http://wnd.com/news/printer-friendly.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53621
This is a WorldNetDaily printer-friendly version of the article which follows. To view this item online, visit http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53621 Thursday, January 4, 2007 _____ _____ size=1 width="100%" noshade color="#aca899" align=center> HOMELAND INSECURITY Muslims warn of 'problems' in shared prayer room Somali leader says Islam, Christianity incompatible _____ Posted: January 4, 2007 1:00 a.m. Eastern _____ © 2007 WorldNetDaily.com Muslims are demanding a private room to pray at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, saying there will be problems if they have to share an existing "quiet room" with people of other religions. "Where you have Christians and Muslims praying at the same time, it will create a problem," said Fuad Ali, a Somali leader who spoke at a meeting with airport officials, according to the St. <http://www.wnd.com/redir/r.asp?http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/163 70149.htm> Paul Pioneer Press. The meeting was a followup to an incident Nov. 20 when ticket agents and other passengers noticed six Muslim imams who had attended a conference in the area praying loudly before their flight, and shouting "Allah, Allah" when their flight was called. Officials said then they also asked to be scattered throughout the plane, rather than sitting together as they had been assigned. And some of the imams, although they did not need them, asked for seat-belt extenders. (Story continues below) The pilot summoned security and the imams were removed from the flight, and then they alleged that they were discriminated against because of their religion. Now Somalis, who make up a large community in Minnesota and are predominantly Muslim, are demanding changes at the airport, including a private place for them to use for their prayers. The airport, meanwhile, has suggested they share the room already set aside for such purposes. The incident with the imams, who took another later flight, has launched both criticism and praise for the airline, US Airways. Critics say the airline was profiling based on religion, while those who praise the actions say safety must come first in the world since Sept. 11. Ali said he just wanted a "guarantee" that something similar will not happen in the future. But the airport already provides the generic quiet area, and if it would set aside a special area designated for Muslims, it could have to accommodate any and all other faiths the same way, noted Airport Director Steve Wareham. "Our request would be you try the quiet seating area," he said. That is a carpeted room furnished with chairs but without any religious symbols, airport officials said. It has been in use for a number of years, but hasn't been obvious, so airport officials have promised to put up more signs to let people know where it is. The airport also said people can pray in other parts of the airport as they wish. As WND reported, <http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53057> one of the imams, Omar Shahin, is affiliated with a Hamas-linked organization and acknowledged a connection to Osama bin Laden in the 1990s. Shahin is a representative of the Kind Hearts Organization, which had its assets frozen by the <http://www.ustreas.gov/press/releases/js4058.htm> U.S. Treasury pending an investigation, notes Islam scholar Robert Spencer on his weblog JihadWatch <http://www.jihadwatch.org/> Omar Shahin displays Quran at Tucson Islamic Center in June 2001 (Photo: University of Arizona Daily Wildcat) Treasury spokesman Stuart Levey in February said KindHearts "is the progeny of Holy Land Foundation and Global Relief Foundation, which attempted to mask their support for terrorism behind the façade of charitable giving." The imams had attended a conference in Minneapolis of the North American Imams Federation, said Shahin, who is president of the group. "They took us off the plane, humiliated us in a very disrespectful way," Shahin said after the incident. The Washington, D.C., based lobby group Council on American-Islamic Relations also complained, according to CAIR spokesman Ibrahim Hooper. "Because, unfortunately, this is a growing problem of singling out Muslims or people perceived to be Muslims at airports, and it's one that we've been addressing for some time," Hooper said. CAIR, however, has its own ties to Hamas, having been identified by two former FBI counter-terrorism chiefs as a spinoff of a front group for the Palestinian terrorist organization. A Sept. 28, 2001, story in the Arizona Republic that said Arizona appears to have been the home of an al-Qaida sleeper cell named Shahin as one of three part-time Arizona residents who "fits the pattern" of the terrorist group. Shahin, identifed as being with the Tucson Islamic Center, said members of his mosque may have helped bin Laden in the early 1990s when the al-Qaida leader was fighting against the Russians. The CIA at that time, Shahin said, called bin Laden a "freedom fighter." Witnesses to the imam's explusion said some of them made anti-American comments about the war in Iraq before boarding the flight, according to airport officials. _____ . _____ _____ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: osint@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
