This post was published in 2001.
As the anti-Muslim, anti-Arab fervor has escalated in the United States, individually targeted terrorism is intensified. One recent case profiled by the Council on American- Islamic Relations, (CAIR), has received some notoriety.
Enas Sarsour, a 17 year old Muslim high school student was terrorized into removing her head scarf, known as hijab, in a public strip search. Sarsour, after passing the required security checkpoints at the Baltimore/Washington International Airport, was harassed by a guard shouting, “Hey you need to take that off,”. Ms. Sarsour defended herself by responding, “Why do I have to take off my head cover?”, and was immediately surrounded by military personnel in camouflage uniforms with combat rifles. Terrified, she removed her headscarf without further thought, violating her concession to God.
CAIR, the Washington based Islamic advocacy group, requested an apology on behalf of Ms. Sarsour for the December 18th, 2001 incident from Northwest and Delta Airlines. After investigation, Delta President Frederick W. Reid issued a formal apology stating, “We regret and apologize for the embarrassment and discomfort you experienced.
Be assured that we take this matter very seriously”. Mr. Reid later telephoned Ms. Sarsour to apologize personally. CAIR is presently dealing with 12 cases in which Muslim women have been forced to remove their headscarves and more than 170 cases of racial profiling since September 11th. The American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU, has noted that these acts of discrimination have taken place predominantly in the travel industry, especially towards passengers on commercial airlines or in the airports themselves.
* Saira W. Soufan is a Pakistani-American studied Biology and free lance social worker.
