Turns Out, Saudi Airlines Discriminate Against American Muslims All The Time. Who Knew?

By
Omri Ceren
– February 16, 2007Posted in: Saudi Arabia

You remember that scandal from January, where Northwest Airlines bumped 40 American Muslims off a plane after they arrived from Saudi Arabia? CAIR threw a hissy fit and Northwest Airlines promptly caved, offering all sorts of abject apologies. At the time, we thought that CAIR was in the wrong because the 40 Muslims showed up at the ticket counter 20 minutes before the flight took off – not the best strategy for making an international flight. But now moderate Muslim organizations have had a chance to explain things to the press, and it turns out that the bigotry runs exactly the opposite way that the bullies from CAIR pretend it does:

But the website FreeMuslims.org, which is viewed as a more moderate website, had a different take on the story. M. Zuhdi Jasser, chairman of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy, suggested that it’s not so much “flying while Muslim” that’s a problem as flying while being American. Jasser says Arab airlines, especially Saudi Arabian Airlines, are “the worst offenders” when it comes to handling American Muslim passengers. He said Saudi Arabian Airlines routinely dumps passengers returning from Mecca not for security reasons but because their seats had been given to “someone else,” particularly friends and relatives of the Saudi royal family. “CAIR’s Muslim pilgrim victim dragnet against American air carriers,” Jasser said, “misses real discrimination by Saudi Airlines.” Jasser charged that Saudi Airlines had “for years, without any public accountability demonstrated preferential treatment” of Saudi nationals over American travelers.

Saudi Arabia discriminates against Americans? Even if they’re Muslim? And no one ever says anything about it? You’re kidding!

References:
* Northwest Airlines Caves To CAIR Boycott Threat And Apologizes, MR Caves To Our Worst Instincts And Publishes Conspiracy Theory Bait [MR]
* Is There a ‘Flying While Muslim’ Bias? [US News]

Previously:
* CAIR Protest In So Cal
* American Muslim Organization Protects Readers from Women’s Hair
* Politically Active Filmmakers Find a Religion-Based Summer Camp They Feel Safe Criticizing

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