Indeed this American Muslim is a good friend of
MuslimBridges, is also a commercial
airplane pilot working for Northwest Airlines for nearly two decades. Occasionally, he is pushed over the limit by
the extra "special care" received at airports security. His Islamic sounding
name gives him away every time. On one
of his long flights, he was accompanied by a co-pilot who shared few airport
cafeteria meals over the years. This
time, he noticed something quite unusual about this co-pilot. Several crosses were prominently displayed on
his chest, one of which was a unique necklace featuring 2 connected crosses. Seeing the image of all these crosses, I thought to myself, this man
must be a right-wing Christian extremist, said the Muslim pilot. The co-pilot quietly tucked all the crosses under
his shirt. A long flight was about to begin, and a very long career was about
to end.
During the long fight, the Muslim pilot began to engage in
discussions about the immoral war in Iraq,
the brutal occupation of Palestine,
and other common grievances shared by most people of conscious. While the co-pilot was often defending the
war, and in favor of justifying the occupation. His augments did not hold well,
seemed to lose most grounds by the end of the flight.
 Several days later, the Muslim pilot was escorted by two
intimidating security guards to a management meeting room. "When I entered the meeting room, I realized
it was not a meeting with management, but a firing board". Security and legal council took part of this
meeting, offering the Muslim pilot to listen and respond to the airplane black
box recorder which taped the earlier conversation between the Muslim pilot and
the co-pilot. They also presented him
with transcript of a call made by the co-pilot to the FBI that read like this:
"Yes, this is ...
xyz ... pilot with Northwest, I have hesitated
to make this call, but I think it is important that I report to you someone
that I think has anti-American views, may support actions against this country,
and potentially having deep believes and ties to terrorism, ..... not only is he
Muslim, but also a commercial airline pilot".
"The first thing that came to my mind is Abu Ghraib prison"
said the Muslim pilot as he was telling MuslimBridges his story. "I was shaken because I know I can be put
behind the sun for the rest of my life without due process if my airline gives
me up, I had to make my case to the board that I have a clean record, 18 years
of service, and I begged them not to even think about firing me because of the horrible consequences".
While the board members considered potential risk and the
tarnished pilot reputation by such a call to the FBI, they rightfully stood by
the Muslim pilot and concluded that there was no evidence of any violations, but failed to take any actions against the co-pilot for his heinous performance.
The head of the management board then offered the Muslim pilot three
words of advice:
"Choose your Audience".
By MuslimBridges Staff Writers
This article is posted in the Features - Weekly Bridge Publication: Features, Reflections, Stories should not be told, Film in a spoon, Book in a Spoon, Letters to Editor, YouTube Basket
Stories should not be told
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