On November 20, 2006, six Muslim men at the Minneapolis airport were taken in handcuffs off their US Air flight to Phoenix, detained and interrogated by the FBI for several hours, and then released. They could return to their homes in Phoenix only some twenty hours later�courtesy of Northwest Airlines, since the US Air again refused to accommodate them. Their detention, it was reported, was in response to complaints by airline staff and other travelers, who accused them of 'unsettling' and 'suspicious' behavior, including 'prayers at the gate.'

The note passed on by a passenger to a flight attendant has been published in the newspapers; it reads: '6 suspicious Arabic men on plane, spaced out in their seats. All were together, saying "...Allah ...Allah", cursing US involvement w/Saddam before flight. 1 in front exit now, another in first row 1st class, another in 8 D, another in 22 D, two in 25 E&F.' For that observant traveler, the main suspicious act was the men's being obviously being together at the gate but then spacing themselves out inside the plane.

I watched the news on the ABC's evening program on Tuesday, and saw six men who looked quite ordinary except that they were all slightly overweight. Ironically, one perceptive flight attendant had reportedly become suspicious because some of the men asked for seat-belt extensions while she 'did not see they actually needed them.'

In response to the incident, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the NAACP have called for Congressional hearings on racial profiling, and also an investigation by the Justice Department and the Transportation Security Administration. These are fair and reasonable demands, and they might even get favorable responses. Quite likely, the aggrieved individuals will receive an apology and perhaps even some compensation. But not much improvement can be expected to come about in the existing state of suspicion, misunderstanding, and misbehavior. That will require a lot more effort on the part of the TV channels, the non-Muslim public, and the Muslims themselves.

I single out the TV, because it desperately must show pictures even when they are not relevant. Consequently, it frequently turns into singularly emblematic what is essentially innocuous. Not too long ago, the sight of a man or woman genuflecting and prostrating in prayer in a corner of an airport lounge would have aroused only curiosity, leading perhaps even to a friendly and useful exchange between a Muslim and a non-Muslim about different ways of praying. But, having seen countless TV reports in which Muslims are shown praying only when the reporter talks about terrorists, the same non-Muslim can well be expected to respond differently. Imagine, how people would have felt about Catholicism some years ago, if every TV report on IRA bombings in England had also included a few seconds of a Mass in progress. Imagine also the uproar of condemnation it would have caused. Presently, no TV report on any so-called Muslim country, e.g. Pakistan or Saudi Arabia, can now be without a bit where the Muslim call to prayers is sounded. No one in the industry objects to it. Imagine, on the other hand, the reaction if any report on Israel's actions in Gaza also showed some Jews praying in a synagogue, or if church bells were heard to chime in the background while the reporter talked about Abu Ghraib.

I'm not an observant Muslim at all, and yet I catch myself saying, 'Allah,' several times during the day. I do so when I feel tired getting out of the bed, or when I stretch myself sitting before the computer. I also often say, 'Allahu Akbar,' as an exclamation of surprise over something good. Much the same is habitual to any number of Muslims, who invoke God's name to convey humility, draw solace, gain patience, find strength, express gratitude, praise excellence, and much, much more. Unfortunately, so do also Muslim suicide bombers, sectarian killers, and assorted fanatics, as they go about doing their ungodly work. Not because they are devout Muslims�as the TV pictures would have you believe�but either out of a multi-faceted cultural habit or as an artful wish on the part of some to appear more devout than others. An example of the latter occurred just before Operation Desert Storm, when Saddam Husain wrote 'Allahu Akbar' on Iraq's flag in order to appear as devout a Muslim as the Saudis, who, in turn, display their devoutness by having the entire Muslim confession of faith on their flag.

Much though it may be desired by some, neither I nor countless other people can suddenly stop behaving in public spaces the way it comes natural to us. We may try, for our own sake, but we are bound to fail fairly often, and should be allowed to expect some understanding from those around us. The task before the US Air personnel at the airport was to assuage the fears of some of the passengers. They did so by removing the six Muslims, but they could have achieved the same goal differently had they been better informed, and also more willing to accommodate those who didn't look like them.

