US Islamic group: Six Imams kicked out of US Airways flight

A US Airways employee walks past a jet at the gate at Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington, DC, September 2004. US Airways said it was investigating an incident in which six Muslim imams were handcuffed and removed from a flight at a Minnesota airport but later released without charges.(AFP/File/Stephen Jaffe)

November 21, 2006

Agence France-Presse

WASHINGTON -- Six Muslim imams were handcuffed and removed from a US Airways flight at a Minnesota airport over "suspicious activity," a US Islamic civil liberties group said Tuesday.

The six Imams were questioned by authorities before being released Monday following their removal from the airplane at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, according to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).

"The Imams, who were questioned Monday evening by authorities and then released, told CAIR that they were removed from the US Airways flight 'for no reason' and were 'humiliated' by being handcuffed and taken off the plane in the view of other passengers," the Islamic group said in a statement.

"They suspect the 'suspicious activity' cited by authorities was the performance of normal evening prayers offered by members of the group," it said.

"The detained Imams also denied media reports that they refused to leave the plane or that they chanted 'Allah' as they were escorted from the flight," the statement said.

CAIR called for an investigation into the actions of security personnel and US Airways crew members.

The six Imams, several of whom are from Arizona, were in Minnesota to attend a conference of the North American Imams Federation, CAIR said.

"We are concerned that crew members, passengers and security personnel may have succumbed to fear and prejudice based on stereotyping of Muslims and Islam," CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad said in the statement.

"We call on relevant authorities to investigate whether proper procedures were followed by security personnel and members of the US Airways flight crew."

The public affairs office of the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment early Tuesday. A US Airways spokesperson was not immediately available for comment.


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