/* */

PDA

View Full Version : Decision to force men off British-bound plane condemned



Isma'el
08-21-2006, 12:32 PM
LONDON (AFP) - The decision to remove two men from a flight before it took off from the Spanish port of Malaga for Manchester after fellow passengers feared they might be terrorists was condemned by Muslim leaders in Britain, it was reported.

Some among the 150 passengers on board the Monarch Airlines flight demanded that air staff remove two men after they expressed alarm about their behavior early on Wednesday, a spokesman for the airline said on Sunday.

Cabin crew informed Spanish authorities of the passengers' fears and the men -- who apparently looked Asian and spoke Arabic -- were taken off the flight and questioned by police.

The pair flew back to Manchester later in the week and were not arrested by British police.

Khalid Mahmoud, a governing Labour Party MP, told The Guardian the decision was "hugely irrational".

"You can't just accuse anybody who's of Asian appearance and treat them like a terrorist.

"If somebody is threatening anybody it's understandable, but when they are just travelling for their own needs it's not.

"People just need to calm down."

The Islamic Human Rights Commission told the newspaper that "ever-increasing Islamophobia" was to blame for the removal of the men.

The Daily Mirror, meanwhile, quoted Muhammad Abdul Bari, head of the Muslim Council of Britain, as saying: "While it is 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."

Travellers have been increasingly jittery in the wake of Britain's announcement that an alleged terror plot was foiled about 10 days ago, and the terror alert level raised to the highest possible -- "critical" -- causing chaos at airports in Britain and around the world
Reply

Login/Register to hide ads. Scroll down for more posts
KAding
08-21-2006, 03:57 PM
Rightly so, it was disgraceful!
Reply

Muezzin
08-21-2006, 03:58 PM
I heard about this on the news yesterday, it is pretty unsatisfactory to say the least.

Could you post the source please?
Reply

wilberhum
08-21-2006, 04:23 PM
they expressed alarm about their behavior early on Wednesday
It would be interesting to know what that "Behavior" was.
Reply

Welcome, Guest!
Hey there! Looks like you're enjoying the discussion, but you're not signed up for an account.

When you create an account, you can participate in the discussions and share your thoughts. You also get notifications, here and via email, whenever new posts are made. And you can like posts and make new friends.
Sign Up
Muezzin
08-21-2006, 04:24 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by wilberhum
It would be interesting to know what that "Behavior" was.
From the report it seems to be the federal offence of 'speaking Arabic'.
Reply

wilberhum
08-21-2006, 04:28 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by Muezzin
From the report it seems to be the federal offence of 'speaking Arabic'.
One could draw that conclusion and that conclusion could be right, but the short report did not state that.
Reply

glo
08-21-2006, 04:30 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by Muezzin
From the report it seems to be the federal offence of 'speaking Arabic'.
That's what I heared too.

That is truly shocking. So stupid, in fact, that I don't know whether I should laugh or cry about it!

Mind you, there is something about people speaking a language you cannot understand, that it slightly unnerving - obviously because you don't know what they are saying. If people were already twitchy and suspicious (because the two men 'looked Asian'), that would have contributed to feeling so even more.
(That's to explain people's behaviour, not to excuse it!)

peace.
Reply

Muezzin
08-21-2006, 04:31 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by wilberhum
One could draw that conclusion and that conclusion could be right, but the short report did not state that.
It did state however, that 'The pair flew back to Manchester later in the week and were not arrested by British police.'

If they were a threat, they would have been arrested.

This is really a non-issue, in my opinion.

Also, while this news is controversial, I humbly request that we do not personally attack each other while discussing it.
Reply

Hey there! Looks like you're enjoying the discussion, but you're not signed up for an account.

When you create an account, you can participate in the discussions and share your thoughts. You also get notifications, here and via email, whenever new posts are made. And you can like posts and make new friends.
Sign Up

Similar Threads

  1. Replies: 8
    Last Post: 06-23-2006, 07:10 PM
British Wholesales - Certified Wholesale Linen & Towels | Holiday in the Maldives

IslamicBoard

Experience a richer experience on our mobile app!