It is becoming increasingly hard to be a passenger on a plane in the West if you happen to be Muslim. On Friday it was reported that a 27-year-old Muslim was detained at Doncaster Airport in the UK. Her crime: she was reading a Syrian art book. The police questioned the British Muslim woman for 15 minutes before she was released.
Last month, a Muslim man was removed from an American domestic flight after an attendant publicly announced his name, seat number and said she would be “watching” him without making other announcements about any other passenger.
In the instance of the book, the airline concluded that no discrimination occurred. As for the Muslim man, he was told he must leave the plane as he had made the air stewardess “uncomfortable”.
These incidents are particularly troubling given the recent wave of incidents in which Western airline personnel have arbitrarily targeted or removed passengers of Muslim and or Middle East background without an objectively reasonable cause or explanation. In just this year alone, all in the US, a student was removed from a flight because he was overheard speaking Arabic on his phone; a bearded man was kicked off because a passenger said he looked “Arabic and scary”; a Muslim family with three young children were kicked off because they asked for additional straps for a child’s seat; and three Muslims filed a lawsuit against an airline because their appearance made the crew and captain feel “uneasy about their presence aboard”.
These people were singled out as the subject of individual monitoring and, with the exception of those who managed to remain on board, unjustifiably removed from their flights. They were removed not out of a legitimate and credible safety concern or need but because of their appearance, name and religion.
Because of the terrorist attacks in Paris, Nice, Brussels, Germany, San Bernardino and Orlando, Muslims are being caught up in a terrorist paranoia. While it's a good thing to let terrorists know that officials are on their guard, in some instances airlines and their employees are obviously going overboard. It is not a bad idea to be vigilant but it is not good to be vigilantes. There is a huge difference.
Airlines should develop a clear policy on the factors to be considered when a passenger should be questioned or legally removed from a flight. The airlines must also undergo regular sensitivity and diversity training for their employees to ensure that passengers are not subjected to unfair and discriminatory treatment.
Getting pulled out of a line or a plane by uniformed guards in front of hundreds of people is hugely embarrassing but it looks like Muslims in the West are going to have to get used to it. The best thing is to politely cooperate with the authorities, then go on with your life. If you get angry and argue, security is going to wonder why. From there, expect things to go badly.
It is simply a sad commentary about how we relate to each other in these times. If one of the goals of terrorism is to breed hate, there are too many people falling victim to that. These airline decisions appear to be based on mere speculation, overblown and unsubstantiated fear. Given the continuing rise of anti-Muslim rhetoric occurring throughout the US and Europe, this type of reckless and harmful conduct should not be tolerated by airlines which are legally charged with carrying all individuals who are rightfully present in an equal and nondiscriminatory manner.
