Muslims are harrassed in the airports
Pial Khan
Man is born free but everywhere he is in chains’, famous French philosopher Jacques Rousseau.
Inspired by Rousseau and other philosophers, America’s founding fathers made Liberty, Equality and Justice the cornerstones of their Constitution. Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States, is principally responsible for its incredibly influential and immensely inspiring Declaration of Independence. He is also highly respected for the promotion of the ideals of republicanism in the United States borrowed from Rousseau to make a statement that, “all men are born equal,” arguably the most quoted phrase in modern political arena. The beginning of the Declaration of Independence written by Jefferson declares: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness”.Reading the fairy of Shahrukh Khan’s reception at Newark’s rather ironically named Liberty International Airport in the US unfold this August, I couldn’t imagine how America’s founders would have reacted to a guest being treated this way, someone with the fame as India’s biggest superstar enjoys globally. Distinguished as the global brand ambassador of India, the Bollywood icon was rated last year as the planet’s biggest superstar by the Time magazine, ahead of superstar like Will Smith and Tom Cruise. In an irony, the King Khan recently finished shooting for his much-awaited movie; My Name is Khan, set in the US. The movie, being distributed worldwide by Rupert Murdoch’s 20th Century Fox and Star, is supposed to chronicle the journey of self-discovery of an Indian Muslim in the US who gets caught in the insanity of the pathetic September 11 attacks and its aftermath.
Paradoxically I also had some bitter experience at the same villainous Liberty International Airport earlier to Shahrukh’s. Though it is a broken puzzle but to clarify a little bit I may have to unfold my story. Along with many participants from worldwide, from Bangladesh, We (me & XX friends) had the opportunity to go to United States of America as a guest of The State Department of USA under an undergraduate exchange program during 200X. It was a dream to all of us who got the opportunity to represent their country as student ambassadors. For some of us, it was the first air journey. When we were inside the plane which was a North American Airlines, most of us observed that almost all the airhostesses & cabin-crew were behaving little bit differently with the Asian passengers than to the Western counterparts. Though you can not prove it black & white but the fact was clearly obvious to us that the differences are not over rather it is wrapped by professional bindings. On the flight day, our second landing was at Newark in New Jersey. We were quite surprised and astound moments after we landed at Newark’s Liberty International Airport after all the procedures were completed, at the last checking point (entry point to the USA), some of us had been asked by the authorized security personals to go to a secured checking zone apart from the regular line. Ironically those people were selected who had name like Muhammad, Ahmed, Hussein, Khan etc. At that time, I had the feeling that it was a general procedure. We have had faced these kind of awkward situations quite a while during our journey by the air route with in USA although our program sponsor was the Stated Department of USA. Now if my unconscious mind wants to connect the broken puzzle then it might turn to a dead end where “all men are born equal” has been erased by the mysterious force.
The way Shahrukh Khan had to go through at the LI Airport scrutiny system, detained and grilled like a renowned criminal for more than two and half hours without being allowed to make a phone call to his hosts because of his suspicious last name, was simply shocking. It is hard to swallow but the harsh truth is it is being happening with thousands of Arabs, Muslims and even non-Muslim Asians for their family name every time they are traveling USA and in other western countries. The truth is these facts doesn’t get the required exposure or is often taken in their tread literally by helpless travelers who have to carry on anyway after losing the self-respect.
The Newark episode had heated the whole India, Asia and many regions around the world, because it was a case with a world famous movie icon Shahrukh Khan, who frequently visits the US and other nations in Western hemisphere. The big question is what about the tens of thousands of others who routinely and silently suffer these kinds of harassments at airports, railway and subway stations and other entry points every day? Does anyone care about them? Apparently, no one!!!
According to a recent report of the Asian Law Caucus, Muslim Americans are being increasingly targeted for unwarranted house searches and interrogation, especially after trips from abroad. Soon after 9/11, prominent Indian Canadian writer Rohinton Mistry called off his tour when he was stopped at almost every single airport in the US. His unusual last name and beard apparently triggered alarm bells in a jittery America. Even the Sikhs, sitting ducks with their beards and turban, came under attack in the wake of 9/11 incident. But Shahrukh Khan is no Rohinton Mistry, an engaging writer. His is easily the most popular and renowned face of the subcontinent and an epitome of the India’s religious and cultural diversity who has ruled and still ruling the world’s biggest movie industry for nearly two decades and launched a thousand brands. He has billion fans around the world rooting for him, including senior ministers of the Indian government.
