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AMP Report – January 19, 2007
Northwest apologizes to Muslims barred from flight
Reacting swiftly to allegations of discrimination, Northwest Airlines apologized to a group of 40 Muslims today for barring them from a plane in Germany on their return trip from the Hajj.
The airline said it will reimburse the pilgrims for the other flights they were forced to take on their return from the Hajj, the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
The Detroit News quoted Andrea Newman, the senior vice-president for government relations, as saying that she will travel to Metro Detroit on Friday to discuss those issues and others with Imam Sayed Hassan al-Qazwini, the clergyman at the largest mosque in the country, the Islamic Center of America, and others who were affected by the snafu. Many of the pilgrims had to pay for hotel accommodations and some are still awaiting the delivery of their luggage.
"We welcome Northwest Airlines' apology and offer of limited compensation as a positive step toward addressing the concerns of the Muslim passengers," said CAIR-Michigan Executive Director Dawud Walid adding that some of the travelers are considering legal action against the airline.
The Northwest Airlines apology came one day after the group of 40 Muslims held a press conference at a mosque in Dearborn to relate their plights. The group said that they were not allowed to board a flight from Frankfurt to Detroit because of their religion and background.
On Jan. 7, the group of American Muslims who were largely Lebanese-American Shias had landed in Germany and were going to take a connecting flight to Detroit. Northwest allowed some of them on the flight, but barred about 40 of them, the pilgrims said.
They said that Northwest discriminated against the Muslims and left them on their own to find accommodations while trying to book other flights.
"Probably they were afraid of 40 Muslims on one flight," said Imam Hassan Al-Qazwini, head of the Islamic Center of America, a Shia mosque in Dearborn. Al-Qazwini, who was part of the group, said that he and other Muslims have had profiling problems before with Northwest Airlines.
Northwest said that the passengers were not allowed on the flight because they were late. However, Al-Qazwini said that the group had arrived at the gate at least an hour and 30 minutes before the departure while others who came after us were allowed to board the airplane.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations which organized the press conference, called for an investigation into the matter. The CAIR said that it will represent the group of Muslims in any possible legal action against Northwest. The organization has been active in recent months in fighting what they see as profiling of Muslims by airlines.
On January 19, Northwest Airlines officials met behind closed doors with some local Muslims who were banned a flight from Germany this month. Both sides agreed not to issue public statements, according to Dawud Walid, executive director of the Council on American Islamic Relations. "We've reconciled the situation," Walid said.
It may be recalled that fearing harassment of American Muslims returning after performing Hajj, the CAIR, met with the officials of Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), to ensure safe traveling for the Hajj pilgrims. Some 10,000 American Muslims perform Hajj every year.
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