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The six Muslim men who were taken off of an airplane last fall have sued the passengers who complained about them and the airline also. As well they should! They were accused of suspicious behavior because they were praying and chanting in Arabic, while they were waiting to board the plane, among other things.
Naturally, the argument against this lawsuit is that perhaps the passengers waiting in the airports will not speak up if they see something suspicious going on.
That is a valid argument but there is also another side to this which few people have thought about.
Suppose that you are a business traveler on your way to New York city from Miami, for example. Let's say that you accidentally bump into another passenger while boarding the plane and that person isn't happy with an " I'm sorry " so they go an tell the nearest airport security guard that you mumbled something about the United States, and that is sounded like you might be planning on doing something destructive on the plane. Or the passenger says that you looked as if you had a weapon under you coat or whatever.
What happens? Your ass gets dragged off of the plane and you get detained in one of the airport cells until the police or and/or the feds arrive for questioning. Then you will more than likely be searched, as will your belongings. Do you think that the plane is going to wait for you?
By the time all of this is over, you have been degraded, humiliated, missed your flight, and lost out on a very big contract that your company was counting on.
All because you pissed some moron off or because somebody did not like the way that you looked or acted or spoke.
Should that moron be allowed to cost you money and a job maybe and leave you no recourse? I think not.
This civil rights lawsuit was filed earlier in March and many lawyers are concerned about this, so much so that many are offering to represent the unnamed passengers for free.
Omar Mohammedi, the New York City attorney representing the Muslim clerics, said that he would not be going after the passengers who had raised valid security concerns, but stated that he believes that a few passengers acted out of prejudice and bad faith. Source
Mohammedi "As an attorney, I have seen a lot of abuse by the general public when it comes to members of the community creating stories that do not exist."
