It’s been a while since I wrote a non-points-related post, and I thought this topic would be a good one because I have PLENTY to say. It only became top of mind because of a post written by fellow Boarding Area blogger Muslim Travel Girl, who experienced a little extra questioning due to…well, you can be the judge of why exactly she was stopped. I’ll share a few personal stories here.So let me preface all of this by saying I’m 28 years old and I’m Muslim. I was born and raised in Southern California to Pakistani parents who came to this country in the 1970’s. Thankfully they loved to travel, and as a kid I got to tag along on trips with my two older siblings. This is probably where I caught the travel bug, in addition to seeing my older brother go on work trips in Business Class from time to time.
But then 9/11 happened when I was in 9th grade. Most of the things classmates said at the time was done in jest, and I’m a good-humored guy, so at the age of 15 I didn’t care about the jokes. In fact, I joined in with some of these jokes, which were in bad taste looking back.
The point I’m making is that what happened on 9/11, and certainly every terrorist attack committed by so-called Muslims since, has felt so far removed from me and my religion that I didn’t even care to get involved. It hadn’t impacted me in California…yet.
Traveling as a Muslim
When I turned 18, something strange started to happen. Every time I went to the airport to check-in to my flight after turning 18, I had some difficulty. I could never check-in at the kiosk or online, and even the agents were suddenly unable to check me in themselves. They now needed to get approval from a second person, sometimes over the phone and sometimes someone had to physically come see me. On more than a few occasions, an armed officer also appeared behind the desk as they waited for approval.
“Weird,” I thought to myself.
I used to tell friends about this all the time; many laughed or joked about it, but I don’t think anyone really understood or believed me. When I graduated college I got a job in Consulting, and my first work trip was a training session in Florida. I had mentioned to my new coworkers that I usually have some difficulty at the airport. My coworkers all checked in at the kiosk, I couldn’t. The agent couldn’t check me in either, and we waited and waited. A coworker finally said “Man, you weren’t joking.”
My next 5 years was full of this as you can imagine how much a Consultant had to travel. But that’s literally the smallest portion of what I’ve experienced.
Let’s talk about security checkpoints, which varied widely. For the first 6 years after turning 18 I was given some form of secondary screening about 75% of the time. Yeah yeah, “random” searches and all that. It wasn’t random. I could just tell because TSA started eyeing me with 10 people ahead. I learned early on that I needed tons of time at the airport before a flight and adjusted my travel plans accordingly.
[As an aside, in the miles/points world it’s not uncommon to book lots of one-way tickets. Also, I personally hate checking in a bag because I feel it’s a waste of time to wait for it at the end of my flight. So imagine a guy like me on a one way ticket with only carry-on luggage.]
What about outside the US? This was a more interesting experience. There are certain airports that were horrible, while most were completely fine. The worst ones that immediately come to mind were/are Paris, everywhere in Germany, and Vancouver. Secondary screening in Vancouver was quite a story.
US Immigration is taken care of in Vancouver, so I met with the Immigration Officer there. I had just spent a night in Vancouver after a round-the-world trip of sorts and was on my last leg going home. This was during the one year I took off from work to spend traveling, and that’s why it became particularly interesting (I actually mentioned this incident briefly at the end of a hotel review post). He asked me what I do for a living, and I said I was a travel blogger. He asked for details upon details. What magazine do I write in (none obviously), what topics do I write about, why, how do I afford to travel so much, etc. He asked for the name of my blog, which I gave him. He literally typed it into his computer and went to the Travel Summary home page. Except he saw a few posts on manufactured spending and liquidating gift cards, and I guess became suspicious. Flipping through my passport he said it looks like I’ve been to the Middle East a lot…and I mentioned I had only a single Middle Eastern stamp in my passport. All this while he’s being as much of a prick as you can imagine someone being. Oh, and this was in the Global Entry line.
I got sent to secondary screening, which is a separate room. Basically, you get sent there to sit doing nothing for at least an hour. You’re not allowed to use your cell phone so you can’t check your flight status or notify any friends/family. You’re not allowed to talk, and you can’t leave the room. You sit until someone comes to talk to you. Finally, after over an hour, and after I’d missed my flight, a very nice Immigration Officer came to ask me some of the same questions I was just asked earlier. What I do for a living, how I make money, where I’ve gone, etc. I was finally allowed to leave, now having to figure out getting on the next flight home.
