Osama Bin Laden is dead. But we cannot let our guard down. Members of Al Qaeda, the terrorist organization he lead for nearly two decades, vows to avenge his death with additional terrorist attacks against the United States.
Therefore, Americans, while feeling some sense of relief, remain watchful.
That was very evident a few days ago, when a Delta Airline pilot refused to fly with two Muslim passengers onboard his plane. Despite the Imams clearing security, the pilot thought they could be terrorists and therefore endanger the safety of his passengers.
Both Muslim passengers were asked to deplane after the taxing plane returned to the terminal. The flight left Memphis en route to Charlotte without them.
As it turns out, both of the Muslim passengers are residents of Memphis. One is an instructor of Arabic at the University of Memphis; and the other is an imam at the Islamic Association of Greater Memphis. They were going to Charlotte, North Carolina to attend a conference about Islam phobia and Muslim relations in the United States in this age of terrorism.
Delta officials at the Memphis International Airport spoke extensively with the pilot after both men cleared a thorough security check, but to no avail. The Muslim travelers were ultimately allowed on another flight to Charlotte without incident.
What do you think about the pilot’s actions?
What effect do you think the death of Osama Bin Laden and the crippling of the terrorist organization should have on how Americans view Islam and Muslim Americans?
Are we allowing a relatively few hate-mongers to define the majority of practitioners of the Islamic faith?
What can we do to move beyond the fears and stereotypes of the “face” of a terrorist?
What do you think?
Comments
I can understand where the
I can understand where the pilot is coming from. The largest atack on America was led and exectued by Muslim's who have a certain wordrobe and race that is very easy to pick out of a crowd. Although the people on this plane were more than likely not terrorists I understand why the pilot had that kind of concern.
However, how does he know the white man in a bussiness suit in front of him wasn't a terrorist? Anyone could be a terrorist regardless of their race, or religon. The men who attacked America ten years ago unfortunatly gave Muslim's a bad name. They are non-violent people for the most part just like every other religon, but like every other religon their are extremists.
I understand where the pilot was coming from but airport security has gotten much better, and I don't think it was fair to these people that they couldn't fly.
Just ingnorance and paranoia
The pilot was wrong. People need to learn that it was not mulims but terrorists who participated in 911. The terrorist who happen to also be muslim. So called Christians bombed medical clinics, assassinated doctors and have shot up high schools. Why are we banning depressed white male loners?
The pilot needs to look at what happens on 911. First of all several of the hijackers had changed their appearance and even died their hair blond. NONE of them wore traditional Arab clothing. Some of them had fake id's and were traveling under fake names. This kind of action does not make us safer but less safe. Why? Because they are focusing on the obvious yet unlikely target and ignoring the real threats.
To put it in perspective, should passengers have the right to say, i don't want this pilot he's probably been drinking. Give me another one.
For the last time, folks, profile behavior not appearance.
Blinded by media
I recommend that everyone try to look at 911 in the way you have described it (an attack by terrorists, not Muslims). The truthful way.
It would also be fantastic if more people knew the facts about 911. Maybe then they would understand that the reason they are discriminating against Muslims is because they have been conditioned and socialized to see that other group as the villan/criminal/evil. A great documentary to watch to prove this is "Reel Bad Arabs."
Obviously we should profile
Obviously we should profile based on behavior and not on appearance, but how do you suggest the pilot do that when he has only seen the two men and never interacted with them? Think of this in the reverse; a muslim assuming all white people think they are terrorists. They are doing the same exact thing that the pilot did: making generalizations about a race based off the actions of a few. I agree that we should wait to judge an individual based on their actions, but lets be honest, this is near impossible in such a high paced society that we live in today.
Although the the pilot of the
Although the the pilot of the Delta Airlines flight out of Memphis was undoubtably taking what they believed to be the right course of action for the situation, the truth of the matter is that we continue to portray ourselves as naive citizens of the United States when it comes to race and terrorism. If only we would have learned from our mistakes we made during WWII after imprisoning thousands of harmless Japanese. Even though we have not taken the situation to that extreme, where do we draw the line when we continue to deny basic freedom's?
Understanding through my eyes
It does seem unjust and unfair that the Muslim passengers that attempted to fly out of the Memphis International Airport were denied boarding because of what race and religion they were. Once a bias has been created towards a certain group of individuals, it is hard to see those same biased differently or to discredit how we feel. We are always taught that our gut instinct is right or "correct", but how can we know that how we feel was created because of something that previously occurred.
I believe that everyone should be screened the same at all airports or government facilities. Although we feel that some groups are more prone to certain actions, those feelings are just that, a feeling. It doesn't mean that someone of another race, religion, ethnicity, etc. does not have the same tendency to create the same action.
I agree
Everyone should be screened to the same degree at the airport, simply because anyone could be a terrorist or threat, not just people of Muslim descent. Anyone is capable of causing harm to others, race, religion and ethnicity should not have a factor in it.
I also do see where the pilot
I also do see where the pilot is coming from but now a days with security screening and all the other precations they take before anyone gets on the aircraft, it is very unlikely that these 2 muslims had anything planned to do. They are just like 2 ordinary passengers trying to get somewhere on time. Just because of their race doesn't mean that the pilot should stop the plan from flying.
I do see why he might be a little skeptical but his other airport colleagues are well trained and do what is neccessary to assure that all passangers are clean and have no firearms/explosions with them or are planning on taking over the plane.
