Anger as 'mob' forces Muslim men off aircraft
By Arifa Akbar
Published: 21 August 2006
Muslim leaders yesterday spoke of their dismay after a passenger mutiny in which several British families refused to travel on a plane with two Asian men.
The men were forced to leave the flight after fellow passengers wrongly suspected them of being terrorists. Several people on board flight ZB 613 from Malaga to Manchester demanded their removal.
Cabin crew informed Spanish authorities and the men were ordered off the Monarch Airlines flight and questioned by police for several hours. They were eventually cleared and put on an alternative flight.
Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari, secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain, said the incident demonstrated the "the high level of suspicion that ordinary Muslims are often being unfairly subjected to" and said that many Muslims were being treated as if they were "guilty unless proven innocent".
Similar incidents in which people of Asian or Middle Eastern appearances have been targeted by fellow passengers have been reported on pilots' and cabin crews' websites, including one in which two British women with young children on a flight from Spain apparently complained about a bearded Muslim man - even though he was security checked twice before boarding the plane.
Mr Bari said he hoped it would not lead to a growing culture of targeting Muslims. "While it is of course sensible for all of us to be vigilant, it is not sensible to pick on Muslims simply because they happen to dress differently or appear to be speaking to each other in Arabic," he said. >>>cont
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Published: 21 August 2006
Muslim leaders yesterday spoke of their dismay after a passenger mutiny in which several British families refused to travel on a plane with two Asian men.
The men were forced to leave the flight after fellow passengers wrongly suspected them of being terrorists. Several people on board flight ZB 613 from Malaga to Manchester demanded their removal.
Cabin crew informed Spanish authorities and the men were ordered off the Monarch Airlines flight and questioned by police for several hours. They were eventually cleared and put on an alternative flight.
Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari, secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain, said the incident demonstrated the "the high level of suspicion that ordinary Muslims are often being unfairly subjected to" and said that many Muslims were being treated as if they were "guilty unless proven innocent".
Similar incidents in which people of Asian or Middle Eastern appearances have been targeted by fellow passengers have been reported on pilots' and cabin crews' websites, including one in which two British women with young children on a flight from Spain apparently complained about a bearded Muslim man - even though he was security checked twice before boarding the plane.
Mr Bari said he hoped it would not lead to a growing culture of targeting Muslims. "While it is of course sensible for all of us to be vigilant, it is not sensible to pick on Muslims simply because they happen to dress differently or appear to be speaking to each other in Arabic," he said. >>>cont
Link Here
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