I’m a US Citizen, so one would think (or at least I did many years ago) that returning home from an international trip with my US Passport in hand would be a breeze. It used to be when I was a kid, but as an adult that changed. The type of questions I was asked when re-entering the country are absolutely ridiculous. Here’s a quick snippet of a conversation I had a few years back when coming home from London and Paris. And there’s is absolutely no exaggeration here:
Immigration Officer: Where did you go on this trip?
Me: London and Paris
Immigration Officer: What did you do there
Me: Just sightseeing, the usual
Immigration Officer: Did you go to Saudi Arabia on this trip?
Me: No…
Immigration Officer: How about Pakistan?
Me: I went to London and Paris.
Immigration Officer: Did you participate in any training? Shoot any guns?
Me: [Laughing] Are you serious?
Immigration Officer: Please answer the question.
Me: No, I didn’t…
And this happened almost every time I spoke with an Immigration Officer. Ridiculous questions about Iran and Syria (both of which I’ve never been to), what business I had wherever I just came from, why I took so many flights, and more. I’ve been asked detailed questions about what I do for a living (as in what are my tasks in day-to-day work), how much money I make, why I have so many stamps in my passport, why I’ve been to Pakistan, and other questions about a range of topics. It didn’t matter whether I had just been to Western Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Australia, or whatever. Always questions about these things.
The worst part is the fact that they’re just trying to make me agitated and upset. They ask questions looking to hear you slip on your words so they can exclaim “gotcha!” and take me into the back room. Thankfully I eventually always got the “Welcome Home” greeting, the sincerity of which always sounded questionable.
I Had It Easy!
What I just explained sucked (and sometimes still does suck) to go through, but it wasn’t even close to being the worst. In fact, my older brother went through far worse. He’s 8 years older than me, so he got to experience it all way before me (turning 18 seems to be the magic number). Here’s another story:
My brother was probably about 26 and we were all on the way back from a family trip (I forget from where). My brother insisted that he go through Immigration separately because it always takes him longer to clear – he knew this because of various international work trips he took at the time. He thought that the rest of us might as well go grab all the checked luggage while he finishes up.
Long story short, a couple hours later my family and I are sitting in the baggage claim area and have no idea where my brother is. None of the Immigration personnel would tell us anything. After 3 hours he finally appeared and said he was basically interrogated about every detail of his life.
Here’s my final story: I went with my brother to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. We’re big fans of ice hockey, and we were lucky enough to get to watch a ton of games including the Men’s Ice Hockey Final, which pitted Team Canada vs. Team USA in a thriller. It was probably the best game I’d ever been to as Team USA tied it with seconds left to take the game to overtime. My brother and I were just a small fraction of fans cheering for Team USA, as the crowd was heavily Canadian as one would expect in Vancouver. Unfortunately Team USA lost in overtime, but I had loads of fun. We headed straight for the airport after the game.
As usual, my brother and I went through Immigration separately because of his usual delay. Remember Vancouver airport’s secondary screening? Well, my bro got selected for that, except I had no idea since I miraculously passed through with ease this day. When I went through immigration I waited a few minutes, but couldn’t see him. Perhaps he’d passed me without me seeing – I went to our gate, checked the restaurants and the shops, but no sign of him. No messages on my phone from him. I asked the Officer at the Immigration exit (the one you hand your declaration card to at the end), and he went through all the cards and didn’t see my brother’s name on any, so he was still in the Immigration area. Thankfully, someone let my brother walk to the door of the secondary room to waive to me that he was still there (he knew I’d be worried). I took a seat outside and waited.
A full 6 hours later, well beyond the time our flight had left (and, in fact, landed at home), my brother was released. He was told they needed to get approval from someone in Washington DC before letting him through. So we missed our flight, and there was nothing else we could get on for the night. We had to get a hotel. And remember, it was the last days of the Olympics, so the best we could do was the $600+/night Fairmont at the airport. We both missed work the next day as well since our original flights were on a Sunday.
All this after waiving the US Flag and wearing Team USA jerseys to represent our country.
Final Thoughts
First of all, let me just mention that this post is already very long so I left out TONS of other stories. I left out all the times when every piece of my clothing was removed from bags to be checked (sometimes even twice before getting on the plane), stories of traveling within Europe, and even the things people have straight up said to me. There’s so much more but I thought the above stories would be illustrative enough.
