It's interesting how the AP and WBTV reports only give statements from the alleged 'victims,' and they do not quote the pilot. Nor does either story indicate that the reporter made any attempt to get the pilot's side of the story.
My initial reaction was "Safety First!' After all, the primary responsibility of the passengers is safety. But then I got to thinking about it...and I think a couple of points should be made:
1) The only reason the pilot has any reason to fear is that THOUSANDS of INNOCENT Americans have perished at the hands of Muslim Terrorists. Call them Islamists, or Islamist Terrorists, as the book The Grand Jihad: How Islam and the Left Sabotage America
does, or Islamofascist Terrorists, as David Horowitz, Christopher Hitchens, and others do, but not matter what you call them, their justification for the murder of innocent Americans is derived from Sura 9:29 of 'The Holy Qu'ran,' also known as 'The Verse Of The Sword.' An excerpt from The Grand Jihad: How Islam and the Left Sabotage America explains why the 'Verse of the Sword' is considered to be the only valid doctrine on so-called 'infidels' by Wahabbi/Salafi ideology:
...and...
2) The media is going to crucify this guy, and promote the 'this pilot is a racist who must be punished' line being peddled by CAIR, which has known ties to Islamist Terrorist groups, despite the fact that he didn't discriminate against a known peaceful religious group, such as Methodists, Mormons, or Messianic Jews. Had he discriminated against one such peaceful religion, I would be outraged. But I find it difficult to muster outrage against a pilot for discrimination against a group of people who refuse to criticize Islamist Terrorists, who want to see Sharia Law established here in America, who ally with the radical left in an effort to destroy America.
And since he discriminated against a group which produced the 9/11 Terrorists, and the Muslims in question immediately called CAIR, I smell a setup. We'll see what further details emerge. Until then, I cannot condemn this pilot, and we may even come to see that he was perfectly justified. Let's wait until all the facts are known before we rush to judge this pilot, whose apparent concern was the safety of his passengers!
Published May 06, 2011 | Associated Press
NASHVILLE, Tennessee -- Two Muslim religious leaders say they were asked to leave a commercial airliner in Memphis on Friday and were told it was because the pilot refused to fly with them aboard.
Masudur Rahman, who is also an adjunct instructor of Arabic at the University of Memphis, said by phone from the terminal at Memphis International Airport that he and another imam had already been allowed to board their Delta Connection flight to Charlotte, North Carolina before they were asked to get off the plane.
Transportation Security Administration spokesman Jon Allen in Atlanta confirmed the incident and said it was not initiated by that agency.
A Delta Air Lines spokeswoman said the flight was operated by Atlantic Southeast Airlines, which is also based in Atlanta.
"We take security and safety very seriously and the event is currently under investigation," Atlantic Southeast spokesman Jarek Beem said Friday evening.
Both passengers are Memphis-area residents. Rahman said he was dressed in traditional Indian clothing and his traveling companion was dressed in Arab garb, including traditional headgear.
Rahman said he and Mohamed Zaghloul, of the Islamic Association of Greater Memphis, were cleared by security agents and boarded the plane for an 8:40 a.m. departure.
The aircraft pulled away from the gate, but the pilot then announced the plane must return, Rahman said. When it did, the imams were asked to go back to the boarding gate where Rahman said they were told the pilot was refusing to accept them because some other passengers could be uncomfortable.
Rahman said Delta officials talked with the pilot for more than a half-hour, but he still refused.
The men were taken to a lounge and booked on a later flight. Beem said they flew on to Charlotte later Friday.
"We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience that this may have caused," Beem said.
The men contacted the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim civil rights and advocacy group in Washington, D.C.
"It's racism and bias because of our religion and appearance and because of misinformation about our religion." Rahman said. "If they understood Islam, they wouldn't do this."
He said a Delta manager apologized for the pilot's actions, but that he and Zaghloul never spoke directly with the pilot.
Ibrahim Hooper, of the American-Islamic organization, said the group will follow up with the airline and with the TSA to help ensure such incidents do not continue to occur.
Hooper said airline officials at Memphis tried to resolve the situation, but the pilot refused.
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Posted: May 06, 2011 2:24 PM MDT | Updated: May 06, 2011 6:09 PM MDT | By Steve Crump
CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV) - Two Muslim men at the Memphis Airport say they were kicked off of a flight at that airport before it took off for Charlotte.
The pair talked to WBTV Friday and we learned that the TSA cleared them to fly. The two passengers went to gate, they got on an airplane, everything was OK.
But here's where things change: the plane left the gate, before getting to the runway, the pilot said "we need to go back to gate."
That's where things started to change for Masudir Rahman, after being ordered off by a Delta Supervisor.
"He said 'Mr. Rahman, sorry the pilot is not allowing you to enter the plane.' I said ‘For what reason, TSA had a problem and we were cleared, we don't have anything and we are respected people in our community'."
But, according to Rahman, the pilot said, "I'm not going to take to you."
"For what reason, he said some ‘passengers might be upset or uncomfortable'," Raham said the pilot told him.
WBTV placed several calls to Delta Airlines.
The men have already retained counsel and the US attorney's office has already been contacted about the incident.
A spokesperson told us that they were aware of the situation and this happening with one of their sub-carriers Atlantic Southeast Airlines, which operates the flight.
A spokesperson from ASA sent this response to reporter Steve Crump:
"Atlantic Southeast Airlines flight 5452 from Memphis to Charlotte returned to the gate to allow for additional screening of a passenger and the passenger's companion.
We take security and safety very seriously, and the event is currently under investigation.
Compensation and re-accommodation on the next available flight were immediately offered to the passenger and the passenger's travel companion.
We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience that this may have caused."
Transportation Security Administration spokesman John Allen in Atlanta confirmed the incident Friday and said it was not that agency's decision to deny boarding.
Posted by Jared Law on May 7, 2011 at 8:48am
** CAIR, the Muslim Brotherhood, terrorists in general and those that subscribe to the Progressive Movement are counting on the fact that Americans are already too indoctrinated, dumbed down and brainwashed into the necessity of Political Correctness over Common Sense and Self Preservation that they/we will not stand up!! **
It gets no better than this. Today, October 28th, Tampa Bay Online posts a column by Hassan Shibly, J.D., a Muslim activist and the executive director of CAIR-Tampa, calling Adam Hasner and Allen West extremists. A few hours after this column is posted a Muslim gunman, in Sarajevo, Bosnia opens fire on the American embassy. Remember President Clinton went to war to protect the Bosnian Muslims from the Serbs.
Shibly is upset that Adam Hasner and Allen West did not denounce Wilders. Well, guess what, Wilders is right and he should know what it is like to be attacked for speaking out against Islam. Wilders was exonerated for producing the movie "Fitna", which quotes the Qur'an and gives graphic examples of its words implemented in blood and violence.
