Muslims and air travel: When does airport security go too far?
A reader brought this story to my attention yesterday in an e-mail. And while the story broke on Monday, it still seems like a worthwhile discussion topic.
An airline passenger forced to cover his T-shirt because it displayed Arabic script has been awarded 240,000 dollars in compensation, campaigners said Monday.
Raed Jarrar received the pay out on Friday from two US Transportation Security Authority officials and from JetBlue Airways following the August 2006 incident at New York’s JFK Airport, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) announced.
The story goes on to say that other passengers on the flight expressed discomfort, some saying that wearing a T-shirt with Arabic script was like “wearing a T-shirt at a bank stating, ‘I am a robber.’”
Jarrar’s seat was moved to the back of the plane and he was required to cover his shirt with another supplied by JetBlue.
What’s your reaction to this story? Is there a point in which airport security can go too far? Is it fair that someone who looks like the stereotype of a Muslim or is wearing Arabic script can be assumed to be a danger to a flight?
Kurt is the director of social media for the Post-Dispatch, where he has worked since August 2002. He's been a journalist since 1982, covering municipal government, courts, education and two hurricanes as a reporter before becoming an editor. 
WHY WASN’T THIS COURT JUDGEMENT APPEALED TO THE APPEALATE LEVEL????
There’s no free speech on a air flight. The airlines are publicly-owned businesses regulated by security laws.
This country is now softer than baby poop.
In this day and age of highly trained security personell, would it not make more sense to scruitinize (profiled) people descretely at the security checkpoints? Or is the TSA too busy doing body cavity searches on Grandma?
Ignorant and stupid. This guy should sue the passengers too. Half of the muslims in the world are Arab.
Is airport security going to far? Possibly yes. But the sad thing is, they didn’t go far enough before 9/11. If we give in to thier “discrimination” whining, we will be too lax once again. If they are in America, let them play by our rules. We need to look out for ourselves.
They have gone way to far. We are a country of many different cultures and i would be very embaressed if i was on that flight. Are some poeple just plain morons? I would be interested in it more to learn than to be afraid of some word on a t-shirt. People need to get a life.
As far as our airport security, I think maybe we just need to revamp it. I’ve been to France twice when I was younger (but as I’m 24, it hasn’t been that long, maybe 10 years ago?) and both times, walking through the terminal was pretty intense. Their security guards were walking around with automatic weapons. In London, before you can even get to the security screening, let alone on a plane, you pass through a check point of sorts and they digitally scan your face to see if you pop up as a security risk for some reason. It made me feel safer knowing that there were other security measures besides just walking through a metal detector.
Fish,
Actually, what the FBI does is BEHAVIORAL profiling,not specifically racial or ethnic.I have done considerable reading on the subject and it is amazing what they can do based on the behaviors shown by a suspect at the crime scene.Robert Ressler(retired,FBI Behavioral Science Unit) has been instrumental in developing the methods used in criminal behavior profiling and has written several books on the subject.He coined the term “serial killer” and has probably done consulting on some of the shows you mention.Anyway, this leads to the “profile” of who they then investigate for a crime.Gavin DeBecker is another security specialist who wrote an excellent book(The Gift of Fear)that talks about behavioral profiling as it relates to personal safety,especially as it relates to women and children. Just having a certain religion or wearing specific clothing proves nothing.My concern would be( as others have already posted) that security would be so focused on their so-called “profile” that they would miss other possible dangers because they don’t fit the “profile”,as Dan S1 stated.Just because someone is stereotyped to be a terrorist( or whatever) doesn’t mean they are, just because they are stereotyped to NOT be a terrorist (or whatever) doesn’t mean they aren’t.Plenty of “thieves” these days don’t wear baggy pants or carry a gun-the current economic crisis has driven that home.I really doubt an actual terrorist would have tried to draw this kind of attention to himself anyway.
So, let me get this straight, persons of Arabic descent are suspicious only if they wear clothes that have writing in a language other than Arabic? I think terrorists are already on to that one. I think the question we’re really trying to answer is “what is reasonable suspicion?”. In the case of the Muslim family (earlier this week) and Mr. Jarrar, I don’t see a good reason for suspecting them of a possible terrorist threat.
That’s like looking at a thunderstorm and not having good reason to suspect it of lightning strikes.
tau’s (steal my moniker) kendall,
“That’s like looking at a thunderstorm and not having good reason to suspect it of lightning strikes.”
Then why don’t we ban Muslims from airlines if they’re all terrorists? Stereotypes are not reasons, but they make nice red herrings.