My point is this – it sucks to travel as a Muslim. Even with Global Entry, which helped a little but clearly not in Vancouver, the security experience can suck (though I’d still much rather have it for the times it does work). There’s no doubt in my mind that I’m profiled. I’m a little brown, I have some facial hair, my name (Omar) sounds Middle Eastern enough, and my family background is from a country most Americans are deathly afraid of because of what they see in the news.
Does that make it OK that this happens to me, my family, some friends, and undoubtedly millions of others with similar backgrounds? No. But people are just so afraid these days that they think this makes them safe. Don’t get me wrong – this isn’t a sob story and I’m certainly not looking for sympathy. I’ve learned to live with all of this and just accept it as a part of my life. Just like I accept that the government probably monitors my phone calls and other things. Think I’m joking? Check this article about how the FBI planted an informant in my hometown mosque and had him say violent things (my favorite part of the article is that the informant ended up converting to Islam for real). Or this one about how an FBI agent almost ran over one of my classmates when I was in college at UC Irvine. I literally live under the assumption that I’m being watched, so this is normal for me and many others with my background in this country.
I’m one of those people that believes that I don’t have to apologize about ISIS or Al Qaeda or whatever. Those groups have nothing to do with me and my religion (and indeed, they kill/displace far more Muslims than they kill/displace anyone else). Will I denounce/condemn their actions, like the tragic ones that just occurred in Belgium? Absolutely! I just don’t believe I have to do so any more than my Christian or Jewish or Buddhist or Atheist neighbor would. Just because these terrible groups call themselves Muslim, or just because my name sounds like some of theirs, or just because they’re from the same geographic region as my ancestors were from, doesn’t mean I bear the burden of responsibility in ANY way. My heart aches for victims and their families, as any human’s would/should.
Anyway, those are my two cents. Again, I’m not looking for any sympathy towards me here – I just thought I’d explain all the things that happen to me before and after a flight review since the topic came up elsewhere.
As always, Happy (and Safe) Travels!
Your story makes me wonder – does it really have anything to do with your religion? For all we know you could convert to Christianity and still face the same problems due to your name/appearance/origin. Seems more like flat-out racism to me.
I don’t necessarily disagree with you.
This happens to me on a regular basis in and out of Canada. I’m not Moslem or anything. So quit your entitled juvenile bellyaching.
@Boogen You appear to have contracted an incurable case of soul AIDS. Rest in peace.
Good thing this isn’t a problem for me at other airports as well, like those in my home country! Oh wait…
@Boogen.
Oh, look, it’s whiteys saying the dumbest things…
The actions of a few impact the many. The blame belongs on the terrorists. Consider this… due to terrorists, and especially the 9/11 attacks, everybody traveling by air suffers the inconvenience of enhanced screening.
You and I are inconvenienced! Travel Summary is at another level. Actually, compared to him, we aren’t inconvenienced at all!
With all due respect… traveling as a muslim is the worst??
How about getting blown up by a muslim while travelling? I think that takes the cake for “worst in travel”, don’t you think?
Your post in light of the Brussels bombing is extremely insensitive. The bodies are even buried yet and you are crying foul because you had to answer a few more questions. . When you travel extensively, you will be discriminated against. As a white, as a black, as a muslim, as a christian.
And before you try and paint me as xenophobic, I have Muslim friends, Black friends and jewish friends.
Instead of whining about how you have been inconvenienced, why don’t you try and be part of the solution? Or has the Bernie Sanders campaign not provided those talking points to you via twitter yet???
Why does it have to be a Muslim that you reference as blowing up a plane? Who bombed Oklahoma City? Who was the Unabomber and blew people up people for 12 years? Who was the Atlanta Olympics bomber? I can go on and on.
A Muslim kills 14 in a shooting and its terrorism. A white guy kills 20 kids or a theater full in Colorado or a university class full of kids (3 times!)….but that’s not terrorism, it’s just insane people!
Traveling as a Muslim IS the worst!
Because it were 3-5 muslims who carried out the attacks in Brussels this week.
The OP brought up the muslim factor in travel.
Maybe you have missed this, but the Muslim attacks on the Western world are terrorism. The attacks like the Unabomber or Timothy McVeigh are equally bad but have a completely different motivation. Don’t try to cloud the issue here. Posting about how bad travel is for a US-Muslim 3 days after Muslims killed 31+ people, is insensitive and naive at best.
Again, by saying “Muslims killed” isn’t accurate. Crazy people killed people in Belgium, but the religion they follow isn’t the one I follow.
What you are doing isn’t accurate. Muslims carried out these attacks and they did it in the name of Islam. These are not mentally ill people. They know exactly what they are doing. They are well organized, funded and determined.
