General

How the imams terrorized an airliner (updated)

I’m a little late on this, but the The Washington Times has some eye-opening details on this story.

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 said they were not discussing politics and only spoke in English, but witnesses told law enforcement that the men spoke in Arabic and English, criticizing the war in Iraq and President Bush, and talking about al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden.
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.

Yesterday on Hannity, it was explained that seat belt extenders can be used to make a low barrier across the aisle, which might help in corralling passengers during a high-jacking. Any air marshal or thoughtful passenger on board would go on high alert upon hearing a request for an extender for a non-obese person. If the extenders also had a decent hunk of metal on one end, it would make a nice weapon.

But even setting that aside, not sitting in your assigned seat and jumping to first class? That alone warrants an automatic ejection. My opinion of US Airways is way, way up. And it was down before, but really this should be expected on any airline, but what’s nice to see about US is that they are sticking to what they know and there will be no apology.

The imam widely publicized counter-protest should backfire among the general public, but that’s not who it’s aimed at. It’s aimed at all Muslim-Americans, and the message is “See what they did to us? Americans hate you! Come back to the Mosques and listen to us, only there will you be accepted.”

Assuming that the mutual goal is to share the planet, the only real long term answer between these faiths is to learn to live together. It’s obvious that these Imams are not helping, but actively trying to divide. But why? Do they not want to share the planet? That’s a million dollar question.

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UPDATE

and bump to today’s date

Thanks to Pajamas Media (this is the best reporting I’ve seen from them so far), some interesting and alarming details about the flying imams. Also there are links to the police report and a letter from one of the passengers to US Airways.

Some Excerpts:

Pauline revealed to Pajamas Media that the six imams were doing things far more suspicious than praying - an Arabic-speaking passenger heard them repeatedly invoke “bin Laden,” and “terrorism,” a gate attendant told the captain that she did not want to fly with them, and that bomb-sniffing dogs were brought aboard. Other Muslim passengers were left undisturbed and later joined in a round of applause for the U.S. Airways crew. “It wasn’t that they were Muslim. It was all of the suspicious things they did,” Pauline said.

…

Another passenger, not the note writer, was an Arabic speaker sitting near two of the imams in the plane’s tail. That passenger pulled a flight attendant aside, and in a whisper, translated what the men were saying. They were invoking “bin Laden” and condemning America for “killing Saddam,” according to police reports.

…

Still, it seemed like just another annoying development, typical when flying the friendly skies. Days after the incident, the imam would claim that the steward helped him attach the device. Pauline said he is lying. Hours later, when the police was being evacuated, the steward asked Pauline to hand him the seat-belt extension, which the imam did not attach, but placed on the floor. “I know he is lying,” Pauline said, “I had it [seat belt extension] in my hand.”

…

Other factors were also considered: All six imams had boarded together, with the first-class passengers - even though only one of them had a first-class ticket. Three had one-way tickets. Between the six men, only one had checked a bag.

…

While the imams were soon released, Pauline is fuming: “We are the victims of these people. They need to be more sensitive to us. They were totally insensitive to us and then accused us of being insensitive to them. I mean, we were a lot more inconvenienced than them.”

The plane was delayed for some three and one-half hours.

…

Tucked away in the police report is this little gem: one of the imams had complained to a passenger that some nations did not follow shariah law and his job in Bakersfield, Calif. was a cover for “representing Muslims here in the U.S.”

The money grafs from Pauline’s letter:

Upon watching the 5 o’clock news tonight I heard more about this incident.
Now they are reporting the men to be clerics. Last night at 1 pm they were
calling themselves scholars who were attending a conference. It would be
interesting what kind of a conference they had been attending. I question,
from my close personal observations of them prior to boarding that they are
either. I would also like to see this investigated also. I believe there is a real
story here that the American public deserves. US Airlines has been caught off
guard by these accusations and is being painted as the bad guy, stating they
will make their own internal investigation. Why, all of a sudden now, are they
made to look guilty by the media? Only the media can clear the air on the
truth here. They need your help and support in this matter.

Let’s not sweep this under the rug as yesterday’s news. I challenge the news
media to investigate the real facts of these backgrounds, what had they been
attending in Minneapolis as well as interview the crew and people involved
bringing the real truth to the American public. They deserve the truth for the
future of their own safely. Please do not just let this mater drop. Thank you!

This was written a day after. I’d say thanks to these passengers and the internet, the matter didn’t drop and any public sympathy for these imams was quickly quashed. At best, these guys acted like jerks without a concern for the other passengers being delayed for 3 and a half hours. At worst they were up to something a lot worse.

Put ‘em on the no-fly list and let them take greyhound or amtrak for a couple of years. They’ve lost any chance at sympathy from the public. Kudos to US Airways for staying strong.

UPDATE

and bump to today’s date, ht to Conservative UAW:

Ha!

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