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Imams and the media

Six imams removed from a November 20 US Airways flight created the incident on purpose, misled the public afterwards, and look to take further advantage of it, if the media will let them.

The imams tried to provoke a response. In a column in the Wall Street Journal, Debra Burlingame quotes an Arabic speaking passenger who heard comments from the Imams, "which included angry denunciations of Americans, furious grumblings about U.S. foreign policy, Osama Bin Laden and 'killing Saddam.'" At the gate before boarding, witnesses say the imams loudly prayed. They took seats on the plane to which they were not assigned that were strategically located near exits. Some imams moved from their seats to communicate with others in different class seating. Some asked for seatbelt extenders -- those heavy buckles at the end of nylon webbing -- even though none of them were large enough to require them. Then they apparently placed them under their seats. After they were removed from the plane, one of the imams, Omar Shahin, claimed "discrimination." He claimed they were led away in handcuffs, which was at odds with police reports.

Powerline.com posted an interesting timeline that Saturday, November 18, the imams had attended a private North American Imam≠s Federation (NAIF) conference in Minneapolis which included a session hosted by Shahin titled "Imams and the Media." Also on Saturday, congressman-elect Keith Ellison spoke in Washington at a Council on Arab-Islamic Relations (CAIR) fundraising dinner. Sunday, Ellison spoke to the group in Minneapolis and meets privately with Shahin. On Monday the incident occurs. On Tuesday Shahin returns to the US Airways counter staging a media event to claim discrimination. On the same day CAIR calls for an investigation. On Wednesday, Ellison sends a letter to the CEO of US Airways about discrimination and demanding a policy for removing passengers. The timeline concludes with the item that CAIR attorneys are preparing a discrimination lawsuit for Shahin against US Airways.

The imams were not planning to hijack the plane, but rather the media and the mechanisms by which this society operates. Burlingame's article concludes, "The imams, experienced travelers all, counted on the security system established after 9/11 to kick in, and now they plan not only to benefit financially from the proper operation of that system but to substantially weaken it -- with help from the Saudi-endowed attorneys at CAIR."

US Airways responded to provocation in a manner that carefully distinguishes between those who practice particular religions and those who by their actions are reasonably suspect as potential threats. The flight crew's actions were well done. We expect them to make similar decisions if called for in the future. It is good that US Airways had the training to respond carefully, respectfully, and strongly.

The next question is whether, once inoculated to this sort of behavior, the press will measure carefully and put in context further actions and comments from imam Shahin, congressman-elect Ellison, NAIF, and CAIR. By all good sense, this should be the last time they clutter the news with propaganda.

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