They’re “not mentally ill people” and yet they’re murdering innocents? WTF are you smoking?
Were the crazy people motivated by the Koran? (I don’t actually believe they were crazy either and may have been upstanding citizens.)
If an abortion clinic is blown up by crazy people that were motivated by the bible then they’re Christian terrorists to me.
The unabomber, McVeigh,etc. came up with their radical beliefs on their own. If someone told me their religious beliefs were the Unabomber’s manifesto I would be very concerned far far more so than a Christian or Muslim.
“With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion.” – Steven Weinberg
In your case, your religion isn’t the problem. It’s your skin tone. You didn’t mention being questioned about your religion in your post. You had already been racially profiled before that. If you were of a African American Muslim it’s doubtful you’d have the same issues (whole different set of racial profiling).
It’s also not going to get better for you. It’s going to get much much worse. The rise of guys like Donald Trump and Ted Cruz should have you very concerned.
I’m indeed concerned, but I have faith that there are enough people in this country that will speak up for us and any people that are wronged. I hope it’s not misplaced faith.
“The attacks by Muslims on the western world are terrorism.” News flash, all attacks by terrorists are terrorism – and often, the victims happen to be Muslim. If you really want to compare death tolls and who’s responsible for what, maybe it’s time to count the dead bodies in Iraq and Afghanistan, or the daily drone strike victims in the Federated Tribal Areas. There’s something to discuss with your Muslim friends.
@Ariana.
You are correct. Christians have murdered approximately 4 million Muslims since 1990. 4 MILLION. Muslims have killed approximately 3,000 Christians in that same period.
Christians will still complain.
@kenadams…uh oh, the I have “xyz” friends so therefore I’m not a racist argument. Lol. I thought this blog post was a very well-thought out reaction to his experiences traveling as a Muslim. He hasn’t done anything wrong and has to bear a lot more of the burden of inconvenience, prejudice, etc in the name of safety than the rest of us. I personally would be a bit pissed…I thought his experiences were eye-opening and interesting; always useful to gain another perspective. I’m half Korean/White and I never get stopped or ‘randomly’ selected for extra screening. Like never. You should try to envision yourself in his place and maybe you’d understand the points he is making.
Mark R:
I have and I have been discriminated against myself. Not on every trip, but enough to understand it. But a pity party blog about how tough travel is as a muslim right after the muslim generated atrocity in Brussels is mind-blowing.
I don’t know the OP, but I suspect he went to school with safe spaces and probably would fell intimidated if he walked by a wall that said “Trump 2016”. I hope you get the reference.
@Ken R.
Ken Adams says he’s been discriminated against, so he knows racism. You must believe him. He’s been denied his toy inside his McD’s Happy Meal, had to endure the SATs with extra time because of his mental disorder (ADHD), didn’t have to take a test to vote, had to sit in front of the bus, police didn’t shoot him because he had a gun, and, the most evil act of all: 96% of the U.S. Senate is white. Oh no, the travesty!!!
@Ken – I suspect you may be missing a key point of Omar’s post. Brussels happened, it is a tragedy, I believe we can all agree to that.
The point I read from the post though, is that there are measures that have already been in place for nearly 15 years in varying forms. So when you see things like this: http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2016/03/22/3762257/donald-trump-frightening-response-brussels-attacks/ which is over doing it, but still a good example, I think it is important to remember, that measures have been in place.
@Ken Adams
Oh, look, it’s whiteys saying the dumbest things.
I wonder if after the Unabomer, Terry Nichols, Timothy McVeigh, Eric Rudolph, and those lovely kids (terrorists) from Columbine finished their deeds, white Americans began a campaign to blame themselves, white Jesus, and God. I would think it’s only fair.
Correction… “the bodies AREN’T even buried yet…”
Oh and the bodies?? Terrorist have killed more Muslims than any other group of people (look it up)! Terrorism affects Muslims more than anyone else! So again, traveling as a Muslim IS the worst.
How does that relate to my point of his bad timing of posting this???
You have no point.
I feel for you, I really do.
The problem with your story is that you do not provide solutions to your predicament. With the rise of global terrorism – which is mostly orchestrated by a particular group/religion, how else could we protect the millions of travelers. I do not believe that anyone’s inherent rights should be infringed, but I think it would be pointless for the TSA or Customs Official to stop a 76 Caucasian grandmother as she has about zero chance of committing an act of terrorism and it will just slow down the process for everyone else. I agree that you are in no way related to these terrorists and you should not feel guilty for what do in the name of your religion, but you do LOOK like them. Our agents are trained to spot tell tale physical signs, not read your minds. Again, I feel for you, but you need to provide constructive criticism and not just vent…
Right on.
