Muslim students ordered off plane “victimized”

**sonz** · 08-25-2006

Two Muslim students ordered to leave a British charter flight at gunpoint because other passengers claimed they were “terrorists” said they were victimized because of their appearance, and predicted that the incident was “just one of many things” that’ll happen to Muslims in the future, AFP reported.

Khurram Zeb, and his friend Sohail Ashraf, both 22, were escorted from a plane at Malaga airport in southern Spain after passengers expressed concern to the cabin crew about their appearance.

The two Muslim men, both students at Manchester University, in northwest England, were questioned by police for several hours before being allowed to fly back the following day.

Zeb told the Daily Mirror newspaper he felt sorry for the passengers who thought they were “terrorists”.

"Just because we're Muslim does not mean we are suicide bombers," he was quoted as saying.

Referring to the recent alleged “terror” plot to blow up U.S.-bound planes, which led to the arrests of two dozen people, most of whom appeared to Muslim, Zeb said: “The whole thing that happened in London played a very very big part in this."

He then recounted the case of the fatal shooting of an innocent Brazilian man after London’s July 7 bombings, and the failed anti-terror raid in London in which two innocent Muslim brothers were arrested, one of them shot.

"All these things have been building up, and this is probably just one of many things which is going to happen in the near future," Zeb told the BBC in another interview.

Ashraf said that he noticed when he boarded the plane that other passengers weren’t comfortable with his presence.

"As soon as I got on the plane, and you could just tell by all the people on the plane, the way they were looking at me, that there was something suspicious going on, in their heads,” he said.

"They should have more trust in Asian people. Everyone's not a terrorist," he added.

The incident, which took place almost a week after UK police said they foiled the alleged “terror” plot, is one of many others in which Muslim or Asian/Middle Eastern people have been asked to leave flights.

British Muslim leaders strongly condemned such incidents, and warned that judging people by their appearance would be counterproductive.

One Muslim group in the UK said such incidents show “the increasing Islamophobia” in Britain. And Britain’s most senior Muslim police officer, Metropolitan Police Chief Superintendent Ali Desai, warned last week that deploying a passenger profiling system could create a new crime of "flying while Asian".

**Ghazi** · 08-25-2006

I was watching an interview with these guys and they said a 12 year old girl started crying and the parents got all jumpy, even though security let them pass, it's basicly showing Racism is alive and well people are just less vocal about it.

**Muezzin** · 08-25-2006

I have decided that if ever someone calls me a terrorist while I innocently board a plane, I shall learn the guy's name and sue him for all he's worth in defamation.