# Six Imams Ejected for Praying **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 21, 2006, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/six-imams-ejected-for-praying/381360 "2006-11-21T23:44:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2006, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/six-imams-ejected-for-praying/381360/1 "2006-11-21T23:44:01Z")
From [here](http://articles.news.aol.com/news/_a/six-imams-removed-from-twin-cities/20061121014409990004?ncid=NWS00010000000001), I learn two things: 1. It only takes one moron to screw things up. 2. 63% of the people taking the poll thought the airline did the right thing and 65% think no investigation of the incident is needed. That’s ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2006, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/six-imams-ejected-for-praying/381360/2 "2006-11-21T23:58:13Z")
Yep, that is pretty crappy. Unfortunately, the airline being a private company has a right to refuse service. I don’t know why 63% of Americans have a problem with public prayer. Americans need to realize that we need these moderate Muslim clerics if we are ever going to get some control on the extremists. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/six-imams-ejected-for-praying/381360/3 "2006-11-22T00:03:37Z")
Hunh, I thought everybody prays before getting on a US Scareways flight. I know I do. OK, cheap shot, I know it. ---
**Author:** ![black\_rabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f19dbf/32.png) [@black\_rabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/black_rabbit)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/six-imams-ejected-for-praying/381360/4 "2006-11-22T00:20:14Z")
[QUOTE=The Flying Dutchman] Yep, that is pretty crappy. Unfortunately, the airline being a private company has a right to refuse service. I don’t know why 63% of Americans have a problem with public prayer. Americans need to realize that we need these moderate Muslim clerics if we are ever going to get some control on the extremists. [/QUOTE] So somebody _just_ handed you your ass, and you lost it _already_? ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/six-imams-ejected-for-praying/381360/5 "2006-11-22T00:27:46Z")
[QUOTE=black rabbit] So somebody _just_ handed you your ass, and you lost it _already_? [/QUOTE] Huh? ---
**Author:** ![black\_rabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f19dbf/32.png) [@black\_rabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/black_rabbit)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/six-imams-ejected-for-praying/381360/6 "2006-11-22T00:31:45Z")
[QUOTE=lissener] Huh? [/QUOTE] [Sorry](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=396991). ---
**Author:** ![whole\_bean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/96bed5/32.png) [@whole\_bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whole_bean)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/six-imams-ejected-for-praying/381360/7 "2006-11-22T00:41:43Z")
[QUOTE=The Flying Dutchman] Unfortunately, the airline being a private company has a right to refuse service. [/QUOTE] you sure about that? you shouldn’t be. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/six-imams-ejected-for-praying/381360/8 "2006-11-22T01:05:52Z")
If anyone blows up a plane, they’re not going to be praying out loud. They will dress and act like westerners. They may not even look Arab. The guy in the long robes praying out loud to Allah? That’s the guy you _don’t_ need to worry about. ---
**Author:** ![Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4da419/32.png) [@Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gala_Matrix_Fire)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/six-imams-ejected-for-praying/381360/9 "2006-11-22T02:25:07Z")
The article didn’t give much detail. I want to know what the imams’ actions were. Did they stand to pray? Sit? Kneel? Kneel and chant? Were they loud? Were they in a circle? I’m having a hard time picturing what they did that would lead anybody to believe they were going to cause trouble on the plane. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/six-imams-ejected-for-praying/381360/10 "2006-11-22T02:31:33Z")
I saw an interview with one of the complaining passengers on the evening news. He said his little kid got scared at the strange men doing scary stuff. Dad felt completely justified in raising a ruckus, wasn’t at all embarrassed at the possibility the six men might be harmless victims of hysteria. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/six-imams-ejected-for-praying/381360/11 "2006-11-22T02:33:57Z")
