhaps he left out the word "down."

[highimpact]

"US Airways is my official airline now. Northwest, which eventually flew the Allah-spouting Muslims to their destinations, is off my list. You want to really hurt a U.S. air carrier's business? Have Muslims announce that it's their favorite airline."

-Ann Coulter

[E Rocc]

The stories have been all over the place. First it was said that they prayed on the plane. Now it was on rugs in the terminal. They allegedly made "anti-US" comments within earshot of an Arabic speaker. Overheard comments can easily be misunderstood by someone hearing a second language.

It's sounding more and more like this vcould have been "Eunice Stone in the air": one person's misunderstandings and/or prejudices combined with potential discrimination.

It needs more investigation.

-Eric

[ChiMark]

The Imams are very clever. What was that Rabbi thinking?
So much for the melting pot. No assimilation here.

[Finop]

Racial profiling, put quite simply, is right as rain.

[XR7]

.

We all were warned:

Muslims protest with prayer at Sea-Tac Airport [Planning major protest in Wash. DC on Monday]
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1743890/posts

[wastedyears]

Nice

[Joe 6-pack]

"And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. "When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words.

Matthew 6:5-7

[L98Fiero]

"Driving while black, flying while Muslim,"

Both completely made-up conditions to wrestle power from a white majority.

I live in an area that is 70% black and hear local blacks complain that they get pulled over by black officers for "driving while black". That's how far they try to take that.

Also, notice how every group trying to wrestle power from "the establishment" latches on to blacks and their struggles, real and imagined.

[BamaDi]

is it just me or does anyone else gets the chills when they see more than one of these jokers at one time....especially when they're yammering away in arabic. I'm sorry, but since 9-11 my tolerance for these folks is nil!

[Dick Bachert]

Perfect.

Don't allow them to leave, pack their asses on a NG C-130 and fly them all the hell out of the country. An air drop over Saudi Arabia works for me.

Parachutes optional.

[CottShop]

We're doing 'outrageous behaviorable' profiling- those poepel that were detaiend were purposfully acting strange & loud and abnoxious- if the muslims don't like the fact that our officials did their jobs- too freakin bad!!! http://sacredscoop.com

[Nachum]

This was exactly the point of the first incident. It was to set a precedent so they could protest, interrupt, and get away with it. This will happen again and in greater numbers of people.

The only way to get this to stop is:

* for those religious people who disagree with this bunch to show up with cell phone cameras and disposable cameras and record and photograph every participant.

* Large groups of people from other religious groups to stand in proximity and pray louder and in larger numbers (even on the planes themselves)

*Jews nearby should sing "Hatikva", the Israeli national anthem.

*Christians should chant "We have no king but Jesus"

This will force airport security to step in immediately, no matter the fear of lawsuit.

[wastedyears]

Attach snowboards to their feet and let them try to ride a wave.

After jumping from 15,000 feet.

[vharlow]

If they get concessions for this...then I would recommend we hold a Christian prayer meeting at the airport, and gather lots of people to join in and pray before getting on planes. After all, it's actually a good time to pray, isn't it?

[zeaal]

The images are profound.