Arabic t-shirt causes a flap at JetBlue
I know this will give certain people fits (yes, I'm thinking of you, Rich), but I totally agree with this blogger. Thanks to my friend Stessa for alerting me to this issue.
http://www.upgradetravelbetter.com/2007/08/12/dangerous-shirts-see-their-day-in-court/
Last summer, Raed Jarrar was harassed by jetBlue employees for wearing a shirt with Arabic lettering on the front. In his ACLU-led legal team’s words, here’s what happened:
JetBlue and a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) official, identified as “Inspector Harris,” would not let Raed Jarrar board his flight at John F. Kennedy Airport until he agreed to cover his t-shirt, which read “We Will Not Be Silent” in English and Arabic script. Harris told Jarrar that it is impermissible to wear an Arabic shirt to an airport and equated it to a “person wearing a t-shirt at a bank stating, ‘I am a robber.’”
Lovely metaphor. Added bonus: Jarrar says that, after he relented and donned an additional shirt, jetBlue tore up his boarding pass, which had him seated near the front, and gave him a new boarding pass to sit at the very back of the plane. How nice of them — and how symbolic.
A discrimination lawsuit charges federal officials and JetBlue Airways with racial profiling for refusing to let an Iraqi man board an August 2006 flight at Kennedy International Airport because he wore a T-shirt inscribed with an Arabic phrase.
The incident is part of a discriminatory pattern at U.S. airports since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, with officials targeting people perceived to be of Arab descent — particularly those displaying their ethnic
background or religious faith, two civil liberties groups said Thursday in filing the lawsuit.
I say: go get ‘em, Raed. It’s important to push back against fearmongering hysteria that erodes our civil liberties. He’s doing us all a favor, and representing what the country really stands for, by standing up to this sort of small-minded censorship.
Labels: society
posted by Danielle @ 11:30 PM
2 Comments:
If they did not want to cause harm, as in killing all non-believers of Islam I would have no problem with expression. I checked the below in Snopes and could not find a disclaimer one way or the other. However, each can form their own opinion.
Allah or the Lord Jesus Christ?
...A Bit Scary
This is very interesting and just a bit scary ..
The Muslim religion is the fastest growing religion per capita in the United States , especially in the minority races!!!
Allah or The Lord Jesus Christ? ... By Rick Mathes
Last month I attended my annual training session that's required for maintaining my state prison security clearance. During the training session there was a presentation by three speakers representing the Roman Catholic, Protestant and Muslim faiths, who explained each of their beliefs.
I was particularly interested in what the Islamic Imam had to say. The Imam gave a great presentation of the basics of Islam, complete with a video.
After the presentations, time was provided for questions and answers.
When it was my turn, I directed my question to the Imam and asked: "Please, correct me if I'm wrong, but I understand that most Imams and clerics of Islam have declared a holy jihad against the infidels of the world and, that by killing an infidel, (which is a command to all Muslims) they are assured of a place in heaven. If that's the case, can you give me the definition of an infidel?"
There was no disagreement with my statements and, without hesitation, he replied, "Non-believers! "
I responded, "So, let me make sure I have this straight. All followers of Allah have been commanded to kill everyone who is not of your faith so they can have a place in heaven. Is that correct?"
The expression on his face changed from one of authority and command to that of "a little boy who had just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar."
He sheepishly replied, "Yes."
I then stated, "Well, sir , I have a real problem trying to imagine Pope John Paul commanding all Catholics to kill those of your faith or Dr. Stanley ordering all Protestants to do the same in order to guarantee them a place in heaven!"
The Imam was speechless!
I continued, "I also have problem with being your 'friend' when you and your brother clerics are telling your followers to kill me! Let me ask you a question. Would you rather have your Allah, who tells you to kill me in order for you to go to heaven, or my Jesus who tells me to love you because I am going to heaven and He wants you to be there with me?"
You could have heard a pin drop as the Imam hung his head in shame. Needless to say, the organizers and/or promoters of the 'Diversification' training seminar were Not happy with Rick's way of dealing with the Islamic Imam and exposing the truth about the Muslims' beliefs.
In twenty years there will be enough Muslim voters in the U.S. To elect the President! I think everyone in the U.S. Should be required to read this, but with the Liberal justice system, liberal media and the ACLU, there is no way this will be widely publicized.
As many have noted, this story is a misrepresentation of Islam in several ways and ignores the BLOODY history of Christianity (have we forgotten the Crusades and the Inquisition?) It is incredibly lazy intellectually to assert that we are free to hate Musims b/c they all want to kill us. Of course there are extremist Muslims as there are extremist Jews and Christians, who ALL justify their murderous actions by twisting their religious texts. Here is a lengthy response to Mathes - read it if you dare to educate yourself:
http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellitecid=1123996016474&pagename=IslamOnline-EnglishAbout_Islam/AskAboutIslamE/AskAboutIslamE
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