Arabic T-shirt sparks airport row

[Hajar]

An architect of Iraqi descent has said he was forced to remove a T-shirt that bore the words "We will not be silent" before boarding a flight at New York.

Raed Jarrar said security officials warned him his clothing was offensive after he checked in for a JetBlue flight to California on 12 August.

Mr Jarrar said he was shocked such an action could be taken in the US.

US transport officials are conducting an inquiry after a complaint from the US Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.

JetBlue said it was also investigating the incident but a spokeswoman said: "We're not clear exactly what happened."

'Authoritarian regimes'

Mr Jarrar's black cotton T-shirt bore the slogan in both Arabic and English.

He said he had cleared security at John F Kennedy airport for a flight back to his home in California when he was approached by two men who wanted to check his ID and boarding pass.

Mr Jarrar said he was told a number of passengers had complained about his T-shirt - apparently concerned at what the Arabic phrase meant - and asked him to remove it.

He refused, arguing that the slogan was not offensive and citing his constitutional rights to free expression.

Mr Jarrar later told a New York radio station: "I grew up and spent all my life living under authoritarian regimes and I know that these things happen.

"But I'm shocked that they happened to me here, in the US."

After a difficult exchange with airline staff, Mr Jarrar was persuaded to wear another T-shirt bought for him at the airport shop.

"We Will Not Be Silent" is a slogan adopted by opponents of the war in Iraq and other conflicts in the Middle East.

It is said to derive from the White Rose dissident group which opposed Nazi rule in Germany.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/5297822.stm

[Keltoi]

This isn't a free-speech issue. It is common sense to assume that passengers are going to be uncomfortable sitting next to a guy with that kind of statement on a T-shirt. That being said, it is an overreaction. Terrorists obviously aren't going to wear shirts that make them stand out. I think this is more about passenger comfort than any real sense of threat from this guy.

[QuranStudy]

This isn't a free-speech issue. It is common sense to assume that passengers are going to be uncomfortable sitting next to a guy with that kind of statement on a T-shirt.

Wrong. It's common sense that a person wearing an anti-war slogan is not a terrorist. It's also common sense that all Arabs dont condone terrorism. Of course it's a free-speech issue. The man can wear whatever he wants, and just because it's in Arabic doesnt mean he's the "boogeyman." Use common sense.

[Keltoi]

Wrong. It's common sense that a person wearing an anti-war slogan is not a terrorist. It's also common sense that all Arabs dont condone terrorism. Of course it's a free-speech issue. The man can wear whatever he wants, and just because it's in Arabic doesnt mean he's the "boogeyman." Use common sense.

As I stated, the guy wasn't a threat. It is about passenger comfort. Just as you can't board a plane without a shirt on because it makes other passengers uncomfortable. He can wear that shirt anywhere he wants, but when you buy a plane ticket you also agree to abide by the airlines policies. They offered to buy the guy a new shirt if only he would take his "We will not be silenced" shirt off for the duration of the flight. Not too much to ask, especially considering the context.

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[QuranStudy]

It is about passenger comfort.

Anybody who finds passenger comfort with a person (with whom he/she has no relation) to take off a shirt for the sake of "security" is mentally retarded.

Just as you can't board a plane without a shirt on because it makes other passengers uncomfortable.

Do they think the Arabic alphabets will blow their plane up???

He can wear that shirt anywhere he wants, but when you buy a plane ticket you also agree to abide by the airlines policies.

Sure, but airline policies dont promote discimination.

They offered to buy the guy a new shirt if only he would take his "We will not be silenced" shirt off for the duration of the flight.

That isnt the problem. The problem is the fear of Arabs and the resulting discrimination Arabs face because they are simply Arab.

Not too much to ask, especially considering the context.

The context is that the passengers dont have enough sense to see that not all Arabs are terrorist. Hence, a mere Arabic sentence freaks them out. No wonder why extremism exists.

[Ninth_Scribe]

Wrong. It's common sense that a person wearing an anti-war slogan is not a terrorist. It's also common sense that all Arabs dont condone terrorism. Of course it's a free-speech issue. The man can wear whatever he wants, and just because it's in Arabic doesnt mean he's the "boogeyman." Use common sense.

It sounds more like an issue of "dress-code" which makes this a really weird experience for me.

But you make a valid point. That necro group from New Orleans posts online advice about how to pull off certain cemetery nasties and they actually stated it would be a mistake to dress in Goth-type clothing (black robes, etc.) because it will alert cemetery security. She suggested wearing bright, flowery clothes to avoid attracting attention.

I wouldn't worry about a person who is open and can express themselves. People who vent their thoughts and opinions on the level of intellect rarely feel the mental frustration that causes others to go postal.

But Bush has this mentality that makes it impossible to explore perceived differences. It's all My Way or the Highway and I'm afraid that's just not going to wash with the rest of planet Earth. The idea that I can't publish a study that's based on actual documentation, because it shines a different light on a subject President Bush doesn't like... ticks me off to no end! I was a 70s child... but I remember the stories my aunts and uncles used to tell me about the 60s! I also remember the interesting slogans on their T-shirts :giggling:

Ninth Scribe

[Isaac]

This is pathetic, and absurd. I would like to know what they would do if i took i a copy of the quran onto a flight. These kuffar are really igniting hatred against muslims.

[Ibn al-Mubarak]

and the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam says: من صمت نجا

[wilberhum]

These kuffar are really igniting hatred against muslims.

Are they "Igniting Hatred" or just expressing there fear?

[QuranStudy]

Are they "Igniting Hatred" or just expressing there fear?

Hatred. They forced the guy to change his shirt because he was Arab. Let me know when kaffirs fear alphabets.

[Ninth_Scribe]

Are they "Igniting Hatred" or just expressing there fear?

It's probably both, in the case of one hand following the other. I wonder about this though. As I said before, it wasn't a crime to insult the government before 911. Everyone did that, and if a Muslim wore a T-shirt that read "Up Yours!" in arabic before 911, would anyone have even cared?

But what really irritates me is the racial tone. I mean, we have people right here in the USA who have been found guilty of murder in the name of God. That woman who drown her five kids said she did it for God. Do Arabs run around terrified of us Americans because we have a couple religious fanatics in our household? No! They know the actions of some do not account for the entire nation! So, you have to ask, why is this atmosphere of fear being put out with such an air of credibility? Hmm. Well, if you're trying to justify a war with an Arab country, I believe this tension level would be quite effective in maintaining a certain level of public support.

Ninth Scribe

[QuranStudy]

Well said, Ninth_Scribe. Reps

[Lina]

:sl:

Aren't those t-shirts a trend nowadays?

Have seen them and it doesn't look threatening walakyn; I can understand. If they had not dealed with it before he boarded the plane it would have happened on the plane. Heck, the plane wouldn't have gotten of the ground If some one made a scene out of it so let them have their peace of mind during the flight. it's just a lack of knowledge and common sense.

I mean I wouldn't wanna scare people or get them hyperventilating over a
t-shirt I was wearing. In my case they maybe would over my hijaab but that's another story.

:w:

[brainiac]

I've got a tee shirt that says 'Infidel' in English and Arabic across the front. Never wore it in an airport, though.

[Asyur an-Nagi]

stopping a passenger for the t shirt he wore???? (now who is the terrorist?). a sweet return of discrimination.

[duke]

what a discrimination!!!

if i was on the plane, and i wear a t shirt that bore words "we will not be silent" with an image of cross, i am dead sure that no one gonna stop me.

but thiss???? holy God! they stop 'a what-they-think-terror potential' with another worse terror?