# Homeland Security Detain UK Government Minister- of course he is Muslim **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [October 28, 2007, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeland-security-detain-uk-government-minister-of-course-he-is-muslim/424377 "2007-10-28T22:34:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Pjen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Pjen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pjen)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2007, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeland-security-detain-uk-government-minister-of-course-he-is-muslim/424377/1 "2007-10-28T22:34:03Z")
[http://uk.news.yahoo.com/pressass/20071028/tuk-muslim-minister-detained-at-airport-6323e80\_1.html](http://uk.news.yahoo.com/pressass/20071028/tuk-muslim-minister-detained-at-airport-6323e80_1.html) Britain’s first Muslim minister said he was “deeply disappointed” after being detained at an American airport where his hand luggage was analysed for traces of explosive materials. "Shahid Malik, MP for Dewsbury and International Development Minister, was returning to Heathrow after a series of meetings and talks on tackling terrorism, when he was stopped at Dulles Airport in Washington DC. He was searched and detained by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) - the same department whose representatives he had been meeting on his visit to the country. Mr Malik said: “After a few minutes a couple of other people were also taken to one side. We were all Muslims - the other two were black Muslims, both with Muslim names.” Mr Malik said he was particularly annoyed as a similar thing happened to him last year, when he was detained for an hour at JFK airport in New York by the DHS - despite the fact that he was a keynote speaker at an event organised by the department, alongside the FBI and Muslim organisations in New York." How to make friends and influence people? ---
**Author:** ![wendigo1974](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@wendigo1974](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wendigo1974)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2007, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeland-security-detain-uk-government-minister-of-course-he-is-muslim/424377/2 "2007-10-28T22:41:17Z")
I thought they had gone against profiling in the States and grabbed people at random. Three muslims from one line at random is a bit of a stretch. Although, on the plus side it’s nice to see Labour politicians treated like dirt by the US authorities. ---
**Author:** ![Pjen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Pjen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pjen)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2007, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeland-security-detain-uk-government-minister-of-course-he-is-muslim/424377/3 "2007-10-28T22:44:28Z")
[QUOTE=wendigo1974] I thought they had gone against profiling in the States and grabbed people at random. Three muslims from one line at random is a bit of a stretch. Although, on the plus side it’s nice to see Labour politicians treated like dirt by the US authorities. [/QUOTE] And this is the second time he has been stopped by Homeland Security. ---
**Author:** ![wendigo1974](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@wendigo1974](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wendigo1974)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2007, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeland-security-detain-uk-government-minister-of-course-he-is-muslim/424377/4 "2007-10-28T22:55:55Z")
[QUOTE=Pjen] And this is the second time he has been stopped by Homeland Security. [/QUOTE] Which should raise some flags in Gordy’s HQ that Mr. Malik isn’t quite cutting it in international circles or he’s a terrorist … I’ll let the Bottler decide which. ---
**Author:** ![Pjen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Pjen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pjen)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2007, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeland-security-detain-uk-government-minister-of-course-he-is-muslim/424377/5 "2007-10-28T22:59:04Z")
[QUOTE=wendigo1974] Which should raise some flags in Gordy’s HQ that Mr. Malik isn’t quite cutting it in international circles or he’s a terrorist … I’ll let the Bottler decide which. [/QUOTE] Or that Homeland Security is inherently racist. ---
**Author:** ![wendigo1974](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@wendigo1974](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wendigo1974)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2007, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeland-security-detain-uk-government-minister-of-course-he-is-muslim/424377/6 "2007-10-29T00:07:50Z")
[QUOTE=Pjen] Or that Homeland Security is inherently racist. [/QUOTE] OR that the TSA is actually profiling, something they said they wouldn’t do. Since when has “Muslim” been a race? In your own article, Malik states he was detained with two black males with Islamic names. Just because New Labour has castigated every institution in this nation as ‘inherently racist’ because it sounds good. It doesn’t mean you can attribute the same comments to institutions outside our nation. ---
**Author:** ![Pjen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Pjen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pjen)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2007, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeland-security-detain-uk-government-minister-of-course-he-is-muslim/424377/7 "2007-10-29T07:45:40Z")
[QUOTE=wendigo1974] OR that the TSA is actually profiling, something they said they wouldn’t do. Since when has “Muslim” been a race? In your own article, Malik states he was detained with two black males with Islamic names. Just because New Labour has castigated every institution in this nation as ‘inherently racist’ because it sounds good. It doesn’t mean you can attribute the same comments to institutions outside our nation. [/QUOTE] Since they became at risk in a similar way to the Jews who similarly technically are not a ‘Race’ but are treated under the Race relations Act. Let’s not get into this argument here. In Britain most anti-Islam hatred has he character of racism- it is mainly directed at people with darker skins, different culture and dress and from the Indian Sub-Continent. It is another debate. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2007, 8:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeland-security-detain-uk-government-minister-of-course-he-is-muslim/424377/8 "2007-10-29T08:54:56Z")
Guys, do note that the linked article indicates that he wasn’t unhappy about being stopped but rather about the way he was treated and the apparent profiling. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2007, 9:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeland-security-detain-uk-government-minister-of-course-he-is-muslim/424377/9 "2007-10-29T09:19:12Z")
