Muslim sensitivity training for 45,000 airport workers

[Sarge]

Evidently we have to be seeeeensitive to people that have a propensity to blow things up

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53543

The Transportation Security Administration – created after 9/11 to safeguard America's airports – is providing Islamic sensitivity training to 45,000 airport security officers so they'll know what to expect when Muslims fly from the U.S. to Saudi Arabia to participate in the annual "hajj," or pilgrimage to Mecca.

"We put out information telling everyone that hajj is coming; this is the time frame; individuals are going to be traveling with these types of items," TSA spokesman Darrin Kayser told the State Department's USINFO Web site Tuesday. Calling it "cultural sensitivity training," Kayser added that airport security officials need "just to be aware that they may also be praying."

Ironically, just last month six Muslim imams were ejected by federal authorities from a US Airways flight in Minneapolis because they were deemed a potential security threat. Among the various behaviors that unnerved fellow passengers was the group's prayers in the airport prior to their flight.

Welcoming TSA's Islamic sensitivity training is the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, which describes itself as "America's largest Islamic civil liberties group." In a press release praising the program yesterday, CAIR noted that it distributes a pocket guide titled "Your Rights and Responsibilities as an American Muslim."

"As an airline passenger," the CAIR guide states, "you are entitled to courteous, respectful and non-stigmatizing treatment by airline and security personnel. You have the right to complain about treatment that you believe is discriminatory."

The press release also quoted the group's communications director, Ibrahim Hooper, as saying CAIR representatives nationwide have met with not only the TSA, but also from Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection officials on "issues related to cultural sensitivity and national security."

Indeed, CAIR has developed a wide-ranging advisory and teaching relationship with government on the subject of protecting Muslim interests.

As WND reported previously, last June a senior Department of Homeland Security official from Washington personally guided CAIR officials on a behind-the-scenes tour of Customs screening operations at O'Hare International Airport in response to CAIR complaints that Muslim travelers were being unfairly delayed as they entered the U.S. from abroad.

However, CAIR itself is a controversial organization. It is a spin-off of the Islamic Association for Palestine, identified by two former FBI counterterrorism chiefs as a "front group" for the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas. Moreover, several CAIR leaders have been convicted on terror-related charges.

During the June airport tour, CAIR was taken on a walk through the point-of-entry, Customs stations, secondary screening and interview rooms. In addition, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents were asked to describe for CAIR representatives various features of the high-risk passenger lookout system. Brian Humphrey, Customs and Border Patrol's executive director of field operations, assured CAIR officials that agents do not single out Muslim passengers for special screening and that they must undergo a mandatory course in Muslim sensitivity training. The course teaches agents that Muslims believe jihad is an "internal struggle against sin" and not holy warfare.

Customs agents involved in the CAIR tour at O'Hare told WorldNetDaily they were outraged that headquarters would reveal sensitive counterterrorism procedures to an organization that has seen several of its own officials convicted of terror-related charges since 9-11.

CAIR says the June tour allayed its concerns about profiling and that it "looks forward to continuing the relationship with U.S. Customs and Border Protection offices in the region, and to furthering understanding between the organizations as well as facilitating future communication in order to eliminate problems for Muslim travelers before they even arise."

As WND reported, the Department of Homeland Security invites CAIR itself to conduct sensitivity training for Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and supervisors (CBP's counterparts) in Chicago. The course is taught by local CAIR officials Christina Abraham and Mariyam Hussain. More than 30 ICE staffers have gone through the CAIR awareness program so far.

CAIR – which is bankrolled by the Saudis and the United Arab Emirates, two countries that formally recognized the Taliban – also offers religious and cultural sensitivity training about Islam and Muslims to the military. In June, for example, CAIR trained more than 300 military personnel at the Marine Corps Air Station in Yuma, Ariz.

Also in June, CAIR was invited by the Pentagon to a ceremony dedicating the first Islamic center in Marine Corps history at Quantico headquarters outside of Washington.

Washington-based CAIR also has regular meetings with the FBI and Justice Department. In fact, FBI case agents complain the bureau rarely can make a move in the Muslim community without first consulting with CAIR, which sits on its advisory board. CAIR in the past has cried racism and bigotry when the bureau has moved unilaterally with investigations and raids in the community.

CAIR has also been dogged by the statements of Omar Ahmad, as reported by a California newspaper, that "Islam isn't in America to be equal to any other faith, but to become dominant," and, "The Koran, the Muslim book of scripture, should be the highest authority in America, and Islam the only accepted religion on Earth." Although the newspaper's publisher and the reporter stand by the quotes, Ahmad and CAIR dispute their accuracy.

