The Enemy Within
Two Muslim were recently kicked off a SkyWest flight because a flight attendant onboard wasn't comfortable with them on the plane, according to a complaint filed by the two men. A photo of the father and son, Mohammed and Fazal Khan, in Thursday's SF Chronicle shows two men with long, bushy beards, white skull caps and dark skin. In other words, characteristics commonly associated with Muslims in popular media and imagination. They are Hayward residents originally from Fiji.
The airlines and Department of Transportation are still investigating the incident according to the Chron reporter, who quoted the younger Khan as saying, "If it can happen to us, it can happen to anyone."
The same day I saw this story, I pulled on my favorite t-shirt, the one with the caption: "I'm a Muslim. Don't Panic."
I had worn it a few times. White folks usually asked, Are you really Muslim? Or are you just messing with people?
I was wondering what that mattered. They obviously didn't get the joke, or just didn't think it was funny. I had, however, managed to get a row of seats to myself on a packed Southwest flight from DC to SF by wearing it.
This day, though, I was having coffee with my friend Lisa at Brewed Awakening on Euclid. Sam, the owner was ecstatic when he saw the t-shirt and asked me if I had heard about the Khans being kicked off the airplane. He was a lot nicer about it than me. He said, Don't you think that goes too far?
Yes. I do. The truth is they were kicked off for being Muslims, or as the joke goes, FLYING WHILE BROWN (like African Americans guilty of Driving While Black). Lisa told me a story about a flight she took on which two white guys sat down opposite of two Muslim men and proceeded to stare at them hostily for the entire trip.
The whole thing made me wonder: Could someone have asked them to stop? At least alerted the flight attendant that two men were harassing them? Would no one stand up for the Khans?There’s a 1000-pound gorilla in the room and no one wants to talk about it: fear and racism. Muslims and Arabs are the Enemy Within for many Americans. It's all wrapped up in terrorism, victimization, fear-mongering, war, and zenophobia. Fear of the foreign.
So, I am going to try to unwarp that sad package here. Stay tuned.
The airlines and Department of Transportation are still investigating the incident according to the Chron reporter, who quoted the younger Khan as saying, "If it can happen to us, it can happen to anyone."
The same day I saw this story, I pulled on my favorite t-shirt, the one with the caption: "I'm a Muslim. Don't Panic."
I had worn it a few times. White folks usually asked, Are you really Muslim? Or are you just messing with people?
I was wondering what that mattered. They obviously didn't get the joke, or just didn't think it was funny. I had, however, managed to get a row of seats to myself on a packed Southwest flight from DC to SF by wearing it.
This day, though, I was having coffee with my friend Lisa at Brewed Awakening on Euclid. Sam, the owner was ecstatic when he saw the t-shirt and asked me if I had heard about the Khans being kicked off the airplane. He was a lot nicer about it than me. He said, Don't you think that goes too far?
Yes. I do. The truth is they were kicked off for being Muslims, or as the joke goes, FLYING WHILE BROWN (like African Americans guilty of Driving While Black). Lisa told me a story about a flight she took on which two white guys sat down opposite of two Muslim men and proceeded to stare at them hostily for the entire trip.
The whole thing made me wonder: Could someone have asked them to stop? At least alerted the flight attendant that two men were harassing them? Would no one stand up for the Khans?There’s a 1000-pound gorilla in the room and no one wants to talk about it: fear and racism. Muslims and Arabs are the Enemy Within for many Americans. It's all wrapped up in terrorism, victimization, fear-mongering, war, and zenophobia. Fear of the foreign.
So, I am going to try to unwarp that sad package here. Stay tuned.
posted by A.W. Woodall at 2:52 PM
1 Comments:
That is very sad... prejudicial... no other comment...
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