It seems extremely doubtful that anyone would attempt a terrorist act in this manner, and the p.r. fallout is unfortunate. _“…a US Airways manager said three of the men had only one-way tickets and no checked baggage…An airport police officer and a federal air marshal agreed that the combination of circumstances was suspicious, and eventually asked the men to leave the airplane, the police report said…But Shahin and Marwan Sadeddin, another of the imams, strongly denied doing anything out of the ordinary.”_ Um, having no checked baggage and one-way tickets _is_ out of the ordinary, and one wonders to what degree our Six Traveling Imams\* were either a) hoping to provoke some incident, or b) idiots. \*for some reason I am reminded of an SCTV routine involving Identical OPEC Oil Ministers. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/six-imams-ejected-for-praying/381360/12 "2006-11-22T02:36:18Z")
[QUOTE=bluethree] The article didn’t give much detail. I want to know what the imams’ actions were. Did they stand to pray? Sit? Kneel? Kneel and chant? Were they loud? Were they in a circle? I’m having a hard time picturing what they did that would lead anybody to believe they were going to cause trouble on the plane. [/QUOTE] The article’s eighth paragraph may clear that up for you: > [@](#): > > An airport police report said the flight’s captain had already decided he wanted the men off the plane after the passenger passed a flight attendant a note pointing out “Arabic men.” And the “number of things that gave the flight crew pause” appear to be: [ol][li]Being an Arabic man[/li][li]Praying in the terminal[/li][li]Making critical comments about the war in Iraq[/li][li]One way tickets[/li][li]No checked baggage[/li][/ol] Interesting. I know some guys from Egypt who have a similar complexion to mine. I pray in terminals (mainly because I’m a bit afraid of flying). I have been known to make some critical comments about the war in Iraq. I occasionaly fly on one way tickets. And I usually don’t have any checked baggage. Guess I’m a terrorist too. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/six-imams-ejected-for-praying/381360/13 "2006-11-22T02:40:27Z")
So, **Jackmanii** , to what degree am I an idiot or provoking an incident on purpose when I travel on vacation? When returning to Korea, I don’t have time to be hanging around for my checked baggage to come through if I want to catch the train to Busan and manage to make it to work the next day. I also find it odd that a random passenger was aware that three of the Imams had only one-way tickets and no checked baggage. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/six-imams-ejected-for-praying/381360/14 "2006-11-22T02:43:13Z")
I think these Imams should be a little more understanding. A bunch of Muslim guys praying before they get on the same airplane? Sorry, what does that bring to mind. While that activity might be normal in a country that sees a lot of devout Muslims praying all the time, that is not the case here. For one of them to claim that this incident illustrates that they are prevented from practicing their religion in the U.S. is ridiculous. On a brighter note, if their called boycott gains momentum, I know what I’ll be trying to fly on. ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/six-imams-ejected-for-praying/381360/15 "2006-11-22T02:46:31Z")
I had no idea US Airways passenger flights even _had_ ejector seats. \*“Sami’a Allahu liman hamidah–” \* _ **PWOOOMPH** _ I’m glad I usually fly Delta. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/six-imams-ejected-for-praying/381360/16 "2006-11-22T02:46:32Z")
[QUOTE=Jackmannii] Um, having no checked baggage and one-way tickets _is_ out of the ordinary, and one wonders to what degree our Six Traveling Imams\* were either a) hoping to provoke some incident, or b) idiots. [/QUOTE] Has the US really reverted to “act like everyone else, or suffer the consequences”? ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/six-imams-ejected-for-praying/381360/17 "2006-11-22T02:56:03Z")
I never have any checked baggage. No wonder my son gets pulled out of the line every time we fly. Every time! So, it was only 4 times total, but still. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/six-imams-ejected-for-praying/381360/18 "2006-11-22T02:56:12Z")
[QUOTE=magellan01] A bunch of Muslim guys praying before they get on the same airplane? Sorry, what does that bring to mind. [/QUOTE] The four chaplains on the _S.S. Dorchester_? It certainly does not bring to mind the nineteen terrorists from September, 2001 who each boarded their respective planes individually, making no attempt to pray at all, much less publicly, and certainly not together. Maybe we need to rachet up our unfounded paranoia just another notch. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/six-imams-ejected-for-praying/381360/19 "2006-11-22T02:56:23Z")
[QUOTE=magellan01] A bunch of Muslim guys praying before they get on the same airplane? Sorry, what does that bring to mind. [/QUOTE] Well, what does it bring to mind? Am I missing something, or is it common knowledge that terrorists pray in airports before boarding doomed flights? ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/six-imams-ejected-for-praying/381360/20 "2006-11-22T03:03:45Z")
Yeah, tom. Maybe I should too. Just Sunday, I got mistaken for a Yemeni by, get this, a Yemeni! Maybe next vacation, I’ll just swim there. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/six-imams-ejected-for-praying/381360.md?page=2)