Remember that story a while ago about the six Muslim imams that were yanked off the US Airways flight a while ago? They had been rather praying rather loudly in the waiting area, did not take their assigned seats and took seats in a configuration similar to that of the 9/11 hijackers, asked for seat belt extenders when they didn’t need them, and were heard to be saying things good about Sadaam and bad about Bush and America.
Now, in and of themselves, each action probably did not warrant much attention. However, putting them all together, even regular folks are going to get suspicious (even worried). So what do you do? Call 911, call the authorities, or talk to someone that can investigate something further.
You might think concerned citizens (as opposed to the neighborhood gossip), right? Just being vigilant, as our government has asked, right?
Well, according to these six Imams, CAIR (Council for American-Islamic Relations), and the ACLU (you know who they are – and if you don’t, you don’t care about this story):
THEY SHOULD BE SUED!
That’s right…people trying to do the right thing should be SUED! The Washington Times reports it here and from the Star Tribune:
The "flying imams’ " federal lawsuit, filed this week in Minneapolis, has made headlines around the country. The imams are demanding unspecified damages from US Airways and the Metropolitan Airports Commission, both with deep pockets. But their suit includes other defendants, as yet unnamed. These people, unaffiliated with the airline industry or government, are among the imams’ most vulnerable targets.
On 9/12, the travel industry all but died – who wanted to fly? It may be a stretch, but if this type of behavior continues, it could continue that – frighten off passengers. Not only with a threat of death (if the behavior was carried out to its horrible illogical ending), but now with the threat of being sued.
Background:
The imams’ prayer was reported by the gate agent, who told police "I was suspicious by the way they were praying very loud." Another flight attendant said she noticed three to four people praying but did not consider it unusual.
One passenger said the men were near the ticket counter and "seemed angry," and engaged in a "heated discussion" about the U.S. "killing Saddam" Hussein, and then shouting "Allah, Allah, Allah" when called for boarding.
Passengers and the flight crew say the men were disruptive and did not take their assigned seats and formed a pattern similar to the September 11 hijackers. Some of the men asked for seat-belt extensions they did not need, criticized the war in Iraq and President Bush, and talked about al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden.
Sure, and these folks believe I should just keep peering into my laptop screen….right! Got news for these jerks (and I call them that as they seemed intent on doing nothing but riling people up just so that they could claim victimhood status – oh look, just another case of Islamophobia!
No, yet another case of trying to create more dhimmitude among the infidels. Let’s use the their own social mores, policies, and laws to advance our own agenda….
After extensive consultations, the pilot asked authorities to remove the imams for questioning, which they did, releasing them later that day.
"The pilot did what he had to do," passenger Rita Snelson of Maplewood told the Star Tribune. "I told the airline afterward, ‘Thank you for watching over us.’ "
The men were escorted off Flight 300 to Phoenix, handcuffed briefly, then searched and questioned for several hours by airport police and members of the Joint Terrorism Task Force.
So, what is the lawsuit about? In some ways, the typical excuses made to open up wallets:
The imams’ lawsuit, however, asserts that US Airways and the MAC acted solely out of religious and ethnic discrimination. It includes 17 separate counts.
It also rehearses a catalogue of harms allegedly suffered by the imams, including fear, depression, mental pain and financial injury. They have not only endured exhaustion, humiliation and ridicule, but also have lost sleep and developed anxiety about flying.
Gee, does my son get to sue? He went to boot camp, and the stories that he told me kinda sound just like that: fear, depression, mental pain, and humiliation (ok, not the financial stuff). This is just so much hooey…
If it was just that, my attitude would be "eh, so what?". But it’s not:
But the most alarming aspect of the imams’ suit is buried in paragraph 21 of their complaint. It describes "John Doe" defendants whose identity the imams’ attorneys are still investigating. It reads: "Defendants ‘John Does’ were passengers … who contacted U.S. Airways to report the alleged ‘suspicious’ behavior of Plaintiffs’ performing their prayer at the airport terminal."
Paragraph 22 adds: "Plaintiffs will seek leave to amend this Complaint to allege true names, capacities, and circumstances supporting [these defendants’] liability … at such time as Plaintiffs ascertain the same."
In plain English, the imams plan to sue the "John Does," too.
Who are these unnamed culprits? The complaint describes them as "an older couple who was sitting [near the imams] and purposely turn[ed] around to watch" as they prayed. "The gentleman (‘John Doe’) in the couple … picked up his cellular phone and made a phone call while watching the Plaintiffs pray," then "moved to a corner" and "kept talking into his cellular phone."
Great – to summarize this action, try this on for size – "We are willingly doing something that will frighten you, and if you alert the authorities, we’ll sue your pants off!"
In retribution for this action, the unnamed couple probably will be dragged into court soon and face the prospect of hiring a lawyer, enduring hostile questioning and paying huge legal bills. The same fate could await other as-yet-unnamed passengers on the US Airways flight who came forward as witnesses.
The imams’ attempt to bully ordinary passengers marks an alarming new front in the war on airline security. Average folks, "John Does" like you and me, initially observed and reported the imams’ suspicious behavior on Nov. 20. Such people are our "first responders" against terrorism. But the imams’ suit may frighten such individuals into silence, as they seek to avoid the nightmare of being labeled bigots and named as defendants.
Folks, this is scary! This is nothing more than intimidation – talk to someone about what we do and it will cost you money for lawyers. It will cost you in publicity (especially if you don’t want it). This is about the pushing of Islam by creating a "buffer zone" for more activity.