A man in the ABC report was shown asking why the Muslims couldn't behave like him? He too always 'prayed' before boarding a plane, but did so quietly and by himself. His question points to another misunderstanding. Most Muslims do in fact pray silently and separately by themselves when they seek God's protection during a journey or any other activity. The Muslims who prayed together in the boarding lounge, however, were not praying for protection during the flight as that man concluded; they were praying as a group to fulfill one of their daily religious obligations�to pray five times at fixed hours of the day, and to do so in a group if at all possible.

And that leads me to ask a different set of questions, which I address to the Muslims involved in the incident. The news reports described them as Imams or religious leaders, and therefore I can expect them to be well informed at least on religious matters. I ask them: why did you pray at the gate, instead of going to the prayer room which is available at most major airports, and why did you not just wait to pray until after you had reached Phoenix? Islam as a religion allows much leeway in such matters. 'There is no compulsion in religion,' says a well-known verse in the Koran. There are indeed five obligatory daily prayers, but if a Muslim misses one, or even many, he is allowed to make up for the missed prayers later. No shame or sin attaches to that person. Shouldn't you have shown better sense� and also a better feel for what is good for all�and not prayed until later in the privacy of your mosque? Did you, dear imams, explain to the people near you at the gate what you intended to do, and did you get their assurance that your praying will not bother them? Did you stop to think that just as you had bligations to God, you also had obligations�ordained by God�to other human beings, particularly so in these terrible times of suspicion and fear?

To my mind, the incident at the Minneapolis airport grew as much out of the wrongful and self-righteous attitude of the Imams, who could have acted as sensible and sensitive human beings while remaining devoutly Muslim, as out of the xenophobic paranoia of some passengers and the racist bias of the airline personnel. However, to say that is not to deny that passengers with 'Muslim names' and/or 'Arab/Muslim looks' have been targets of racial profiling and worst suspicions since 9/11. The situation is not likely to change soon; in fact, things may get worse when a 'Who lost Iraq?' syndrome sets in. And that makes it the more imperative for American Muslims to be careful in choosing the fights they must fight in the public space and the concessions they must make there.

Assalaamu'alaikum.

I would disagree with some of the concluding comments of the author- I don't think we can say that the imams prayed at the gate out of self-righteouness. From the article, it sounds like they might have been praying the Maghrib prayer possibly very close to boarding time. (I have done this myself many times as an Muslim American woman without thinking twice about it.)

The Maghrib prayer has a very short duration, and many Muslims do not believe they can purposefully miss prayers and make them up later. Many Muslims who do happen to miss prayers offer a make up prayer in hopes that Allah will forgive them and accept their make up prayer. A good number of us are taught that it is generally sinful to miss an obligatory prayer unless it is because of sleep or forgetfulness.

Given this, I think it is important for our fellow citizens to understand that prayer is very normal for many Muslims and not a cause for alarm.

>>The Maghrib prayer has a very short duration, and many Muslims do not believe they can purposefully miss prayers and make them up later.

Sister, surely you know that it is firmly established in the sunnah to delay prayers during travel?!

Unfortunately for the imams, thier behavior as reported by the gate attendent, the pilot and the flight attendents matches closely past attempts to probe security. I don't necessarily believe they were trying to test security, but clearly the flight crew found them more than a little suspicious. Indeed, as reported by the flight crew, the imam's actions oddly match recommendations from captured al-Qaeda manuals. For example, the gate attendent claims she deined Shahin's request to upgrade to first class, yet that's exactly where they found him. Anywaym why are imams getting so fat off of our donations that they need seatbelt extenders...and first class seats?? Where is the frugality of scholars from ages long in the past?

Thousands of Muslims fly each week, but it was these 6 who were flagged. Are we honestly saying that it was for no reason?? The cynic in me thinks that its possoble they were trying to push the limits of expressing Muslimness in public to see how far they could get away with it, as if they were trying to provoke an incident to show how "islamophobic" the "kuffar" are. Something just does not add up here.

This is classic.

While many would like to see a return to personal moral choice rather than state-legislated religion, including OmarG - here we are telling people they NEED to delay prayers. I may have delayed them myself, but how can you possibly tell someone to do so?

