Oh, what wonderous news do we have this week, if you attempt to fly while arab and/or muslim? Well, lets just have a look see shall we?

Praying while on the plane? Booted. Look scruffy and speaking a non english language? Booted. Going for a holiday with your family to Disney? Booted.

Oh, and if you're a pilot, you're not immune either. Amar Ashraf, a british pakistani pilot, was removed from a continental flight WHILE RETURNING to his job for one of continental's partners. Bloody hell!


Finally, please read this account by blogger Raed Jarrar of his encounter with jetBlue. If you are so inclined, consider writing to jetBlue to express your displeasure. Can't board the flight if you're wearing a tshirt with arabic on it.

I read Raed's blog from time to time, and this entry really frustrated me. I cannot tell you how many t-shirts my Mom has with Arabic script - my daughter also has some. My aunt used to give them to us all the time when she lived in Saudi. Jessica, my daughter, has one that has one that has two swords and has a proverb that loosely translates to "you let go and I will let go". Imagine, two swords and Arabic script!!! Dangerous little 9-year-old.

I think that all the people with unreasonable fears (like in the Malaga to Manchester case) should be the ones not to fly. If a brown person makes you uncomfortable, stay home or find another mode of transportation. If something that "sounds like Arabic" makes you nervous, do the same. Suspicious behavior has become so loosely defined. Overblown fears are not reasonable and should not be accomodated. These are the people that should be removed.

Rampant and SUPPORTED bigotry... it sickens me. I still have a SO to get through POE IF he ever gets his visa... somehow this just doesn't make me feel better.

But there's the problem. What's overblown? I've heard plenty of people who think it's perfectly reasonable to be afraid of a guy on the plane with "a thing on his head". And somehow HE is the one with the problem.

I agree with you completely! I think it's nuts that they would single a person out for having a t-shirt on with arabic script, yet you don't hear anything about some of the real really offensive shirts! I was actually told by a co-worker that when she hears a muslim say "Asalam Alekum" that shes gets offended. I told her it's just wishing a brother and/or sister peace and blessings. I asked her if she thinks that when she wishes someone "Merry Christmas" she might be offending someone and she said no because it's an "American tradition" and a greeting to spread cheer! It just amazes me how people can be so ignorant to such small things. It might just be a greeting, but I bet if you said it on the phone at an airport you might get in a bind.

I agree fully!

OK well I read this article and I don't agree with the blogger.. I mean .. cmon you are wearing a tshirt with "We wont be silent" I understand that it is not a bad shirt and doesn't mean any disrespect but we live in a society where if you wear/say something offended someone else you have to change.. I have a shirt that says "White proud and stupid" and has crosshairs on a back woods redneck... I was asked to change my shirt or leave a museum because it offended a black person.. AN AFRICAN AMERICAN.. I am wearing a shirt that says "White proud and stupid" seriously.. .. And I am white.. I have middle eastern heritage but I don't look it.. so seriously.. I changed my shirt and said nothing else.. this man created a scene.. it is his own problem.. its not cause he is middle eastern it is because he offended people.. sorry this is a PC world we live in .. Deal with it.




If you are offended by something speak up .. the only reason that guy had to take off his shirt was because someone spoke up ,. if you are offended speak up .. I GUARANTEE they will make the person change their shirt too.


I wont deny that arabs are picked out of the crowds.. but just like the rest of the world .. its not always your race or color or religion .. its your actions..

I got the distinct impression that they asked him to remove the shirt because it was in arabic, and they didn't know what it said. If someone is offended at the mere sight of the arabic script, then perhaps they need to avert their eyes or look the other way.

If someone is offended because I wear a thing on my head, should I have to take it off? Hell no. Should I leave my quran and my other arabic language books behind when I take a flight because someone is offended by the sight of arabic and they don't have anyone to translate what it says? Hell no.

Take a stand.

Didnt ya hear? Wearing a "thing" on your head is the new in thing!

People have to take down nativity scenes because it offends people on christmas..

People have to take crosses off becase people are offended..

My friend had to remove a shirt because he had an anti swastika on it..

My dad got asked to leave a wedding because he wore his kilt

I was removed from my prom because I wore my kilt

I am sorry its a PC world..

My fiance had to wear a jacket because she was wearing a F C U K shirt..

