I think these types of policies end up creating a climate of fear around Muslims that spreads to the public.
share your #FlyingWhileMuslim story
Arrived into Newark airport, returning to university on a student visa. Stopped at immigration and told to wait at the gates. Taken into a processing room and told to wait, but officers refused to tell me why I had been detained. Waited several hours into the night before being interviewed, mine was the last incoming flight of the day. Officers asked me to write down a list of every country I had ever visited and then asked me what I had done in Pakistan. I told them I am an Indian Muslim and have never been to Pakistan - they said alright then, and let me go.
Have you ever received a response or resolution from either an airline, airport or government official regarding the discrimination you experienced? If so, what was the response or the result?
No.
Has the discrimination you've faced made it harder for you to travel? If so, in what ways and at what cost?
No but I get searched at the gate each time I travel to the US, like every other Muslim I know. Even when travelling from random countries like Brazil where Islamophobia isn't as big of a deal - I understand that it's a requirement imposed by the US. One time the guy searching me was a brother and saw that my phone wallpaper was a group of Sufis wearing turbans - he told me to change it immediately before I get to the US. I don't find it inconvenient and just get used to it.
What was your reaction to the No-Fly List leak story? how did it make you feel?
I'm not surprised.. even though the screenings are mostly inconvenient rather than aggressive, I think these types of policies end up creating a climate of fear around Muslims that spreads to the public - travelers to the US notice the types of people getting searched and it leads to the kinds of incidents where people complain about you reading Arabic on a plane, or saying assalamu alaykum on the phone.
The no fly list is obviously a lot more serious than the additional screenings we have to go through. The problem in both cases is that there's often a flawed method for evaluating risk, just like with most counter-terrorism programmes. Is it just outward perceptions of religiousness combined with sympathy with Palestine & Iraq etc that leads to people being put on the list?