"I Was Made to Feel Like an Outsider in My Own Country"

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/08/25/142252

Friday, August 25th, 2006

"I Was Made to Feel Like an Outsider in My Own Country" - Muslim-Americans Say Racial Profiling Led to Detention, Harassment at Airport

Middle Eastern, South Asian and Muslim passengers say they are increasingly victims of racial profiling and are being detained and harassed at airports. We speak with an American mother and daughter, both born in Iraq, who were held and questioned for hours at JFK airport. Twelve airline passengers arrested in Amsterdam on suspicion of planning acts of terrorism were released Thursday after Dutch police found no evidence they were about to commit an act of violence.

The men were onboard a Northwest Airlines flight to India when the crew became alarmed after they began using their cell phones soon after takeoff and ignored orders to stay in their seats. The pilot turned the flight around and made an emergency landing in Amsterdam to force the passengers off.

The twelve men did have one thing in common: All of them were Indian citizens or of Indian descent. The story is just the latest in what appears to be a sharp increase in racial profiling of South Asian, Middle Eastern and Muslim passengers over the past few weeks.

In just a nine-day stretch this month, a total of five Arab-American men and a Pakistani woman were tagged as potential terrorists. All of them turned out to be innocent.

At least one Congressmember has publicly called for screening people on the basis of race and religion. Last week, House Homeland Security Chairman Peter King endorsed requiring people of "Middle Eastern and South Asian" descent to ber singled out for additional security checks.

While the Justice Department and Homeland Security say they do not practice racial profiling, more and more cases are popping up around the country that tell a different tale.

Last week a group of Muslim-Americans say they were detained for hours at New York's Kennedy Airport when they came back to the United States from trips abroad. Two of those people join us in our firehouse studio today. Nagham Al-Yaqoubi is a US citizen who was born in Iraq and lives in New Jersey. Her daughter Arwa Ibrahim is a student at Rutgers University. We are also joined on the line by attorney Omar Mohammedi, he is representing Nagham Al-Yaqoubi and her family and is president of the New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

* Nagham Al-Yaqoubi, U.S. citizen who was born in Iraq and lives in New Jersey.
* Arwa Ibrahim, Nagham Al-Yaqoubi's daughter. She is a student at Rutgers University.
* Omar Mohammedi, attorney for Nagham Al-Yaqoubi and her family. He is president of the New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations and a representative for the Association of Muslim American lawyers.

This is disgusting.

I didn't see that mentioned. What I saw was that they ignored the orders(or request) that they stay in their seats and not use their phones.

were detained for hours at New York's Kennedy Airport when they came back to the United States from trips abroad. They had nothing to do with cellphones and were just citizens that were targeted because of their ethnicity.

Two different situations (a week apart)

this by inflating and exploiting our fear. The pilot is a victim of the that mindset as much as the anyone.

Since '71 , I've flown everything from Pipers to 737's.When I'm flying the aircraft and responsible for ALL aboard if I (or co-pilot) tell you stay in your seat,please do it!