WASHINGTON, 13 December 2006 — Five of six Muslim imams who were taken off a US Airways flight last month in Minnesota want an out-of-court settlement from the airline for the humiliating ordeal.
The removal of six imams from a Phoenix-bound US Airways flight at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport has prompted finger-pointing and calls for greater sensitivity to religious diversity.
The six, who attended a national conference of Muslim imams, were removed after exhibiting suspicious behavior, which they say included uttering anti-American statements, changing their seat assignments so that they would be scattered around the airplane and asking for seat-belt extenders, which police say could be used as weapons.
Valerie Wunder, a spokeswoman for US Airways, last week said that the airline has completed its investigation and has concluded that the flight crew was justified in its actions.
But the imams say they merely performed quiet prayers before boarding the flight.
US Airways they have received the request from the Council on American Islamic Relations for a meeting, as well as a meeting request from Rep.-elect Keith Ellison, Minnesota Democrat, the first Muslim elected to Congress, but no date has been set.
After the Nov. 28 incident, the airline offered to meet with the group of imams on Dec. 4, but the men declined and instead sought legal help from CAIR, saying they should not have been removed from a Minnesota-to-Phoenix flight last month and were not behaving suspiciously.
“With the hopes of reaching an amicable resolution to this matter, we would like to take this opportunity to ask for a formal meeting with US Airways executives and legal counsel,” Arsalan Iftikhar, CAIR’s national legal director, wrote to the airline.
Since the incident, conflicting reports have surfaced of what happened after security agents escorted the men off the plane based on other passengers’ complaints of suspicious activity.
CAIR claims the men were handcuffed for several hours, but one of the imams told reporters he was only handcuffed for “10 or 15 minutes” and that the imams were not led off the plane in handcuffs.
The imams represented by CAIR include Omar Shahin, Didmar Faja, Ahmad Shqeirat, Marwan Sadeddin and Mohamed Ibrahim.
Mahmoud Sulaiman of New Mexico, Arizona is the only imam not included as a plaintiff.
Sulaiman asked another passenger to switch seats with him to accommodate a blind imam and was one of three imams who asked for a seat-belt extension even though the police report cites his weight at 170 pounds.
The Washington Times first reported on Nov. 28 that the imams were not in their assigned seats, but seated in a formation similar to the Sept. 11 hijackers and controlled the exits to the plane.
The newspaper said the men also requested seat-belt extensions but did not appear to need them, and engaged in conversations critical of the United States, according to police reports and eyewitness statements. The imams and CAIR officials maintain that press reports as well as Internet sites and blogs have circulated charges they say misrepresent the facts of the Nov. 20 incident.
CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad said in a statement that there have been false rumors and statements regarding the imams behavior while on the flight and his group wants to make sure events are accurately portrayed and religious and civil liberties are protected.
“Unfortunately, the false claims and smears used against these religious leaders only serve to cloud the real issue involved, that of how national security can be maintained while preserving constitutionally protected freedoms and respect for religious diversity,” said Awad.
Local Muslims are united in their anger over the imams’ treatment.
The Minneapolis Metropolitan Airports Commission met last week with local imams who are calling for a prayer room to be created at the airport, where many Somali Muslims are employed.
