Flying the pragmatic skies

Irum Abbasi thought she was being discriminated against when she was denied a flight she had paid for, so she is suing SouthWest Airlines. Claiming that it was her hijab which got the attention of the TSA she is now looking for monetary gain. She feels harassment is worth a few bucks, so she is going to try and squeeze some jizya out of SouthWest. The Captain of the flight, who has ultimate authority as to who flies, decided after the incident to kick her off the flight. The airline hgave her another ticket for the next flight, but that doesn't seem to be sitting well, thus the lawsuit.

Whether she was or was not unjustly harassed is not the crux, it is that she is claiming that, as a Muslim she is being discriminated against, and deserves money for the pain and suffering. What about the pain and suffering of those at the hands of Islamists and jihadists, or the 270 million murdered by Islam since it's inception in 610AD, or the second-class status of women which has resulted in thousands of stonings, and female genital mutilation in most Islamic countries? Do those victims also deserve to be heard and compensated, or is it just Muslims who are allowed at the teat of justice?

We shall see whether the courts see clearly what she is trying to do, let's hope they do.

From USAToday October 6

Muslim woman removed from Southwest flight sues

SAN DIEGO (AP) – A Muslim-American woman who was removed from a plane in San Diego last spring sued Southwest Airlines on Thursday, alleging she was discriminated against because she was wearing an Islamic head covering.

Irum Abbasi, a psychology graduate student at San Jose State University who is a U.S. citizen, filed the lawsuit in federal court in San Diego.

"Suspicions were aroused because of her religion," Abbasi's attorney, James McElroy, said at a news conference. "She would not have been removed from the plane if she had been a blond-haired, blue-eyed woman."

Abbasi, a mother of three, was taken off the San Jose-bound flight in March as it was about to depart after a flight attendant thought she heard her say "it's a go" on her mobile phone.

Abbasi "was horrified, embarrassed, humiliated and confused," the lawsuit stated.

In fact, Abbasi had said "I have to go" because the plane was about to depart, according to the lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages.

Abbasi was searched and given clearance to reboard the flight within three minutes, but the pilot claimed the crew was uncomfortable flying with her and refused to allow her aboard.

She was given an apology, a voucher and a boarding pass for the next San Jose flight. As a result, she missed a critical research experiment that she needed to be able to complete for her graduate studies, the lawsuit said.

Chris Mainz, spokesman for Dallas-based Southwest Airlines Co., said the airline apologized to Abbasi for her inconvenience and her concerns were addressed "in good faith."

"In this case, our employees raised a safety concern based on the customer's behavior, and we had a duty to thoroughly address those concerns before clearing the customer to travel," Mainz said in an emailed statement.

"We have a vast, diverse workforce, and we celebrate diversity among our employees and our customers. We do not discriminate against anyone for any reason, and we've been recognized as a leader for our diversity and care for all of our customers throughout our 40 years of service."

Southwest has received widespread notoriety for removing passengers.

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