And moving the security perimeter outside the airport building won’t help either. The only solution is a complete termination of radical Islam. And good muslims, of which there are millions, need to be part of the solution. Complaining about how having to answer a few more questions, is hardly constructive.
I think the bigger issue here is an unreasonable level of scrutiny and inconvenience. Travel Summary has to deal with this on almost ever trip. When he or his brother get pulled aside, they sometimes have to wait an hour or more — rather than just get the secondary screening and be done with it. They can’t even check-in for a flight despite a history of very frequent travel (and uneventful on their parts). If it meant a quick visit to another room to settle misplace concerns, maybe that would be acceptable, but that’s not what’s happening.
TPG wrote a post a while back about visiting Istanbul and getting SSSS on his boarding passes. Suddenly I was reading stories about other people deciding to avoid Istanbul because they couldn’t imagine being denied PreCheck. But these people actually have a choice to go to Istanbul or not. Travel Summary hasn’t done anything to get himself in this much worse situation.
I agree 100% that the TSA and Customs are pathetically run organizations, as most government agencies are. However, the premise of the OP is not that the process takes to long and is aggravating, it is that he is being racially profiled. Which is was my response above was about….
But he’ll always “look like them” even if time and time again he demonstrates he’s not a threat. It actually decreases security when people have to waste time giving attention to false positives like Travel Summary. If he has Global Entry then someone did a background check. If he was released by someone in Washington, DC, then someone with higher authority decided he was safe. What is the point of a known traveler number if that history is repeatedly ignored?
I’m not a security expert so I’m sure I’m not qualified to speak on how to improve the system. However if I may opine from my perspective, I think low budgets are the biggest problem. TSA sucks, and immigration personnel could/should know who I am (not a bad guy) when I arrive.
That’s not to say they shouldn’t still ask me questions – but I should get the same questions as the white/black/asian/whoever American arriving on the same flight.
“I should get the same questions as the white/black/asian/whoever American arriving on the same flight.”
But you actually shouldn’t.
How many black/white/asian people have hijacked planes and flowing them into buildings or shouted arabic or islamic scriptures before detonating a suicide vest?
It’s simple statistical analysis.
In Chicago in 2015, the percentage of shooting suspects that were black were 71%, hispanics were 15%, whites were less than 8%, despite whites representing 45% of Chicago and blacks 32%.
When police go looking for the suspect of a triple murder in Chicago, simple statistical analysis says they should spend their time looking for a black male, not an old white grandma.
The same thing is happening to you.
If the proportion of christian suicide bombers to muslim suicide bombers were to equal out, then you would see christians enjoying the same scrutiny you do.
First of all, I’m glad at least you freely admit that you lump me in the same category as the terrorists. Most people try to avoid that.
Second, by your logic, the people we should be on the lookout for are perpetrators of gun violence, since those are the people that cause the most deaths in this country BY FAR. Thus, anyone who owns a gun should be subject to extra scrutiny. What race owns the most guns in this country? Or causes the most deaths by guns? I’ll let you research that, but here’s a quick starter:
http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/02/us/oregon-shooting-terrorism-gun-violence/
Do I think you’re a terrorist? No.
Do I think you more closely resemble a terrorist than I do? Yes.
Therefore it is only logical to profile those similar to you rather than me.
Secondly, absolutely I agree that we need to be on the lookout for perpetrators of gun violence. You quickly and falsely jump to the conclusion that gun owners should be subjected to extra scrutiny. It is not the owners who should be scrutinized, just as it is not the travelers on an airline who should be profiled for being terrorists. Rather it is those who share the most resemblance with murderers who should be profiled for gun crimes, just as those who share the most resemblance with terrorists should be profiled when entering the country. Here are the stats:
“According to the US Department of Justice, blacks accounted for 52.5% of homicide offenders from 1980 to 2008, with whites 45.3% and “Other” 2.2%. The offending rate for blacks was almost 8 times higher than whites, and the victim rate 6 times higher.”
As of the 2010 Census, Whites made up 72.4% of the population in the US and committed 45.3% of murders, while blacks made up only 12.6% of the population yet committed 52.5% of the murders.