The pilgrimage to Mecca is a religious duty for Muslims, which attracts about 2.5 million Muslim pilgrims very year, according to Saudi officials.

The Saudi Embassy in Washington, D.C., reports that about 15,000 American Muslims made the pilgrimage in 2005.

[stevenaa]

Hopefully this reads that we're giving training to make airport workers sensitive enough to detect middle easterners so they can properly profile them.

[.Guy.]

I hope I don't die.

[tizzod]

How about, since THEIR people are the ones that are predominately blowing things up and wanting to torture and kill everyone who doesn't agree with them, how about when they are in airports they keep their heads down and their traps shut so as not to attract any unwarranted attention?

How about THEY be a little sensitive to that for once instead of having me be subject to a constant barrage of how I need to be more accommodating to them?

[Insomniac]

racial profiling works in most cases, that's why it's done.

if everyone that was hijacking or blowing **** up was white, black, asian, etc. , they would be doing the same thing.

only difference is, people only seem to think it's wrong when it's done to a minority.

if you say white guys have no style, they can't rap, they can't dance, etc. that's fine.

but if you say illegal mexicans steal american jobs, you're a racist and a racial profiler.

there is no need for sensitivity training. instead, they should spend the resources on something more useful, like profiling potential terrorists. people say a terrorist can be white, black, etc. true, but why are they almost always muslim? because the culture they live in breeds terrorism.

[Zguy28]

National Isolationism becomes more attractive everyday.

[.Guy.]

I get profiled and its pretty funny.

[rictus58]

"We put out information telling everyone that hajj is coming; this is the time frame; individuals are going to be traveling with these types of items," TSA spokesman Darrin Kayser told the State Department's USINFO Web site Tuesday. Calling it "cultural sensitivity training," Kayser added that airport security officials need "just to be aware that they may also be praying."

Seems to me to be a good thing to do. It might prevent a tremendous slow down at the security gate.

[Henry]

It's not easy to live in a Democracy and treat all people as equals. If it were, more countries would be doing it. But I think our success as a society proves the long term benefits far outwieght the short-term satisfaction/convenience of looking down upon anyone different than yourself.

I'm not saying racial profiling is right or wrong, but the fact that we at least wrestle with the concept is a good thing, not a bad thing. It shows that we are still looking out for the best interest of everyone involved. That's evidence of American strength, not weakness.

[The Brave Little Toaster Oven]

racial profiling works in most cases, that's why it's done.

if everyone that was hijacking or blowing **** up was white, black, asian, etc. , they would be doing the same thing.

only difference is, people only seem to think it's wrong when it's done to a minority.

if you say white guys have no style, they can't rap, they can't dance, etc. that's fine.

but if you say illegal mexicans steal american jobs, you're a racist and a racial profiler.

there is no need for sensitivity training. instead, they should spend the resources on something more useful, like profiling potential terrorists. people say a terrorist can be white, black, etc. true, but why are they almost always muslim? because the culture they live in breeds terrorism.

:applause: :applause:

[SkinsHokieFan]

What is funny, or maybe not so funny, is I have yet to have any trouble getting through an airport screening, and I have flown a dozen times since 9/11

Never had to get pulled aside

My bag has never been scruitnized after the metal detector

I wear sandals when I fly so I dont have to worry about taking off shoes

No "unusual" line of questioning

I am usually stunned how easy it is for me to get through the gate

My brother did have all sorts of various liquids in his carry on when we were going to Miami so they did stop him and make him check that bag. But other then that, nothing, ever

To be honest, if anything, not ENOUGH profiling is done imo. Certainly a prayer rug in a book bag is nothing to fret about, but I would like to see more vigilance with regards to myself and my brother when we go through a gate

It would actually make me feel the TSA people are really doing their jobs

[tizzod]

What is funny, or maybe not so funny, is I have yet to have any trouble getting through an airport screening, and I have flown a dozen times since 9/11

Never had to get pulled aside

My bag has never been scruitnized after the metal detector

I wear sandals when I fly so I dont have to worry about taking off shoes

No "unusual" line of questioning

I am usually stunned how easy it is for me to get through the gate

My brother did have all sorts of various liquids in his carry on when we were going to Miami so they did stop him and make him check that bag. But other then that, nothing, ever

To be honest, if anything, not ENOUGH profiling is done imo. Certainly a prayer rug in a book bag is nothing to fret about, but I would like to see more vigilance with regards to myself and my brother when we go through a gate

It would actually make me feel the TSA people are really doing their jobs

You are probably just #7 or 8 out of every 10 people they stop. You probably miss the blue-hair right behind you that they harrass.

[Bang]

My wife is chinese. Every single time she flies she gets the treatment. Her bags get ransacked, she gets taken to the room and asked questions... every single time.