Seriously now, 1) do you think that your view should be obligatory on other people, enforcible by booting them off their seats?
2) the common mode of relaxation in travel is to half the 4-raka prayers, and aggregate Dhuhr-Asr, and Maghrib-Isha, at their first times. Does it mean to delay it indefinitely so as to be invisible? I would never say anything to a Muslim who does delay them to pray in seclusion only, but how you can you tell other people to do so?

I dont think your barrage about fatness should even be honored with a response.

One does not *need* to, since it was established that the Peophet said both parties were correct: one group that delayed and the one that did not. However, I encourage people to delay because: it is a mercy and rejecting God's mercy through exemptions due to hardship can't be good for my soul; common sense says that in today's poor climate for Muslims, doing what they did can earn them what they got. I think most Muslims are acting very sensibly by not drawing undue attention to themselves. They are probably the ones who have uneventful flights because they don't do suspicious things. To believe a muslim can act as outlandishly as they please and not experience consequences for it is far, far from realistic.

Agreed. It is their choice to make, they did, and did face reality. However it is unfair and dis-honest to attach a negative value judgement on it. If you are giving your personal opinion only, I may agree with you to some extent. But we're not becoming Moriscoes just yet.

>>I dont think your barrage about fatness should even be honored with a response.

Yeah, its a mean thing to say, but since many imams live off our donations to "do" Islam full time (but, there are some who hold down other jobs or businesses), isn't getting fat from it a bad thing to show to the people? (or, perhaps to the donators from among foriegn governments, rich businessmen overseas, the Ikhwan or who knows?). It seems everyone is reading Qutb these days and forgot to read how the Prophet ate little, and how later scholars often followed that example and acted very frugally, especially with the money of others. Most condemned 'ifraat'. Thus, is it wise or even Islamically ethical to spend the amana of our donations on living large with first class seats and big meals?

>>However it is unfair and dis-honest to attach a negative value judgement on it.

Salam, but they got a negative result from it! I say that there is a cause and effect relationship and I invert it here: if the effect was negative, then the cause was probably not a bright idea.

Assalaamua'laikum.

I would just like to add here that there are differences of opinion on combining prayers in the various Sunni madhabs.

Since there isn't just one way of doing things, we need to tolerate each Muslim's level of comfort with how he or she wishes to worship God. For example, if a Sunni Muslim of the Hanafi Madhab does not feel comfortable in combining his/her prayers, then he or she should be free to pray in an airport terminal before boarding. We should not be judging such a Muslim as either being one who rejects the mercy of God or one who is trying to make a scene. Ultimately, we must all bring to God a sound heart, and to do that, we must allow each person to find his or her own place with God. We shouldn't be forcing a Muslim to offer his or her prayer in a manner that he or she is uncomfortable with before God.

In the Muslim world, it is natural to be able to offer one's prayer anywhere (whether in public or private). I imagine these imams were just doing what came to them naturally- they would have probably done the same in any other airport in the world. The fact that they felt comfortable praying in an airport in America I think shows that they have adopted this country as their home.

Salam,

>>We shouldn't be forcing a Muslim to offer his or her prayer in a manner that he or she is uncomfortable with before God.

You're right, we shouldn't and I don't. But, TSA will. The FBI will. Airline employees will. We do not exist in isolation in this country. We live with the legacy of 9-11 and will continue to have hard knocks thanks to our "fellow Muslims". That's the reality; we will not change that reality with words alone, but the actions of thoughtless people will reinforce that sad reality...

>>Anywaym why are imams getting so fat off of our donations that they need seatbelt extenders...and first class seats?? Where is the frugality of scholars from ages long in the past?

According to one of the four imams interviewed on CNN, he held elite membership status with US Air and wanted the upgrade for him and a fellow imam who is blind. Second, they contest the charges made in the police report that (1) they were chanting "Allah, Allah" on the plane, (2) that they repeatedly switched seats to a more dispersed pattern on the plan and (3) that they cursed US foreign policy vis-a-vis Iraq or even discussed it.

