An Alternate Witness

I am appalled to hear that four imams were removed from their flight out of Minneapolis Airport Monday for saying their prayers. Prayer alone, even Muslim prayer, is not an indication of terrorist intent. This culture of fear undermines the very foundation of the United States. Exactly this sort of hypocrisy makes our motives suspect in many parts of the world.

Puritans, Quakers, Catholics, Lutherans, Mennonites, Amish, Jews, Armenians, Maronites, Palestinians, Tibetans, Uyghers, Lebanese Shi'ites, members of resistances against Nazism, communism, military juntas and theocracies, psychoanalysts, artists, scientists, philosophers.... Throughout the nation's history, people have immigrated to these United States for the freedom to practice and profess their beliefs. Religious freedom is protected in the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States and has been repeatedly upheld by the US Supreme Court as a founding principle of this nation.

Prayer has often been used in the history of this country and others as a form of peaceful resistance and civil disobedience, but prayer has never threatened our nation's security. Do we ban Orthodox rabbis, evangelical Christian ministers or Buddhist monks from flying because we fear their religious convictions? Not at all! To the contrary, we offer kosher and vegetarian options for in-flight meals, even though Jewish, Christian and Buddhist adherents have all committed terrorist acts in the name of their religion. If we encourage the religious convictions of Jews and Christians in our airports, who are we to forbid Muslims, who worship the same God of Abraham, from fulfilling their own religious obligations?

It is not the only recent episode of prejudice by the airlines. There have been many, many examples. One that is getting attention is a woman who was kicked off her flight for breastfeeding, and Tuesday NPR reported on “nurse-ins” across the country in protest. We ought to be able to raise the same sense of outrage for such blatant religious discrimination, as well.