Muslims, Airports
and Airport Security
By Professor Nazeer
Ahmed
CA
It was the year 2002. A group of us American
Muslims were returning from a tour of the Central
Asian Republic of Uzbekistan. It was a happy and
memorable trip which included visits to the historic
cities of Samarqand and Bukhara. We visited ancient
madrasas, museums, bazaars, renovated castles
and even had the privilege of having dinner with
the American ambassador in Samarqand. One of the
most emotional moments during the trip was a visit
to the museum in Tashkent to see and touch the
blood stained copy of the Qur’an which was
being read by the third Caliph Uthman when he
was assassinated in the year 656 CE.
On the way back from Uzbekistan, we stopped at
the Istanbul airport for transit to the United
States. Our entire group was pulled aside and
each individual was interrogated one by one. Where
were you born (as if our passports did not show
it)? What was your father’s name? What kind
of work do you do? What schools did you attend?
The questions went on ad infinitum. The interrogations
were not without their humorous side. One of our
colleagues, a graduate of Stanford University,
was asked: “Where did you go to school?”
Upon being told that he had attended Stanford,
the interrogator responded, “Never heard
of it!”
But stops and interrogations at airports are no
laughing matter. They can be downright nasty and
humiliating.
Last year we were visiting Egypt. Once again,
the visit was a happy one. Happy, that is, until
we were leaving the land of the Pharaohs. On the
way out, my wife, an American by birth who became
Muslim over forty years ago and proudly carries
a Muslim name, was asked, “What was your
father’s name?” “What was your
grandfather’s name?” “When did
your grandfather migrate to America?” “Why
did you change your name?” The questions
were annoying, to say the least, especially when
you noticed that other Americans with Christian
or Jewish names were passing through without encountering
a single question.
Two years ago, I was invited, along with other
Muslim leaders around the country, to an Iftar
dinner with Secretary of State Colin Powell. I
even had an opportunity to exchange pleasantries
with the Secretary. That was the high point of
the trip. On the way back, at Dulles, I was pulled
aside, my luggage subjected to extra scrutiny.
That was the low point of the trip.
I know a Pakistani neighbor, very dynamic, a successful
sales executive, who has been stopped so many
times at airports that he routinely allocates
an extra hour to get through security and check
in his luggage.
This writer has no statistics to prove it. But
if personal reports and episodes and conversations
with fellow travelers are an indication, to be
a Muslim these days is to be a suspect with substantially
increased odds for airport questioning, perhaps
even body searches. It does not matter whether
you are young or old, rich or poor, native born
or immigrant. It is your Muslim name that differentiates
you from other would-be passengers.
There is insufficient appreciation and concern
among the general public about how humiliating
it is to be singled out for searches at public
places. In a recent conversation with a group
of young Jewish and Christians friends, I was
astonished at how they justified profiling of
young Muslim men and women, until the issue was
explained to them in personal terms. “How
would you feel”, a sympathetic young man
explained to the group, “if you are pulled
aside with a comment such as: Hey Christian! Or
for that matter Hey Hindu or Jewish or Buddhist
or Sikh or Mormon or Shinto or whatever, step
aside and I want to search you”. This seemed
to drive home the point.
One cannot find fault with the security personnel.
They are doing their job. It is the law of the
land, or at least it is their understanding of
the law.
We have some general advice to Muslim young men
and women who travel. Travel light. Keep your
hand baggage to the barest minimum and carry only
personal care items and needed medication. Never
handle anyone else’s luggage. Know what
you packed. Arrive at airports early. Always be
polite and courteous even if you are singled out
for a search. Cooperate fully and completely with
the authorities.
Above all, be patient. Get in the habit of practicing
silent dhikr. Let your heart beat with the divine
name all the time. There never was a time when
constant silent dhikr was more required than it
is now. The presence of the divine name brings
peace, contentment, cheerfulness and patience.
Be involved with public life. One of the mistakes
made by the Japanese Americans while they were
being hauled to internment camps during World
War II was to remain silent and isolated. There
are respectable national organizations, such as
the ACLU that are working hard to protect the
rights of citizens and legal immigrants and to
prevent discrimination. There are also other organizations
that are working to ensure the protection of human
rights. Such organizations deserve our participation
and our lawful support.
Document and report cases of profiling and discrimination
to NGOs that track them. Living history must be
recorded if the future is to benefit from the
lessons of the past. If there is no record, there
is no history.
Do not let profiling and discrimination foster
a ghetto psychology. That would be a long-term
tragedy for the Islamic community in America.
Indeed, let such experiences spur you to greater
effort. If you are a sales executive on your way
to making a critical sale in another town, the
experience of discrimination on the road can detract
from your focus. Spin adversity to your advantage
and make an even greater effort to succeed.
As you travel around the world, you can classify
the airports according to their user friendliness
as far as Muslims are concerned. Among the most
friendly are the airports in the Pacific and South
Asia. Among the most unfriendly are those in the
Middle East and Europe.
In a world where terrorism is a legitimate universal
concern, screening of travelers is here to stay.
But I predict that the profiling of Muslims in
the screening process is a passing phase, likely
to last about ten years, before the focus shifts
to the real geopolitical competitors, and the
realization dawns that Islam is not and never
was a threat to world peace and security. Indeed,
Islam will play a positive role in bringing nations
and communities closer together.
As the Qur’an teaches: Verify, with every
difficulty there is relief! Verily with every
difficulty there is relief!
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