NEW YORK (AFP) – An airline passenger forced to cover his T-shirt because it displayed Arabic script has been awarded 240,000 dollars in compensation, campaigners said Monday.
Raed Jarrar received the pay out on Friday from two US Transportation Security Authority officials and from JetBlue Airways following the August 2006 incident at New York's JFK Airport, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) announced.
"The outcome of this case is a victory for free speech and a blow to the discriminatory practice of racial profiling," said Aden Fine, a lawyer with ACLU.
Jarrar, a US resident, was apprehended as he waited to board a JetBlue flight from New York to Oakland, California, and told to remove his shirt, which had written on it in Arabic: "We will not be silent."
He was told other passengers felt uncomfortable because an Arabic-inscribed T-shirt in an airport was like "wearing a T-shirt at a bank stating, I am a robber,'" the ACLU said. (Z: well put)
Jarrar eventually agreed to cover his shirt with another provided by JetBlue. He was allowed aboard but his seat was changed from the front to the back of the aircraft. (Z; Well done)
Last week, nine Muslims, including three children, were ordered off a domestic US flight after passengers heard what they believed were suspicious remarks about security.
Although the passengers, eight of them US citizens, were cleared by the FBI, they were reportedly still barred from the AirTran flight. (Z; bravo)
Security has been at a high level in US airports since the September 11, 2001 hijacked airliner attacks against the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington. (Z; gee!)
However, rights groups and representatives of the Muslim community say the security measures have led to frequent discrimination and harassment.
Z: Wait! SO HE can wear "WE WILL NOT BE SILENT" but WE can't complain that that message sends a questionable message to us? Why's that?...HE has FREE SPEECH, but WE CAN'T REACT? .........is that the message, or................ WHAT?
What do you think? NOBODY wants hurt feelings of innocent muslims but.... wouldn't you think they'd go out of their way not to say or do anything provocative in light of the problems America's had? Just try? Can't airport security err on OUR SIDE? And then why can't the 'harassed' say "Oh, man, I never thought people would take that the wrong way. I'm so sorry, I see why people were upset; but we don't mean harm to anyone."
How ABOUT that? That's what I would say.....
z
23 comments:
All of those oppressed by these anti-muslim activities in the US, take heart, help is on the way in two weeks.
Just joking. Z, did you think I od'd on my cough medicine? lol
Chuck...if it weren't so true, I'd be laughing with you!! I hope your cough's better soon!!
So if I boarded an aircraft wearing a t-shirt that read, "Most terrorists are Muslims," would they require ME to wear a special shirt provided by the airlines?
Okay, just asking. I wonder how much money I could make on this deal . . .
This muslim airline passenger knew what he was doing, and got the reaction he wanted. In other words he was asking for it.
If he had been allowed to stay on the plane, he would have enjoyed the flight, knowing other passengers were nervous.
The ACLU, all too anxious to oblige the suicidal left and terrorist sympathizers in America, did exactly what would be expected of them.
Unfortunately, muslims here, who have shown no outrage about terror attacks, have taken the position that they're special, make demands on America for exclusive treatment, and generally speaking in instances like this, enjoy using intimidating actions, and cry that they are offended at the drop of a hat.
9-11 emboldened muslims. They did not appear to be horrified at the attack on the WTC. They made excuses, blamed the Jews, or implied we brought it on ourselves.
Profiling makes sense, given the fact we are still living under terrorist threat, and if it mattered to this man that he not be perceived as a threat, he wouldn't have worn this shirt in the first place.
But, no, he profited from his actions. I was going to say only in America, however, Europe is suicidal too.
Pris
mustang...try ten years in prison!??
Dont even get me started Z..living in NYC has become like living in stinkin SA!..but hey girl...don't forget to vote for me every day..ha :)Linky is at my site! :)
Pris, it's sad, isn't it. LIke I wrote at the end of my blog piece....if I were muslim and American, or IN America, I'd have to put America first and NEVER do the slightest provocative thing. NEVER wear a Tshirt like that, never say anything that could be perceived as threatening.
It can't be easy for muslims who don't wish us harm to walk around in the clothing some feel is essential for their faith,...I have to admit I am less than, shall we say, inviting or approachable, when I see women in burkhas (very rare here in LA, by the way) and I try to not register displeasure on my face, I really do, but if I were muslim I'd NEVER want to do anything to draw attention to myself, make people fearful, etc.
I keep wishing that FLYING IMAM case hadn't been dropped by the IMAMS. What they finally realized was what I know; if they'd gone to court, it would have been widely seen on TV because Americans were so concerned about muslims acting like they had and then SUING AMERICANS!! ...and if the Imams had kept up the attitude, the insulting and taunting of innocent Americans who they'd scared witless, we'd have had a far different situation in this country today. That's my opinion, anyway.
It would have been made VERY clear that Americans aren't going to take that. But, they withdrew their suits. Of course. They're often much more cunning than we are, aren't they.
And, of course, these cries of harassment are NUTS. When you consider how very, very few incidents there have been considering how much trouble and pain 19 islamist nuts caused America on 9/11.
Instead, it took 9/11 to start getting muslim taxi drivers to refuse fares, muslim butchers suddenly couldn't cut pork and complained, etc etc...I have always found that extremely ODD.
My saying about that is "What do you have to do get respect around here, kill 3000 innocent people?"
