Minneapolis Airport plot moves forward

Posted on by Hershblogger


Area Muslim leaders ask airport for prayer room

Sure thing, just as soon as the airport sets up a crèche in the main lobby and afixes mezuzot to airliner doorways.

…The local imams, who prayed on the mezzanine level before meeting with airport officials Friday afternoon, said a prayer room is essential because of the need to pray several times a day. The act itself is nonintrusive, they said.[1]

“We as Muslims, we are part of this country,” said Abdulrehman Hersi, a Minneapolis imam. “You have to pray wherever you are. Our prayer … we believe that we talk to our lord. It does not make harm to anyone.”[2]

…The airport police report describes concerns about the imams reported by passengers and airline employees.

They included “very loud” praying that included “chanting” of “Allah, Allah, Allah” before the flight.[3]

…The Twin Cities imams who met with airport officials Friday said there is a gap in communication. [4] They said officials need to forge more understanding with the Muslim community.

“We are Americans,” said Abdullahi Wasuge, an assistant imam in Minneapolis.[5]

Emphasis mine. The article mentions that there are already places where prayer can take place, but nobody asked for a space where shouting “Allah” before boarding a flight could be non-threatening, much less nonintrusive. Sensitivity to others is not a hallmark for these imams.

… Wareham said the airport does not have a meditation room, although quiet waiting rooms and spaces are available. A chaplain has a small room at the airport, he said, adding that until now there haven’t been requests for a prayer room.

[1] This particular act was not “non-intrusive” by definition. See [3]. If it is typically “non-intrusive”, why do they need a special room? One answer to why they think it was “non-intrusive” is that intruding on infidels is not actually intrusion. This raises the question of how intrusive a “special room” is, however.
[2] It “makes harm” psychologically to anyone who remembers 9/11. The imams know this, but probably do not believe 9/11 had anything to do with religious fervor, nor perhaps even that Muslims were involved.
[3] Would YOU want to fly with them after that?
[4] There is a gap in communication. It would appear that the imams have never heard of Islamic terrorists.
[5] If you deliberately set out to be known as a particular form of American – “victim” – in order to make others accommodate your religious law (see here and here), it needs to be resisted. Same for the Minneapolis cabbies refusing fares and wanting special treatment because of their religion.

UPDATE 4:14PM.
DO NOT miss this comprehensive post at Bizzy Blog. What Really Happened on US Airways Flight 300?

One thing that no one seemed to consider at the time, perhaps due to lack of familiarity with Islamic practice, is that the men prayed both at the gate and on the plane. Observant Muslims pray only once at sundown, not twice.

“It was almost as if they were intentionally trying to get kicked off the flight,”…

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