MICHIGAN: New Airport Screenings Affect Muslims, Sikhs (2007-08-30)

MICHIGAN: New Airport Screenings Affect Muslims, Sikhs (2007-08-30)

Assalamu alaikum,

“The TSA says the rule is aimed at all headwear, and that the agency does not conduct ethic or religious profiling.”

Yeah, like this is a “war against terror, not a war against Islam and Muslims”? I seem to recall some people questiong Umar Lee when he first reported on this story.

When I was coming through airport security with Chloe when I was leaving Leader Dog, I got pulled over to the side, and it was kinda weird because I was standing there, I’d just gone thorugh the metal detector and the lady leading me through yells out “I need a female assistance!” No one came, and a couple minutes later, she yelled it again! So I’m standing there, and I’m starting to feel like everyone is watching me, and finally a lady comes and walks me out of hte line and one of the Leader Dog trainers comes to get me and says “she’s in our charge, are you done with her yet?” To which the lady responds, “we’ve not even gotten started yet”. I’m starting to think they’re going to take me off into some room somewhere and they just sit me with some of the other students. Of course, I’m thinking it’s the scarf, and when another one of the trainers comes over, I apologize to her, becuase I think I’m holding up the whole group, and she says, “oh you’re not the only one, they’re doing that to all of us”. They put the dogs thorugh the extra screening, wanding them and all, and of course, they patted me down and all.

But I still can’t help but wonder, the way the first trainer acted, if perhaps I was still singled out for a bit of “extra screening”, because of the head scarf. And the way the security lady said, “we’ve not even gotten started yet”, well, I just felt weird!

But anyway, perhaps I’m just paranoid, cynical, I don’t know.

> Men removed from flight for speaking Arabic @ CAIR Chicago

> Men removed from flight for speaking Arabic @ CAIR Chicago

Islamic Revival Among Diaspora Gambians Part 1of 2

..::The Gambia Journal Online::..

Assalamu alaikum, you know, I can’t quite put my finger on just how I feel about this article. I kinda got the feeling that the author was lamenting “the fact that Gambians were becoming more religious” and less secular, and the implicit suggestion seemed to be made that the fact that Gambians living outside of The Gambia were become more religious, the fact that there is a supposed “revivla among diasporan Gambians”, that that was or is, somehow a bad thing!?

And the insinuation was somehow made that Gambians were not religious before, and now, all of a sudden, they are starting to be. And of course, the words “terrorism” and “jihaidst” were thrown in for good measure. What I’d like to know is, why is it that the “piety” or “religiosity” of Muslims has to always be equated with terrorism and extremism?

Are we saying that the more “religious” Gambians are, the more prone to extremism and terrorism they will be?

Half-asleep Watching Robert Spencer on CSPAN

Assalamu alaikum, I had fallen asleep the other night and woke up to C-Span and, *feels nauseious*, Robert Spencer. I don’t remember exactly the *what* of what he was talking about, but it was something along the lines of the usual diatribe that he is known for. It’s funny how when you wake up, and you’re half asleep anyway, and then you go back to sleep, you don’t remember what was exactly going on when you kinda sorta woke up. I do remember trying to find the remote, asking my husband where it was, and having him sleepily tell me “It’s over there”, yeah, like that is going to help! And in my mind, I was saying, no screaming! “We gotta change this now, I can’t watch this!”

But the few things I do remember about Mr. Spencer’s talk were something about how footbaths were installed in the Kansas City airport and “ya wanna know why that is, becuase they have to perform ablusion before they pray, so see, that is sharia” or something like that. As if footbaths for making wudu in airports, or any other public space for that matter, are in and of themselves some sort of threat to national security.

I think he was trying to prove how “sharia is such a part of Muslims’ lives and how that is a threat to us”, or something like that, but hey, I was half-asleep. I also think he through in how groups like ISNA, CAIR, et. al, are really fronts for, well, name your terrorist boogieman today. And I also think he made some comment about Bush being to “tolerant” of the Muslims after 9/11.

Whatever! What made me even sadder was the questions, basically, people were asking him questions like he was actually some sort of authority on Islam, which I know he htinks he is, and they had such fear intheir voice, like “oh my God the Muslims are after us” kind of fear. It just made me sad! And then, well, I never found the remote so I just went back to sleep!

God’s “Mozlem” Warriors?

Assalamu alaikum, if Christiane Amanpour says “Mozlem” or “Izlam”, one more time!… Oh, it’s worse than nails on a chalkboard! Yes, worse than that!

G,y’onounce Islam, Muslim, jihad, hijab, niqab, and other such words properly, than what do you expect from the rest of the report? It’s supposed to be this huge “investigative report” thing and I’ve not seen anything new here!

I couldn’t even sit there the whole thing, I just heard bits of it when I was passing through the living room going to take Chloe out, and then I cuaght some of it when I was checking my email. And oh yeah, I guess she didn’t get the news about “Ayan Hirsi Ali” or whatever her real name is! Isn’t some of her “story” fabricated? But oh no, it was trotted out on CNN as fact!

Oh, well, if the NYPD thinks that praying, not engaging in premarital sex, not gambling, etc., etc., visiting mosques, halal stores, etc., makes you a “radical”, and what does this have to do with God’s Warriors and Christiane Amanpour? I don’t know, it just came to me! This continued feeling that whle on the outside people want to say “most Muslims are good people”, I don’t think that many people truly, honestly, feel that way.

But anyway… I think I’ll go pet Chloe! I’d go on a walk but it’s too late. And it’s been too hot here to go during the day.

Chloe

Assalamu alaikum, I received my new Leader Dog on August 1st. She is a Labrador/Golden retriever cross, some would call that a Goldador. Her name is Chloe! She is 17 months old. We’ve only been working together two days, but she’s a lot of fun, and I remember the reason why I wanted another Leader Dog! Feeling the harness in my hand for the first time in months, and feeling Chloe stop for curbs and ohter obstacles, etc., well, it was just a really emotional experience for me!

We are still working out the kinks, and it will be a while before we become a seasoned team, as Abby and I once were, but Inshallah, we will do well! We seem to be off to a good start.