I don't like this PC crap just like you guys. I think it is horrid.. But sorry if it offends someone you gotta deal with it .. and if you fight it .. you got to deal with the reprecussions..

Being an arab right now .. if I was that guy I would have changed my shirt right away .. its rough times for arabs right now and the last thing you need is to start a scene.. ya know?



That guys shirt had english below it .. "We wont be silent" is a very emotionally charged statement.. ya know what I mean .. what does we wont be silent mean?

here we go..............................................................................
...............................

Then you can pick your battles, and I'll pick mine

Yup .. I completely agree in standing up for yourself.. but if you stand up for what you believe there are consequences you have to deal with in all situations.. and you better be ready for it..

(This is not a flame .. just a prespective from the other side)

It kinda makes you wonder what freedom of speech really means?

if anyone did any of the above, kilts, crosses etc... none of them bother me at all. with the only exception being clothing that has profanity on it in a situation/event where children are involved. I am not a person to be easily offended by what other people believe in or say or think. if I want to wear a head covering because it is my religious belief, that's fine. and for the same reason, I cant say anything about someone who wants to wear the star of david, or christian cross or wiccan symbols.

Ding Ding Ding .. that is the question .. in our world right now free speech is .. "You can say anything you want as long as it doesn't attack/offend anyone".

Its sad isn't it? Because people like you and me may be offended by something but will say absolutely nothing because we can deal with it .. then you have people that just want to complain cause they can .. and this is what I am trying to say is that this is the world we live in .. PC sucks.. I wish I could say what I want.. but I can't.

when in rome, do as romans do.....guess that one never came to someone's mind

You make some good points. When I was in High school, I was a christian and I wore the same cross everyday for 2 years. One day a girl in the choir class I was teaching, came up to me and ask why I wore it and if I knew that she was offended. I told her it's a symbol of my faith and reminds me of what Jesus had to go through and I didn't know it was offensive. The thing is, that I hung out with people of all faiths and 1 time in my 4 years of high school someone approached me and told me it was offensive! That really gave me a reality check and made me look into my faith a little more. Anyway, I forgot where i was going with this. I guess sometimes you need a good bump on the head to come to reality. I don't think there is one thing in this world that doesn't offend anyone. Come on! Even a smile can offend someone these days!
Ok I'm done.

So how do you "do as the romans" in the United States?

I personally feel it is just as American to wear a "thing" on your head as it is to wear a baseball cap or cowboy hat. Are some immigrants more "American" than others?

good idea, give the guy on the plane a cowboy hat and he'll fit right in

The blogger was not told it was the English translation that was objectionable. It was the "unknown" Arabic message that was at issue.

So they were not offended by an "emotionally charged" statement. They don't know what offended them. They didn't understand what it said. It had no meaning to them at all other than it was written in Arabic.

This means all foreign language papers, books, etc. are subject to the same scrutiny. No more Spanish options on the phone because we don't know if they are "really saying the same thing".

كيف حالك


Kick me off the plane, kick me off the plane!

the greatest fear is the fear of the unkown.




I am fine and you?



I am sorry if I saw this on anyones shirt I would question what it meant.

Hmmm, next time I go to the airport, I'm getting one of these shirts. I'm a trouble maker

nice!

You want to watch hilarious stupidity, when I used to go into yahoo chatrooms (where such phenomena abounds) if someone posted Arabic script in the room, all of those "yanks" who had no clue what the guy was even saying would raise such a ruckus about the Arabic script it was laughable. They would insult the poster, announce loudly how they would block "such offensive chicken scratch" and the like.

War of words is what it is... but the truth remains that its bigotry without thought.

yikes.

No problem with praying If is not following by killing

Ya Allah...I wonder what will happen to me, when I go to Algeria via Frankfurt on Lufthansa.... will I get booted too, cos hijeb?

I always make du'a and read Quran (memorized not from the book) right before take off and prior to landing. Well on the last leg of my journey back home from Egypt I was flying from Chicago to Detroit. I was whispering my little prayer and you should have seen the look on the faces of the ppl seated next to me! I guess it never occured to me that a whispered prayer would scare someone. Don't others from other religions pray on airplanes too?

Love the emoticon Icey... Is that beer and cornuts? LoL....Just joking....

Its called profiling. Thats the way it is in airports, especially when there are religious nuts out there that would have no problems killing everyone on board including themselves.