I agree with Tizzod completely.. ok, so we're making an effort to be more sensitive, now it's their turn. Maybe they should understand why people are nervous about them. But nah, it's everyone else's fault, as usual.

Just once I'd like to hear of a single muslim group offering sensitivity training so they can be a little more sensitive as to why people are nervous when they start praying in airports.

Not every dog bites when it growls... but any dog growling makes you worry about it biting you, and some of them do.

So the answer, of course, is to ignore all growling dogs.

That seems to be their thinking.

~Bang

[Zguy28]

Not every dog bites when it growls... but any dog growling makes you worry about it biting you, and some of them do.

So the answer, of course, is to ignore all growling dogs.

That seems to be their thinking.

~Bang

Or to give them a milkbone.:2cents:

[SkinsHokieFan]

You are probably just #7 or 8 out of every 10 people they stop. You probably miss the blue-hair right behind you that they harrass.

This whole time I thought it was the " I love George Bush" t-shirt I wear when flying

[Henry]

So the answer, of course, is to ignore all growling dogs.

I think the answer being suggested here is to learn to recognize when a dog is actually growling.

I've asked this question before. If we make it a policy to stop and inspect all brown people, or even just all brown people mumbling stuff about Allah under their breath, is that going to stop terrorism? What if terrorists simply find non-muslim-looking people to carry out their tasks? Then how do we stop them ... by profiling everyone?

One solution would be to randomly search all types of people. At the very least, a terrorist organization wouldn't be able to use a person they know WOULDN'T be searched at an airport.

And in the meantime, being courteous isn't a terrible thing.

[Bang]

I think the answer being suggested here is to learn to recognize when a dog is actually growling.

I've asked this question before. If we make it a policy to stop and inspect all brown people, or even just all brown people mumbling stuff about Allah under their breath, is that going to stop terrorism? What if terrorists simply find non-muslim-looking people to carry out their tasks? Then how do we stop them ... by profiling everyone?

One solution would be to randomly search all types of people. At the very least, a terrorist organization wouldn't be able to use a person they know WOULDN'T be searched at an airport.

And in the meantime, being courteous isn't a terrible thing.

You're right, courtesy is nothing to be ashamed of.

But as i recall, they all got bent beause a group of Imams were banned from boarding a plane after they all had a mass prayer right there in the airport.

Now, according to them it's innocent prayer. Fine, I'm willing to go with that, but the 'sensitivity' part means they have to recognize WHY that would make people very nervous.

And they won't. As tizzod said, everyone else has to bend over backwards to accommodate them, while they do nothing to acknowledge why this fear exists. Except scream at us for being "insensitive", of course.

~Bang

[tizzod]

This whole time I thought it was the " I love George Bush" t-shirt I wear when flying

Hey, that's not a bad idea! :laugh: Maybe if you wave one of those little American flags too...that would probably help some!

[heyholetsgogrant]

racial profiling works in most cases, that's why it's done.

if everyone that was hijacking or blowing **** up was white, black, asian, etc. , they would be doing the same thing.

only difference is, people only seem to think it's wrong when it's done to a minority.

if you say white guys have no style, they can't rap, they can't dance, etc. that's fine.

but if you say illegal mexicans steal american jobs, you're a racist and a racial profiler.

there is no need for sensitivity training. instead, they should spend the resources on something more useful, like profiling potential terrorists. people say a terrorist can be white, black, etc. true, but why are they almost always muslim? because the culture they live in breeds terrorism.

Not according to NWA

[ChocolateCitySkin]

How bout sensitivity training to that ******** at jfk that took 30 bucks worth of hair and face products outta my bag. Oh well atleast he let me keep my RAZORS!!!

[Sarge]

Or, CAIR could do the people they represent a favor and hand them a flyer named "Muslim **** not to do in an airport in America"

But if they do that then they can't squeal "Discrimination"

[SnyderShrugged]

Did they have Christian sensitivity training in Seattle when they ripped down all Christmas decor too?

[Henry]

Did they have Christian sensitivity training in Seattle when they ripped down all Christmas decor too?

I think they're waiting until a group of ministers are banned from the airport for forming a prayer circle first.

[SnyderShrugged]

I think they're waiting until a group of ministers are banned from the airport for forming a prayer circle first.

That will happen as soon as some ministers blow up buildings with planes

[Henry]

That will happen as soon as some ministers blow up buildings with planes

In this country, a man is judged by what he does. Not by who his father is. Not by any title. And certainly not by what someone else does.

Again, that has always been one of the things that has set this country apart from all others. That is, in my opinion, the source of our greatest strength as a nation.

If that's not important to you, or Sarge, or Bang, so be it.

I wholeheartedly disagree, and I always will.