Coming back to my chronicle, this year I was selected as a delegate of HPAIR (Harvard Project for Asian and International Relation) Business Conference 2009, which took place in Tokyo, Japan. I was ready & optimistic to join there to represent myself, my community and my nation after finishing all preparatory works. I had finished all relevant preparatory works to attend the business conference and even paid online for the registration and completed all the relevant procedures. I went to the Japanese Embassy to get the visa and submitted my application. I had submitted all the necessary documents required for the visa. First day, they asked me to bring my H.S.C certificate and my father’s Tax Identification Number (TIN) certificate which were not mentioned in the basic requirements list. I went there the next day with these two papers and submitted accordingly. Just to mention that when I submitted my H.S.C equivalent Alim certificate (under Madrasa board), the officer looked at me in an inspective way because I had already written that I was studying at one of the leading private university of Bangladesh. He told me to collect the passport following next week. One of my close friends (who live at Baridhara Diplomatic Zone) got the event’s information from me also did applied for the Visa before me and got the visa. This fact made me even more optimistic for getting the visa. When I went there to collect the passport after waiting more than a week, after passing some anxious time, they called my name. After receiving the passport, I opened the passport; at that time I was utterly speechless and quite shocked seeing that they did not issued the Visa. I requested the Visa office to inform me the reason behind that I was not allowed the visa; their replied was “We never mention the reason”. At first, what I felt like I have just became a victim of injustice being holding a Madrasah certificate or for my name. I came back from there with a broken heart and tried to regain my confidence which was not easy at all.
An US-based writer Deepa Iyer writes in her blog, “Khan’s incident might be gaining international attention because he is a top celebrity, but the truth is that ordinary American citizens and immigrants here in the US struggle with racial and religious profiling routinely at airports.” What happens to those ‘usual suspects’ whose name pops up by mistake or an incongruity on a list of suspects? Shahrukh had the entire Indian government and Indian missions in the US move to rescue him. But what about the thousands of others whose last names happen to be Khan, Sheikh or Muhammad? What happens to them? Who intervenes and speaks on their behalf? Even if they survive the trauma, they will never be the same people again. Some of them might just disappear. Like Maher Arar did, who was sent to be tortured in Syria as a ‘terror suspect’ after he was picked up from JFK Airport in transit after a family holiday in Tunisia during 2002? A false tip here, a case of mistaken identity there has wrecked thousands of lives like that of Maher Arar’s. Not everyone can be as lucky as SRK, who’s been invited by President Obama for a beer in the White House. Who knows how many Maher Arars have disappeared down this Orwellian black hole?
The Opinion Editor of Khaleej Times Aijaz Zaka Syed raised his concerns about these issues ‘How did Jefferson’s and Lincoln’s America end up here? In fact, it’s as though the whole world has gone round the bend. No one trusts any one anymore.
It’s not just the fear of flying. We are afraid of everything now. We are afraid of each other. We are even afraid of carrying a harmless bottle of liquid with us. A 100 ml bottle is a weapon of mass destruction now. Well, this is what the terrorists wanted. They have us where they wanted. Our civil liberties suspended, our rights undermined and just about everyone going bonkers’.
Nearly nine years have being passed but of USA’s terror of war but no one can sense the end of it which raised the military expense of USA from less then $280 billions to near $700 billions that is one of the major hidden cause of last year’s great recession.. More than a million innocent lives have been lost in Iraq and Afghanistan, not to mention America’s nearly five thousand brave army personals and hundreds of others from its allies. What is the real outcome? No one knows what this war is all about anymore and why the world is fighting it. Not even the Americans seem to have the faintest idea.
In his historic inaugural address, the 2009 peace prize winner Nobel laureate President Barack Hussein Obama promised a ‘new way forward’ with the world, especially with its Muslims. It is time to move on.
Recent Fort Hood incident at Texas that swept the world media has raised the question of whether Nidal Malik Hasan was being harassed for his religious identity. Many sources have confirmed that he has been subject to racial discrimination several times due to his religious identity. If it is true that Hasan has gone through discriminatory behavior, then how he will be treated during his trial remain unanswered to many. Many Muslim Americans fear their religion may be blamed, either implicitly or explicitly, for the tragedy that they may experience racism as a result.
As one Muslim American woman put it, voicing the thoughts of many: “I really hoped he wouldn’t turn out to be a Muslim”.
Anyone should not be judged based on their religious or ethnic identity. Being prejudiced towards any race or group is against the core values of human nature. We all need to stand up and raise our voice against these discriminatory practices. We want to hold up the value that “All men are created equal and are being treated as equal”.