On the larger issue, I can see why people on the plane were worried. In August 2001, I saw a similar situation with people who behaved suspiciously on a London to Washington flight. I watched a lot, but did not report my suspicions to others. At any rate, at least the four imams on CNN tonight have brought suit against USAir. I don't know the relevant law. However, I suspect that USAir may have a problem because even though they were cleared after disembarking, the airline did not permit them to fly the next day.

How the Imams Terrorized an Airliner:

Witnesses said three of the imams were praying loudly in the concourse and repeatedly shouted "Allah" when passengers were called for boarding...

Passengers and flight attendants told law-enforcement officials the imams switched from their assigned seats to a pattern associated with the September 11 terrorist attacks and also found in probes of U.S. security since the attacks -- two in the front row first-class, two in the middle of the plane on the exit aisle and two in the rear of the cabin.
"That would alarm me," said a federal air marshal who asked to remain anonymous. "They now control all of the entry and exit routes to the plane."

...Three of the men asked for seat-belt extenders, although two flight attendants told police the men were not oversized. One flight attendant told police she "found this unsettling, as crew knew about the six [passengers] on board and where they were sitting." Rather than attach the extensions, the men placed the straps and buckles on the cabin floor, the flight attendant said...

The imams who claimed two first-class seats said their tickets were upgraded. The gate agent told police that when the imams asked to be upgraded, they were told no such seats were available. Nevertheless, the two men were seated in first class when removed...

"That's like shouting 'fire' in a crowded theater. You just can't do that anymore," said Robert MacLean, a former air marshal.

Yes, Solomon of course. How predictible!

Specify.

>>they were trying to push the limits of expressing Muslimness in public to see how far they could get away with it,<<

>>they were trying to push the limits of expressing Muslimness in public to see how far they could get away with it,<<

Greetings!, I am back.

Well, well, if it isn't agent provacateur "Gomer" = "OmarG" who is at it again. For those of you not familiar with "Gomer", he is notorious for going to different muslim websites, and bad mouth Islam like there is no tomorrow. I believe Dr. M made him look like yesterdays trash already. Well here goes...

Gomer is no psycho-analyst or cognitive therapist to explain to anyone the intentions of the Imams at the airport. By virtue of being Imams they naturally have to be more religiously observant than anyone else. They are the victims of a failed system. A system that demonized muslims because some in the establishment feel that we should always have an enemy to fight. Usually those are "Cold War Minded" right wing Christian lunatics. Jews are in on this because of their whole debacle with the Palestinians. Gomer is clearly biased against Islam and Muslims, and clearly has nothing better to do with his meager life than to post rhetoric on Muslim web-sites.

Solomon of course by being a "heroic Jew" will rehash the same tired out zionist propaganda which FOX news and that loser Murdoch are doing. I would like to see Solomon2 and Gomer condemn the recent Israeli massacre of Palestinian women and children. I would like to see him label "former" comedian Michael Richards as a "Skinhead" or "Nazi" for using the N word against black people. The fact that Israel can't win wars anymore and that in Jewish culture the women have more balls than the men, no wonder why the Israelis can only square off against women and children. "SUMMER TIME WAS A BLAST, HAHAHHA".

Michael Richards/Seinfeld= Murdoch's Nazis.

The 6 Imams rule because they obviously revealed the corrupt nature of our system. Lady Liberty is weeping. The founding fathers are turning in their graves.

At the end of the day the fact remains that those imams have a constitutional right to pray in that airport or anywhere else, that the mere act of Islamic prayer does not make one a terrorist, that while I agree that combining the prayers is recommended and probably "middle path", how do we know that the prayers being performed were not their combined prayers. Many of the inflamatory elements of this story are now being recanted such as the chanting "Allah" repeatedly claim. In my experience some of the seatbelts on smaller planes (like commuter flights) can be quite short even for an averaged size person, the act of asking for a seat belt extender has to happen quite frequently. As to making assertions about the imams financial condition, many have addtitional income resources, such as investments, addtional jobs, teaching positions, etc. Why must you assume the worst?

Assalaamu'alaikum.

An extensive interview of 2 of the 6 imams:

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/11/29/1436216

Hey, its Nap! For anyone unfamiliar with Nap, he's an anti-semite that gets away with writing 'kike' on muslim forums. He is the essence of how Muslims are taught NOT to act, so beware, lol.