Pilot refuses to fly two Muslim men to tolerance conference

[Playinghardball]

Source: Raw Story
By Kase Wickman

Two Muslim men were removed from a flight bound for North Carolina before the plane took off Friday, reportedly because they were clad in traditional Muslim garb, making the pilot and other passengers uncomfortable.

The two men, Masudur Rahman and Mohamed Zaghloul, are both imams and were headed to a conference to discuss Islamophobia — fear of Islam — and tolerance with other religious leaders.

Rahman compared his plight to the Civil Rights movement, and told a CNN affiliate, "That history I found today in that plane, and it shouldn't happen with any other person," he said.

The men have contacted the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which said the case will be pursued

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/05/07/pilot-refuses-to-fly-two-muslim-men-to-tolerance-conference/

[Drale]

1. I don't understand these raciest bastards

Why would a terrorist want to bring attention to themselves by wearing full Muslim garb? I HATE STUPID RACISTS!!

[Obamanaut]

15. Was it more bigotry than racism? If it is true that racism is the belief that

one race is inherently better, or worse, than another and that a racist is one who acts on that belief, and that people all over the world are muslims not just a single race - isn't this more in the line of bigotry?

[Name removed]

2. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

5. Are you suggesting that Muslims should have been kicked off airplanes

and generally discriminated against on the basis of their appearance and religion back in 2001, and that this would have prevented the 9/11 attacks? You do know that the 9/11 hijackers were wearing ordinary western-style street clothes and were not obviously identifiable as Muslim?

:eyes:

[blondeatlast]

6. This thread is, well, REVEALING...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=439&topic_id=1055868&mesg_id=1055868

[kath]

11. It was even more revealing before the most hateful, bigoted, disgusting posts got deleted.

horrible.

[blondeatlast]

12. Yup. And I see the same thinking has infected this one. nt

[Name removed]

7. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

8. Are you now suggesting that the internment of Japanese-Americans

during WWII was OK?

Holy crap.

Dude, I think you're posting on the wrong website.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. You just can't make this stuff up.

WTF?

[jp11]

4. So I can gather passengers to be uncomfortable about a baby on a plane and the baby gets

kicked off the plane?

[Nailzberg]

9. I wish I could get babies kicked off planes.

[reggie the dog]

17. ???

you never flew as a baby? your kids never flew as babies? you would make people like me take a boat across the atlantic to bring our babys to meet grandma and grandpa?

[A-Schwarzenegger]

18. I think he only meant Muslim babies.

I'm kidding, I'm kidding.
He obviously meant all babies,
in order not to discriminate.

[Nailzberg]

19. Kids are worse than babies

I remember two kids having a screaming contest that their mother laughed at, just her two lovely children being precious. 14 hour flight. I was gonna fake a medical condition to get the plane landed.

[reggie the dog]

20. who should fly then

no families? only business travelers?

[Nailzberg]

21. I'm fine with babies, they can't help it. Maybe a ban on ages 3-13

[reggie the dog]

23. so you would force families to take a boat across the atlantic

if they have kids? that would take a huge dent out of trans atlantic tourism

[Nailzberg]

25. There's always Skype.

Or how about a soundproof day-care room in the tail of the plane.

[reggie the dog]

26. family section

and singles section?

[Nailzberg]

27. I'm down with that.

I just posted that I'd love to kick babies off planes bit as a single guy's joke. But as someone who flies 100,000 miles a year minimum, air travel has gotten annoying. I have my chair kicked and headrest poked way too many times over the last decade. My grandfather was the foreman for maintenance for a major airline, so I flew quite a bit as a kid. And my parents never would have stood for that behavior.

To be fair to the kiddos, its easy to single out kids, but adults have gotten just as annoying. Last year, along with a French guy two rows ahead of me, I had to help a flight crew take down a drunk Englishman who drank half a bottle of scotch in flight and started cursing out the Indian couple across the aisle from me. We ended up wrestling in the aisles, and luckily didn't end up diverting to Reykjavik.

I'm not against kids flying, but to keep sane, I gotta have a snide comment toward parents that don't teach their kids to respect the other travelers.

[CreekDog]

28. Nah, I sat next to two business travelers that treated the flight attendant like their waiter

and then got all huffy at him for his "attitude".

[LiberalFighter]

10. We need to be very careful about pilots that

are end timers.

Maybe on May 21st there should be signs on planes that says that if the end of times occurs that anyone that is not in direct contact with the earth will not be transported. And maybe add to it that the next end of times will occur December 25th 2018.

[cliffordu]

13. Ya just can't make this shit up......

:face palm:

[Boojatta]

14. Aren't there any pilots who want to discuss tolerance and Islamophobia?

Next time, somebody could find such a pilot, and the pilot could participate in the conference. For example, the conference could be scheduled for when the pilot is about to begin a vacation. In that case, even if the conference continues beyond the days originally scheduled for the conference, the pilot won't miss anything.

[Hawkowl]

30. I'd go

But only if I COULD miss my regular work!

[BlueIris]

16. How hard would it be, seriously, for bigoted idiots to ACTUALLY LEARN

something about Islam? Buy a book. Watch a documentary. Make a friend who practices this faith. It's not that difficult to educate yourself and figure it out.

Then again, people who feel entitled to be racist jerks don't tend to want to do a lot of work on themselves, even in a minimal way, so it shouldn't surprise me they've never tried to get rid of their predjudices.

[Chris_Texas]

22. Seriously?

It is really damn easy to throw out blanket accusations, and better still when they contain the "I am so enlightneed" subtext.

The fact is that Islam Terrorists have done hundreds or perhaps even thousands of horrific attacks against the citizens of the world. As a result of this, and a non-stop stream of terror mongering by the western world's media, a great many people have an exaggerated fear of this religion. The key word here is exaggerated. I did not say "irrational" for a very good reason, it's NOT irrational given the information they have been presented.

For example, there are like just as many people here with an exaggerated terror of guns or nuclear reactors or global warming as there are people at Free Republic with an exaggerated fear of muslim boogeymen. They fear it because that's what they have been taught, and there are some few facts which back up the myths. Further, whether you are talking Islam or global warming or guns or corn syrup or internet predators or drugs, the arguement for over-reaction remains the same, "Maybe the danger is exaggerated a bit... but better safe than sorry!"

My point is this: get off your high horse and stop slinging the blanket accusations. This pilot was wrong, but the solution is education, not condemnation.

And for the record I am absolutely afraid of Muslims. Like all religious people they are, to me, batshit crazy. Whether we are talking wild eyed muslim fanatics strapping bombs to their kids, or christian fundies writhing on the floor speaking gibberish as they channel the holy spirit of lunacy, I honestly believe that a fair percentage of the followers of ANY religion are only a small nudge away from literally anything. ANYTHING.

[gauguin57]

24. I hope these men sue. This has gotten ridiculous.

The crackers are running the asylum!

[CreekDog]

29. k