- MEDIA ADVISORY -
CAIR: San Diego Muslim Removed from Southwest Airlines Flight

(SAN DIEGO, CA, 3/15/11) –- On Wednesday, March 16, the San Diego chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-San Diego) will hold a news conference with a Muslim passenger removed without explanation from a Southwest Airlines flight on Sunday.

At the news conference, CAIR-San Diego will call for an investigation of the incident and an apology to the Muslim traveler.

WHAT: CAIR-San Diego News Conference with Muslim Removed from Southwest Flight
WHEN: Wednesday, March 16, 11 a.m. (Pacific)
WHERE: Curbside on east end of Terminal 1 (by running man statue), San Diego International Airport, 325 North Harbor Drive, San Diego, CA 92101. [NOTE: Media vans are permitted to park curbside by the Running Man statue. As a reminder, media are not allowed to leave their vehicles unattended at any time.]
CONTACT: CAIR San Diego Public Relations Director Edgar Hopida, 619-913-0719 or 858-278-4547, E-Mail: [email protected]

The Muslim graduate student was reportedly removed from the flight from San Diego to San, Jose, Calif., because a member of the crew said the woman, who wears an Islamic head scarf, was "suspicious." No explanation for the removal was given except for a reference to a flight attendant claiming she overheard the phrase "it's a go" in the passenger's cell phone conversation while waiting to take off. (The Muslim passenger reports that what she really said was, "I've got to go.") The woman believes she was viewed as suspicious because of her perceived religion and ethnicity.

"We believe the main factors that led to this traveler being humiliated in front of other passengers were her religious attire and her South Asian heritage," said CAIR San Diego Public Relations Director Edgar Hopida.

CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

- END -

See something, say something, do something.
How quickly crap like this goes terrible wrong.

If anyone is in favor of this ridiculously thought out program
probably bought into the government's homemade fallout
shelter.

And in both the above statements, why don't folks just man-up and say it's because the f/a (in this case vs other instances when it was a pax) thinks all Muslims and/or all folks who are Muslim in appearance are terrorists. If people started saying it like it is, calling out the nimrod who caused the ruckus and slapped said nimrod (and in this case, said nimrod's employer) with a lawsuit before the ink was dry in the article about the removal of the pax from the plane saying the person's civil rights were violated, maybe folks would stop being so gdmf paranoid.

What's next, internment camps? I guess we won't need this poem any more:

Sure we do-just as long as you're not a foreigner, right?

Thing is, the majority of the mainstream American population also thinks the same way (that appearance is equivalent to terrorism). The nimrod, as you say, will get a great deal of support from the less enlightened segment of the population (the majority, unfortunately). I do hope the young lady takes this to court and I do hope SW pays through the nose. I also hope that the identity of the nimrod in question is somehow made public. Shouldn't be too difficult to find. P M

Based on what I see, I'll say this is an unfortunate, not wholly unforeseen consequence of the combination of confirmation bias with the immutable law of unintended consequence.

And if a white passenger had said the same phrase, would we be in the same situation?


to the FA

Why is this reporting something that will happen tomorrow, Wednesday, March 16th?

This is truly disgusting. I'm ashamed that Americans now act like this.

It's a press release for a news conference that is scheduled for tomorrow.

What does Air Namibia have to do with this?

Obviously, this was all her fault. She should've asked permission from everyone sitting around here before using her telephone, so that they wouldn't have any reason to suspect that she was doing anything unusual.

[/sarcasm]

Thank you! That's what I get for skimming once again.