I hope this kind of provocative behavior of these few muslims who've done these things stops OR they get the book thrown at them and that'll HELP them stop.
Nobody's touting nasty behavior toward them but there has to come a time when it's quite ENOUGH. I wish normal American muslims would be the ones who'd work on that, getting their fellow muslims to respect our country and our people.
Angel, if you can figure out where to vote today, you're a better girl than I....I have voted a few times and today? OY? WHERE?? It's changed or something!
I think you said it right there... with provocative... i think perhaps they do it to provoke.. to see how far they can go, because they know they have CAIR and the ACLU to stand by them.
sick.
Z, just a question. If the writing was in Arabic, then how did they know what it said in English?
Besides that, I do believe the individual wore it to provoke some type of response from people. The money was the bonus.
If I didn't have it in me to do the right thing I could as a black man come up with some provocative way to get me some money,too.
But, I couldn't if I wanted to, darn spiritual conviction.
Blessings.
I'm not above hurting their feelings.
Sensitivity? Nah, it's ALL ABOUT ME!!!
Spit.
Hell, for all those passengers knew, the shirt read "Allah Ackbar!"
Ya, I.H.S., I thought of that Arabic writing, too. Funny, in really angry muslim mobs, they have all their placards in English so they make SURE we know what they're threatening.
Odd that our Left/media can't read that particular English, isn't it!!
And no, I could never see you hurting your country for cash. Never happen.
I often joke that "Christianity takes all the fun out of sinning!"
Yehudi....not them, no. Especially not the type who'd do THIS.
I have a shirt w/ I will not submit written in Arabic and English...do you think I could get $240,000 from Air Arabia?...
I saw a photo of the shirt worn on Jetblue--it also had Arabic and English...
Have a great week-Z--:-)
Raed Jarrar is a name I recognize from reading Iraqi blogs. I can't remember for sure, but I think he comes from a rather well connected political family, and I also seem to remember that he was not all that well liked. If I find out more, I'll be back.
I wonder what I would say!
I found this one encouraging.
Time has to come when just because some piece of right wing white bread feels threatened we don't give in to the paranoia.
Ducky, stop or you're gone.
thanks.
We don't do stupid insults here...and then when YOU do it, it's fine but if I get rid of it, you tell my readers "I want you all to know Z censored me"
YOU want them ALL TO KNOW? WHY? I still giggle at that one.
And, by the way, I hope you're on a plane real soon with something that looks threatening and we'll see how much you white bread lefty likes it.
Mustang: So if I boarded an aircraft wearing a t-shirt that read, "Most terrorists are Muslims," would they require ME to wear a special shirt provided by the airlines?
Okay, just asking. I wonder how much money I could make on this deal . . .
Go ahead and give it a whirl.
I believe in behavorial profiling, and to a degree, racial profiling. But I also believe some of us have gotten to a point where we cross the line into religious bigotry, insensitivity, and prejudice. And we fall right into the hands of those who do accuse our side of it, even when we have legitimate concerns.
Another disastrously stupid consequence of Multiculturalism. These "suits" should NEVER be allowed to come to court.
Lawyers make laws for the benefit of LAWYERS.
Aren't you SICK of having lawyers everywhere in Congress? Why does EVERYONE have to have a damned LAW degree?
We've been in the ;process of Suing Ourselves into Extinction for many decades. Can't we please STOP?
~ FreeThinke
~ FreeThinke
Seriously, I once saw arabic lettering jump off a page and beat some guy up in a bar. There's no telling what script in two languages could do if it managed to smuggle in a pencil sketch of box cutters.
The shirt is a representative of the group of American people who do not feel we should be occupying Iraq, You know because 12 saudi passengers crashed planes into a building! Not Iraqis.
It was in the Arabic language to deliver the message to people both sides of a conflict. It was in english and was also in Arabic, it was just repeated. Do I see how this could be miss construed? Yes absolutely, but what everyone in this country forgets, is that no single person or people has/have the right to not be offended. That is the beauty of this place, say what you want. If you don't like what someone has on their shirt. How about don't read it. if you don't understand what it means how about ask them what it means, you know the old saying, To assume, makes an Ass out of U and Me.
Why not say hey man what does your shirt mean?
Well it means that I do not support the occupation of Iraq and I am representing both the innocent bystanders in Iraq as well as Americans here who disagree.
Oh ok well thats your opinion I disagree but good to know. , wow I had know idea anyone thought that way. I am glad to hear that there differences of opinion in this world. Those differences are what make us individuals.
To each their own. End of story
According to the OECD, between 2003 and 2006, American students declined by nine points in their PISA mathematics performance scores, which made the United States rank thirty-fourth out of thirty nine countries in that category. Indonesia ranked first, with an increase of 31 points in the PISA score.
United States tied for one-hundred-and-fifty-first in that category with Lithuania, Serbia, Slovakia, and the United Arab Emirates
According to data gathered in 2005 by the World Health Organization, annual per capita health care costs in the United States are $6350, which makes the United States rank first in spending the most per person on the planet.
According to the United Nations, the United States ranks twelfth in the Human Development Index, a measure that includes GDP and other indicators of human development, such as education, literacy, and life expectancies. Iceland ranks first.
Notice how we are not ranked number 1 in any of these categories, except for spending on healthcare, which really means we are last place. Lets fix this people are you sick of being led to think you are number one in everything but are really number one in nothing.
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