WASHINGTON, 25 August 2006 — These are tough times to be flying on airlines — especially if you’re an Arab or a Muslim.
Think that’s an exaggeration? Take a look at a few examples of what’s happened this month: In a script from a Hollywood thriller, two Dutch F-16s were diverted to escort a Northwest Airlines flight back to Schiphol, Netherlands on Wednesday, while two US sky marshals took control of the Mumbai-bound DC-10, ordering passengers to remain in their seats and not look round.
The high drama occurred two weeks after British intelligence uncovered an alleged plot to blow up 10 aircraft in mid-air.
According to Northwest, the flight captain spoke of ‘suspicious behavior’ when contacting ground control over Germany. The destination — Mumbai — also raised suspicions.
The Indian metropolis has seen repeated terrorist attacks in recent years, culminating in a string of blasts on commuter trains in mid-July that claimed some 180 lives. Dutch authorities added to the mystery by refusing to provide details, beyond saying they were holding 12 passengers. Earlier this month, a British Muslim airline pilot said it was “humiliating” when he was hauled off a transatlantic flight just before take-off. Amar Ashraf, 28, born in Wrexham, North Wales, said he felt “demoralized and humiliated” after being told to leave the flight from Manchester to Newark, New Jersey, by a stewardess, and was then questioned by armed police. He believes his removal was down to having a “Muslim-sounding name.”
Ashraf, 28, a British Pakistani who was returning to his job as a pilot for one of Continental’s partner airlines in the US, told journalists he plans to file a formal complaint with Continental Airlines, as well as with the US authorities. He is convinced that his racial profile prevented him from flying on Aug. 10, the first day of the heightened security alert at British airports. “I guess I just meet the profile. I was the only person asked to get off and I can’t believe there weren’t others on standby tickets. I think as a Muslim I was an easy target. I understand the reason for the delays but I feel this was discrimination,” he said.
The airline he works for is a partner airline of Continental, which allows him access to standby flights. In a statement, Continental Airlines said it could not comment on a specific case.
Since Sept. 11 2001, every British flight bound for the US provides a “ manifest” list in which the name of all passengers traveling on a plane is provided to US security 15 minutes after take-off. Authorities said Ashraf’s name was not on the list of passengers leaving for Newark that day. The incidents have been condemned by Muslim leaders and some security experts, who warned that judging people by their appearance would be counter productive. Another example occurred last Thursday, when Azar Iqbal, from England, traveled to Atlanta, Georgia, with his family on Delta airlines, only to be separated from his wife and children, held for questioning by US immigration officials, and deported to the UK.
A website used by commercial airline pilots has highlighted an incident where two British women on a flight from Spain to the UK complained about flying with a bearded Muslim, even though the man had been security checked twice.
Last week, an airport terminal at Tri-state airport in West Virginia was evacuated and the FBI questioned a Pakistani woman after security checks wrongly identified explosive liquids in her hand luggage. Dr Ahmed Farooq, a Muslim radiologist from Winnipeg, Canada, was escorted off a United Airlines flight in Denver last week after reciting prayers that were regarded as suspicious by passengers.
He said the incident was tantamount to “institutionalized discrimination.” Their complaints follow growing concerns between European and American Muslims over incidents in which Asians and Arabs have been removed from flights.
Rather than condemn such actions, certain Congressmen want to enforce racial profiling.
A congressional candidate in Florida has become the third Republican office-seeker to call for heightened screening of Muslim airline passengers since preventing an alleged airline bombing plot in Britain. “It is a fact that over the past 34 years, starting with the Munich Olympics, the majority of terrorist attacks have been carried out by Muslims,” said Mark Flanagan, a candidate in the 13th District of Florida, in a statement released Thursday morning.
Paul Nelson, a Republican running in the third district of Wisconsin, endorsed the idea last week on a local radio show. Asked on the show how screeners would spot a Muslim male, Nelson said, “If he comes in wearing a turban and his name is Muhammad, that’s a good start,” according to the Associated Press. New York gubernatorial candidate John Faso also has supported profiling, saying, “If a 25-year-old Muslim man who has been traveling frequently to Yemen or Pakistan tries to board a plane, then not only statistical analysis but also common sense tells us that he is more of a potential threat than the grandmother from Queens.” David Johnson, Flanagan’s political consultant, said that under the proposal, passengers who appear to be Arab or Muslim would be pulled out of security lines for additional screening.
In an interview, Flanagan declined to say how screeners would determine which passengers met that description, or whether Black Muslim and Christian Arab passengers also should be subject to heightened security measures. “Those questions are premature, albeit very important,” he said.
