Supples’ Pub

The civil rights lawsuit, filed in March, has so alarmed some lawyers that they are offering to defend the unnamed “John Doe” passengers listed as “possible defendants” free of charge. They say it is vital that the flying public be able to report suspicious behavior without fear of being dragged into court.

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Other passengers had gotten nervous when the men were seen praying and chanting in Arabic as they waited to board. Some passengers also said that the men spoke of Saddam Hussein and cursed the United States; that they requested seat belt extenders with heavy buckles and stowed them under their seats; that they were moving about and conferring with one another during boarding; and that they sat separately in seats scattered through the cabin.

Praying and chanting is not something I would call the TSA about.

I’m going to go out on a limb and say that I honestly doubt these passengers heard these people talking about Saddam or hatred of America - that just rings of too stereotypical to have actually happened, but who knows.

Moving about and conferring during boarding, yet were seated separately: so they couldn’t get seats together, and wanted to get up and talk? Maybe odd compared to your average Joe American who is boarding an airplane, but frankly people in different cultures act differently.

In the end, people need to be able to report suspicious behavior without threat of lawsuit. I would imagine these “Imams” would want to report suspicious behavior if they saw it, after all they are on the plane too - what if someone sued them for the same thing? So a few people got antsy, followed their gut instinct, and ruined someone else’s day. With ever increasing and changing threats, security must increase with it and there are sacrifices when that occurs. Where is the line of security vs sacrifices drawn - I have no idea. But it damn sure isn’t drawn at reporting suspicious behavior.

Source: Imams removed from flight threaten to sue passengers - CNN.com