Originally Posted by
GUWonder
Do you think the reaction would have been different he spoke English with an American accent of the sort that is more common around DC/MD/VA?
No. The skin colour was the primary motivator, followed by the accent. In the US, an American accent is not an advantage to a person with a Muslim name and a middle eastern/south asian appearance. Most Americans, as boren out by numerous polls distrust most Muslims and consider most Muslims to be terrorists.
I'm scratching my head because this incident actually blows what I'll call the PhlyingRPh doctrine, which states that no matter how irritatingly Islamic the name, no matter how brown the skin and no matter how Arabic the dress, and no matter how Aramaic the sandals, if one speaks with an Oxbridge accent, any bigot one comes across is instantly disarmed. I can't tell you the type of stuff I've pulled (accidentally of course and without the intention of breaking any laws whatsoever) with American LEO's, TSA and the occasional CBP agent.