Dont like it?? walk!!

That's pretty funny Mrs. Z ...when I recently went to Cali... I was actually reading the Qur'an not thinking anything... I got some stares...LoL....

If I've passed through all the security checks, they've looked under my head thing, taken off my shoes, patted me down, dug through my backpack and purse, and taken away my hand lotion, then what's the need to keep me off the plane because my shirt has arabic or because I wear a head thing?




I'm reminded of a shirt I wore frequently in my college days. It's pictured below circled in pink On the back, it says FUNdamentalist. I think I'm going to have to dig through my husband's stuff and comendeer it back for awhile.

Its because ppl dont want with ppl wearing head thingies and chanting in some language...its not something you do on an airplane. Airplanes are for getting from point A to point B safely. Wanna chant, pray, kneel, bow, etc. do it at home or in some church...its not something we do in public and especially on airplanes.

Dont like it...sue em!!!
drive, walk, take a banana boat, ride a donkey, rtc....I dont care

Wow that was straight up ruuuuuude.

Did your SO come to the states in a banana boat like mine will (inshallah)? Inshallah means God willing...hope I don't offend. I believe we're all marrying foreigners around here who speak foreign languages. I just can't believe the amount of racism on an immigration forum.

Its because bigots dont want with ppl wearing head thingies and chanting in some language...its not something you do on an airplane. Airplanes are for getting from point A to point B safely. Wanna chant, pray, kneel, bow, etc. do it at home or in some church...its not something we do in public and especially on airplanes.

bigots....hahaha..thats funny...not me

look up the meaning of assimilate please......I could care less what religion you belong to....just keep it private and do it in your home, church, synagogue, mosque, wherever,,,,but not on the airplane that Im on.

dont wanna be a part of our society, then Im sure that some other place would suit you better.

well DS, we are a society of individuals. assimilation does have limitations in this kind of society. I am not disagreeing nor agreeing with you, just adding this.


edited for grammar

really, not you

How do you assimilate to America?

What behavior do you consider appropriate to being part of "our society"?

Funny, it's OUR society as well. I don't see how praying in public puts you outside of our society. Did I miss that somewhere in my civics classes? There is certainly plenty of case law debating whether authority figures can lead prayers in school, but simply praying while in public? That's pretty much out and out legal.

It's also legal while on planes. I've done it countless times and never encountered a problem before. inshaAllah it will stay that way.

somehow, I don't think you'd say the same thing to the little old Italian lady wearing a head lacey thingie and running her rosary beads during take off...

I saw a man once on my flight from Casablanca to JFK who raised his hands up into the air and prayed several times... it didn't really bother me but I did wonder why he couldn't wait til he got home? Why did he need to do it on a very crowded airplane? I tend to believe that religion is personal and that religious acts or whatever are better off in a more private setting.

Maybe prayer eases his nerves? Like Mrs. Z, I pray and recite quran when the plane is taking off and landing. It calms my nerves and sets a positive tone for me for the flight. I'll also occasionally make dhikr (using prayer beads) whenever the mood strikes me. If it strikes me on the plane, then I'll do it there. My husband read from his quran the entire trip to the united states because it's something he does a lot anyways, and it kept him occupied for the 30 hour trip.

If religion is something private for some people, then by all means, keep if private yourself. But if someone wants to express it publically, then s/he should be allowed that.

The whole raising of the arms seemed a little much to me since he almost hit the poor girl next to him several times.

When I was Christian I prayed silently in my head to myself. That just seems normal to me.

Well, there's certainly a difference between praying in public and endangering people with your prayers How about pray in your own personal space

haha ok, you pray in your bubble, and I'll pray in mine....DON'T CROSS BUBBLES!!! Personally...if a person wants to pray...GREAT! I don't see anything wrong with a person asking for a "safe flight" via prayer (outward praying or inward praying) ...... I see no harm in it...
let ppl live their lives as they want. if they are not harming anything or anybody.....what's the problem??? our own boredom? need something better to do?? it's sad really...

Exactly

I have never understood this mentality of projecting "what I do" onto other people. What's wrong with diversity?

But you have to understand while you have the right to free speech the other individuals have the right to be offended... if you are doing something that may be offensive just dont do it on planes.. I am sure you can pray quietly without speaking out loud.. if I pray I am quiet.. and no one knows..