The Washington Times has a follow-up story on the behavior the imams exhibited that led some passengers and flight crew to believe the six imams were engaged in more than just Islamic prayer (emphasis added):
Muslim religious leaders removed from a Minneapolis flight last week exhibited behavior associated with a security probe by terrorists and were not merely engaged in prayers, according to witnesses, police reports and aviation security officials.
Witnesses said three of the imams were praying loudly in the concourse and repeatedly shouted “Allah” when passengers were called for boarding US Airways Flight 300 to Phoenix.
“I was suspicious by the way they were praying very loud,” the gate agent told the Minneapolis Police Department.
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.”
A pilot from another airline said: “That behavior has been identified as a terrorist probe in the airline industry.”
[…]
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.
A flight attendant said one of the men made two trips to the rear of the plane to talk to the imam during boarding, and again when the flight was delayed because of their behavior. Aviation officials, including air marshals and pilots, said these actions alone would not warrant a second look, but the combination is suspicious.
“That’s like shouting ‘fire’ in a crowded theater. You just can’t do that anymore,” said Robert MacLean, a former air marshal.
Sounds to me like the flight attendants did exactly what they were supposed to do. They - along with some alert passengers - identified suspicious behavior consistent with the possibility that someone or some people on board could have been planning on executing a terrorist attack. In the end, this may turn out to be much ado about nothing, but the flight crew shouldn’t be made to feel guilty about doing their jobs, nor the passengers for being concerned. Considering the number of flight attendants and pilots who had their throats slashed by the 9-11 hijackers, and the thousands of people murdered that day both on airliners and in buildings, I don’t blame any airline nor passenger for attempting to be pro-active to try to ensure that something like that doesn’t happen on their flights.
Update: Check out the latest Vent on this issue.
Prior:
- The more you look into this “story”, the more it looks like a put up job, intended to try to play the US press, the way aL Jarazza plays the middle Est audiences. It’s pretty obvious the Muslims in question were doing as much as they could to look dangerous, including the important refusal to vacate the plane when told to by the Captain and flight attendents. Then wonders of all wonders, within the next newsday CAIR just happens to have a spokesman ready to go, with a prepared statement condemning the profiling, and concantemant denial of Constitutional rights, all ready to go, including a “call” for an inveatigation. This sort of thing really sells in theME, because the leaders of all the axis of evil countries have raised deflection of their own duplicity, and raping of their people, off on the great Satan, america, to an art form. Not so much here.
- Bang
Comment by Big Bang Hunter @ 11/28/2006 - 11:21 am
I am so tired of the drive-by legacy press not doing thier due diligence and just repeating the imams claims of harrassment and that they were doing nothing but praying.
EVERY day, we can point to story after story written with neglect and I would say criminal neglect. People are misinformed in story after story and what is the affect of this misinformation? A lack of national security, open borders, policy created with crisis mentality, race mongering, more government spending because people think there are cuts when there has been no reduction in government spending on any category any year for over 6 decades.
On every subject we are lied to and just like doctors can be sued for neglect and companies for neglect which make an unsafe environment it may be time that the media can be sued for making an unsafe environment due to their neglect.
I’d hate for it to come to that because then there would be lawsuits just for simply disagreeing with one another but the facts are the facts and reporters and journalists on TV and print have FAILED to do any digging into what the imams were removed for questioning for. Repeating an imams claims is NOT investigative journalism nor is it informative. It is neglect.
Comment by Baklava @ 11/28/2006 - 11:52 am
BTW, This in an AP article:
It wasn’t just the 6 men who were incovenienced. The flight crew who were trying to do their due diligence take their job seriously it seems and the negligent media want to play monday morning quarterback (just like they do with Iraq) and act pitifully like they are smarter than the flight crew who were making decisions for the flight at the time of the evidence.
Comment by Baklava @ 11/28/2006 - 12:12 pm
- the problem is, we’ve given a “free pass” to any sort of shananigons on the part of the press, and politicians are loath to do anything about it because of adverse publicity. We should hold our legislators responsible in more direct ways, and then maybe someting will change. Look how long it took the administration to finally move on the NYT leaks, and even now, so far its been fairly small compared to the offenses. We have to get tough about it, or things will just go on this way. Not easy, because the last thing anyone wants to do is stiffle free speech.
- Bang
Comment by Big Bang Hunter @ 11/28/2006 - 1:00 pm
If these guys weren’t up to something dangerous, then they were staging a dry run so that others could. There is absolutely no reason for their behavior on that plane. This all reminds me of a Woman’s Wall Steet Journal article I read a couple of years ago.
LINK
I hope that CAIR does pull off a boycott of this airline. They will guarantee that this will be the only airline I would fly. - Lorica
Comment by Lorica @ 11/28/2006 - 1:12 pm
Bang wrote, “We should hold our legislators responsible in more direct ways, and then maybe someting will change.”
But how can we when the majority of us are duped by the negligent drive-by press.
They need to be held accountable for FALSIFIED information or something. It’s out of hand.
I don’t want to stifle free speech. I want to hold people accountable for being negligent or putting forth false information. They can freely print anything truthful or opinion as long as they state that it’s opinion. But we see opinion in news sections day in and day out with no end in sight.
Comment by Baklava @ 11/28/2006 - 3:12 pm
Book em Dano.
Comment by Drewsmom @ 11/28/2006 - 5:58 pm
Would the “legacy” media have wasted one precious drop of ink from their barrels if this was a Pro-Life group praying in the airport?
Yeah…I thought not.
Comment by seejanemom @ 11/28/2006 - 6:52 pm
Lorica, I think there’s a third possibility you haven’t addressed: this is intended to increase the already hypersensitive “kid glove” approach to anything Islamic, and reduce the possibility that anyone will dare react to provocative behaviour. It appears obvious that the six imams were attempting to provoke the exact response they did, in order to insulate their coreligionists in the future.
Incidentally, Lorica, I’ve been meaning to ask for some time now: Hamata, squamata, or segmentata?
Comment by Steve Skubinna @ 11/28/2006 - 7:59 pm
Actually I take it from the Lorica of St. Columba. A poem of Praise about the life of the Irish Saint who saved Christianity after the fall of Rome. I first heard about this, as I am not Catholic, from a musical band called Iona, named after the island where he established a monestary. If you have never heard of Iona they are one of the most fabulous groups every to come onto the Contemporary Celtic Christian Music.
If I were to pick a breast plate. It would be scale mail as it has such a cool look, or chain mail as it has good flexability. The plate armor looks good when all polished up tho. LOL
Who can decide these things, until there is a need. - Lorica
Comment by Lorica @ 11/28/2006 - 9:36 pm
From what I’ve read, the segmented armor provided the best protection and was the lightest. But with luck I’d get myself assigned to a scorpion or ballista crew and sit in the rear, cheering on the plucky legionaries. Or maybe get cushy duty as centurion in charge of the granaries.
Comment by Steve Skubinna @ 11/29/2006 - 4:21 pm