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BJ · 11-24-2006, 07:57 PM

anyone blame us airways? They deserved it

US Airways Reviews Muslim Travelers' Removal From Jet (Update1)
By Mary Schlangenstein

Nov. 21 (Bloomberg) -- US Airways Group Inc. is investigating why six Muslim scholars were removed from a flight after a passenger expressed concerns about their behavior.

The imams were taken off US Airways Flight 300 to Phoenix at the Minneapolis airport last night. Police and the FBI were called after the men refused the captain's request to leave the jet to discuss the matter, airline spokeswoman Andrea Rader said today.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations urged ``relevant authorities'' to investigate the detention of the imams, who were questioned and released without charges. They were in Minneapolis for a conference of the North American Imams Federation, the council said.

US Airways doesn't ``tolerate discrimination of any kind and will continue to exhaust our internal investigation until we know the facts of this case and can provide answers,'' the airline said in a statement.

Flight 300 was still at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport when the incident occurred. Before the imams boarded, they were ``praying loudly in the gate area. Some were heard to be making statements against the U.S. involvement in Iraq,'' Pat Hogan, spokesman for the airport, said in an interview today.

Some of the six repeatedly said ``Allah'' as they boarded, then asked to change seats and requested safety-belt extensions that they put under their seats, Hogan said. One was overheard to say he would ``go to whatever measures necessary to obey all that is set out in the Koran,'' Hogan said.

Multiple Agencies

The six were questioned by the U.S. Secret Service, FBI and U.S. Marshal's Office before being released, Hogan said.

``Our involvement was to see if there was any criminal activity,'' he said. ``There was no evidence to support that.''

US Airways, the seventh-biggest U.S. airline, is talking to crew members, ground workers and Minneapolis law enforcement about the incident. The Tempe, Arizona-based carrier also will talk to the men, who flew another airline to Phoenix today, Rader said.

Rader said she didn't know what the men did to cause concern by the passenger, who communicated the information to a flight attendant.

The imams' actions involved ``the performance of normal evening prayers offered by members of the group,'' the council said in a statement. They were ``humiliated'' at being handcuffed, the Washington-based council said.

``We are concerned that crew members, passengers and security personnel may have succumbed to fear and prejudice based on stereotyping of Muslims and Islam,'' Nihad Awad, the council's executive director, said in the statement.

11-24-2006, 07:57 PM
BJ Confirmed User Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: asia Posts: 5,590	sorry if been posted. Six muslims taken off a flight anyone blame us airways? They deserved it US Airways Reviews Muslim Travelers' Removal From Jet (Update1) By Mary Schlangenstein Nov. 21 (Bloomberg) -- US Airways Group Inc. is investigating why six Muslim scholars were removed from a flight after a passenger expressed concerns about their behavior. The imams were taken off US Airways Flight 300 to Phoenix at the Minneapolis airport last night. Police and the FBI were called after the men refused the captain's request to leave the jet to discuss the matter, airline spokeswoman Andrea Rader said today. The Council on American-Islamic Relations urged ``relevant authorities'' to investigate the detention of the imams, who were questioned and released without charges. They were in Minneapolis for a conference of the North American Imams Federation, the council said. US Airways doesn't ``tolerate discrimination of any kind and will continue to exhaust our internal investigation until we know the facts of this case and can provide answers,'' the airline said in a statement. Flight 300 was still at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport when the incident occurred. Before the imams boarded, they were ``praying loudly in the gate area. Some were heard to be making statements against the U.S. involvement in Iraq,'' Pat Hogan, spokesman for the airport, said in an interview today. Some of the six repeatedly said ``Allah'' as they boarded, then asked to change seats and requested safety-belt extensions that they put under their seats, Hogan said. One was overheard to say he would ``go to whatever measures necessary to obey all that is set out in the Koran,'' Hogan said. Multiple Agencies The six were questioned by the U.S. Secret Service, FBI and U.S. Marshal's Office before being released, Hogan said. ``Our involvement was to see if there was any criminal activity,'' he said. ``There was no evidence to support that.'' US Airways, the seventh-biggest U.S. airline, is talking to crew members, ground workers and Minneapolis law enforcement about the incident. The Tempe, Arizona-based carrier also will talk to the men, who flew another airline to Phoenix today, Rader said. Rader said she didn't know what the men did to cause concern by the passenger, who communicated the information to a flight attendant. The imams' actions involved ``the performance of normal evening prayers offered by members of the group,'' the council said in a statement. They were ``humiliated'' at being handcuffed, the Washington-based council said. ``We are concerned that crew members, passengers and security personnel may have succumbed to fear and prejudice based on stereotyping of Muslims and Islam,'' Nihad Awad, the council's executive director, said in the statement.