A few years ago the celebrated author Rohinton Mistry announced he would be cutting short a book tour of the United States after the nth time he was “randomly” stopped. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2007, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeland-security-detain-uk-government-minister-of-course-he-is-muslim/424377/10 "2007-10-29T11:16:15Z")
Not quite sure what the “detention” was. I mean, I’ve been stopped by Homeland Security, and gone through the whole wipe and analysis thing. It takes a while, and during it I was “technically detained”, which meant standing around while they opened my luggage, wiped down surfaces with a little white cloth thing, and then analyzed it for something. Just wondering if he got the standard bumbling homeland security keeping us safe BS as I did. ---
**Author:** ![Wallenstein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b5a626/32.png) [@Wallenstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallenstein)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2007, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeland-security-detain-uk-government-minister-of-course-he-is-muslim/424377/11 "2007-10-29T11:40:53Z")
We’re not much better this side of the pond… > **[BBC NEWS | UK | Northern Ireland | Tourist jailed 'for being black'](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/7066077.stm)** > > An English tourist may have been wrongly imprisoned just for being black, says the Equality Commission. ---
**Author:** ![tagos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@tagos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tagos)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2007, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeland-security-detain-uk-government-minister-of-course-he-is-muslim/424377/12 "2007-10-29T11:58:56Z")
[QUOTE=Quartz] Guys, do note that the linked article indicates that he wasn’t unhappy about being stopped but rather about the way he was treated and the apparent profiling. [/QUOTE] Not as unhappy as he was a few years ago when as a local councillor out trying to stop race riots in his constituency and the police beat the shit out of him. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2007, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeland-security-detain-uk-government-minister-of-course-he-is-muslim/424377/13 "2007-10-29T18:21:01Z")
Is the Department of Homeland Security proving to be of any use at all?! True, there have been no successful terrorist strikes on U.S. soil since it was formed, but it’s possible heightened awareness on the part of government agencies post-9/11 might have achieved that without any reorganization. ---
**Author:** ![Beadalin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Beadalin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beadalin)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2007, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeland-security-detain-uk-government-minister-of-course-he-is-muslim/424377/14 "2007-10-29T18:24:16Z")
> [@China Guy](#): > > Not quite sure what the “detention” was. Me too. It’s happened the last few times I’ve flown, and I’m a 32-year-old white woman. It takes a few more minutes and is kind of a pain in the ass, but my main reaction is pretty much, “Yeah? Well, me too.” ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2007, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeland-security-detain-uk-government-minister-of-course-he-is-muslim/424377/15 "2007-10-29T18:31:30Z")
[QUOTE=Beadalin] Me too. It’s happened the last few times I’ve flown, and I’m a 32-year-old white woman. It takes a few more minutes and is kind of a pain in the ass, but my main reaction is pretty much, “Yeah? Well, me too.” [/QUOTE] I don’t know what his detention was, but according to the article it lasted 40 minutes. I’ve done the “selected for search” thing to and its always taken much less than 40 minutes. I suspect there was more to his detention than to mine. Of course, he could also be exaggerating what happened, but I’d doubt that since its the sort of exaggeration made by a U.K. Minister that is going to get followed up on - he’d have to be dumb to exaggerate significantly. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2007, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeland-security-detain-uk-government-minister-of-course-he-is-muslim/424377/16 "2007-10-29T19:26:36Z")
[QUOTE=Dangerosa] I don’t know what his detention was, but according to the article it lasted 40 minutes. [/QUOTE] That’s not fair! You need at least a whole **day** to [bond with your classmates](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Breakfast_Club)! ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2007, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeland-security-detain-uk-government-minister-of-course-he-is-muslim/424377/17 "2007-10-29T19:29:29Z")
just a data point to add: It’s a common procedure on many domestic US flights to stop-and-do-a-search on _all_ passengers who have a ticket that connects with an international flight.\* So if most of the people in line are domestic-only travellers, the few who are going international are gonna get picked on. Not necessarily because of their skin color. \*no cite–but I’m speaking from personal experience, and once being told directly by the ticket agent that I would be singled out for extra attention. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2007, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeland-security-detain-uk-government-minister-of-course-he-is-muslim/424377/18 "2007-10-29T21:57:38Z")
To the OP, why should the Minister be exempt from inspection just because he says he’s a Minister? Do you really expect a security guard to recognise him? ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2007, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeland-security-detain-uk-government-minister-of-course-he-is-muslim/424377/19 "2007-10-29T22:22:59Z")
And especially an _American_ security guard who frankly wouldn’t give a $#!% if he were King of Portugal? ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2007, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeland-security-detain-uk-government-minister-of-course-he-is-muslim/424377/20 "2007-10-29T23:42:33Z")
[QUOTE=Quartz] To the OP, why should the Minister be exempt from inspection just because he says he’s a Minister? Do you really expect a security guard to recognise him? [/QUOTE] Or, why should it get to the point where a minister has to observe that everyone selected is muslim before it remains news? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homeland-security-detain-uk-government-minister-of-course-he-is-muslim/424377.md?page=2)