I can see where the pilot is
I can see where the pilot is coming from completely. And yes there may be a lot of security and screening, but that means nothing. Some people are lazy and do not check things well or ignore possible dangers. I have boarded a plane many a times with things in my carry on I should not have. He was just trying to protect his passengers. It may seem discriminatory, but even I have been completely pulled aside and searched boarding a plane and I am white.
When you were pulled aside
When you were pulled aside and searched and they discovered that you were harmless were you still allowed to fly on that plane? The difference between what happened here was that it was completely discriminatory. They were Muslim and even though they were of no threat the pilot still refused to fly with them on his plane.
protection or prejudice
Protecting the passengers is the job of the security department, not the pilots. If the pilot thinks he is good at determining who is a terrorist and who is not just by looking at him/her, he should consider a new career in telepathy.
Do you think the reason "some people are lazy and do not check things" is because the people they are checking are white? The fact that some people are able to "get away" (like in your incident) with carry ons like shampoo or nail clippers might just be because they are privileged with white skin and the security guards trust them more.
Stereotyping
The reason this is happening is because we live in a society where you judged by what you look and not who you are...Most of the time when we hear about serial killers and people and mass murderes, people killing people and eating thier bodies and so on..the majority of the people who do this are WHITE...so why are we not being warned to stay away from white people..and to be scared of them...instead we have a mass killing on 9/11 and now we're scared of an entire race. The mass killings by WHITE americans far outweigh the killings of 9/11.
I think he was in the wrong
He singled them out just because they happened to be Muslim. With all the different and new, extensive security precautions, I don't think the pilot was right to put them off the plane. He assumed because they were Muslim they could be terrorists, but anybody on that plane could have been a terrorist...white, black, blue or yellow, anybody.
I think it is unfair to the Muslim Nation to have to go through such discrimination just because there were a few bad people, that doesn't make them all the same.
Upsetting
While many of the terrorist attacks on America have been by Muslims, that does not mean that they should be discriminated against by the pilot. Airport security is usually very good and if any one is going to racially profile they will do it is a way that is non-discriminatory. I hope that society will allow this to happen and not let their emotions get the best of them.
Wrong, wrong, wrong...
The pilot had no right to refuse to fly with those passengers on board. It makes no sense to look at someone and think, well, almost a decade ago someone who looked sort of like that committed a terrorist act; out of millions and millions of people, it probably isn’t likely, but you never know. I’m curious if it was the pilot’s first flight. If not I’d like to know how he has managed to avoid flying a plane without Muslims on it or why he hasn’t done this before. I also wonder if pilots are typically allowed to refuse service to passengers. It sounds more like a local bar or restaurant than a major airline. He should be severely disciplined in accordance with whatever discrimination policies that Delta Airlines has in place.
Also, if people who are members of a race commonly associated with terrorists were never allowed to fly, the airlines would be out of business.
I can see why the pilot might
I can see why the pilot might have reacted like this, however, I think that it was taken to an extreme level. It was not only rude for the two people, it was most likely very embarrassing and frustrating for both of them. It is not fair for people to have to endure that kind of emotional and mental pain just because of their skin color and their race as a whole. The actions of a few people in their culture should not be the stereotype of the whole race.
Factors leading to racism
I find it unfortunate that even though the passengers were making a routine flight that they were kicked off of the plane on the basis that they were Muslim. I have to admit honestly though that since 9/11 I too have a heightened awareness of who I am traveling with on a plane. I know that my anxiety about flying with certain individuals has been heightened to an extent that I feel I must watch them more closely but it is there and I try to recognize these cues in myself so that I can confront the biases that I have.
Why though do we not stop other races that have conducted terrorist attacks on us? Why does it seem that after 10 years some Americans still hold these biases? But this shows that it takes only one instance for a person to create their own perceptions of a group. However, it may take several "good" acts to erase the image that we have.
A little over the line
If they passed through security I really don't see what the problem is. The racial profiling has gotten a buyout of hand. The terrorist who perpetrated the 9/11 attacks tried to blend in, not stand out. Every Muslim is not a terrorist and every terrorist is not a Muslim. There will always be the fear of another attack, but that does not give us free reign to decide based on appearances who is and is not a terrorist. If the two gentleman had been acting in a way that was suspicious I could see where the pilot could call into question what their intentions were. The actions of the pilot in this case were unacceptable.
I am disgusted by this
I am disgusted by this article. I feel that racial profiling occur mostly in airports. I feel that maybe some individuals are given to much power to handle. And therefore they involve their belief in their work force. I believe there needs to be a stop to this.
Embarrassing and Uncalled for
I believe that the pilot’s actions were highly inappropriate and completely uncalled for. As an American I am embarrassed by his actions. I also believe that the airport officials should have switched pilots instead of having the Muslim passengers switch planes. I believe their actions sent the message that it is okay to discriminate and to racially profile. It is incredibly sad that all Muslims are being discriminated against because of the actions of a small group of extremists. What is even more upsetting is that the two individuals asked to leave the plane were going home after a conference on Muslim relations in the United States. They fell victim to the very thing they were hoping to correct and improve upon. I think that in order to move past the “terrorist” stereotype our country and government need to be more involved about informing the people that discrimination is not okay, and judging a large group of people based on actions of a few individuals is not acceptable.