When white NRA members start using their hunting rifles to murder civilians or asian grandmas start putting on suicide vests absolutely we should start profiling them. Until that day comes it is statistically a better use of resources to target black males between the ages of 18-25 for murders and to target middle eastern males who have traveled to the middle east for terrorism.
@ItsJustStatsBro
It’s funny how you people like to twist stats and proclaim the number say this and that. Well, let’s look at the same type of numbers that whites love to dismiss and forget: Blacks were nearly four times as likely as whites to be arrested on charges of marijuana possession in 2010, even though the two groups used the drug at SIMILAR rates, according to new federal data. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/04/us/marijuana-arrests-four-times-as-likely-for-blacks.html. Hmmmm. Interesting stat. four times more likely to be arrested. Wow. FOUR times. FOUR. Chew on that for a bit.
Let us know when the white police will begin to enforce laws in an equitable manner, and then we’ll talk about how blacks are doing this and that more than whites. Blacks are not even allowed to have their own affluent community because whites will get angry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenwood,_Tulsa.
AFAIK, since that rapist/murderer/slave trader/terrorist/nationally-recognized-hero Christopher Columbus landed on the shores of North America, the crimes against humanity committed by whites have been unimaginable. There’s no equal in ‘Murica.
Lol. The only reason you get arrested for simple possession of marijuana is if you happen to be committing another crime at the time. Guess who happens to be committing crimes at 4x the rate of whites???
You cite 1 riot from 1921 in which 39 black people died. Thats less than the average number of blacks murdered by other blacks in Chicago each month.
Not to mention the following race riots by blacks:
Ferguson Riots
Baltimore Riots
Oakland Riots
Cincinnatti Riots
St. Petersburg, FL Riots
Harlem Riots
Los Angeles Riots
Miami Riots of 1991
Crown Heights Riots
Miami Riots of 1980
etc. etc. etc.
Absolutely slavery is wrong, just as it is wrong for other Africans to sell them into slavery to begin with. It’s a shame they received a free ride over to America, but I think the least we can do as Americans is provide them a free one-way ride back to Africa.
“If the proportion of christian suicide bombers to muslim suicide bombers were to equal out, then you would see christians enjoying the same scrutiny you do.” -ItsJustStatsBro
But the Christians don’t. Time and time again, the white Christians have committed unspeakable violence against blacks, yet the white Christians have gotten a free pass: slavery, church bombings, abortion bombings, segregation, lynching, white cops or people murdering blacks without recourse. The list goes on and on.
Here’s an example: Timothy McVeigh, a white baptized Christian, blew up a federal building and killed 168 innocent people. Soon after, whites still enjoyed unfettered access to and from all federal buildings across the country without ANY additional scrutiny.
In the USA, Blacks haven’t blown up buildings; Muslims neither. So how come whites don’t receive extra scrutiny? Hmmm…
Lol again. Great concrete numbers and stats bro. Throwing out things like slavery that happened a century ago.
By McVeigh being a christian, you mean this one: “In McVeigh’s biography American Terrorist, released in 2002, he stated that he did not believe in a hell and that science is his religion.”
Yeah good call bro.
The reason whites don’t receive extra scrutiny when entering federal buildings? Because the whites are usually there as judges/lawyers/elected officials. The blacks are there in handcuffs.
I’m guessing you look a lot more like most mass shooters in America than Omar does. Does that mean you should come under extra scrutiny whenever something terrible happens?
@MArk.
Sure. But, let’s be fair about this. Did the government stop every white male between 17 (Eric Harris, Columbine) and 53 (age of Unabomer’s arrest) since those terrorist attacks? I would think that white males should get secondary screenings anytime they are within 1000 yards of every federal building in the country. That’s only fair.
Have white males EVER been the victims of systematic racism? NOPE. So, they get a free pass, while Omar, who has never done anything, gets the Gestapo treatment, EVERY SINGLE TIME. Gotta love this country…
Fact Check: Got the white Christians mixed up. It was Dylan Klebold that was 17, not Eric Harris (18). My apologies to the Harris family and the all-good and loving Christianity faith.
I’m glad someone is fact-checking here.
The sad reality is that when there is a terrorist attack (especially involving airports, planes or other transportation) it almost always has been attributed to Muslims. Innocent Muslims will suffer, which is horrible, but with limited security resources, I would think that it would be understood why some profiling happens (even if it’s wrong to profile)…. To ignore that fact, is disingenuous….
Well then the TSA or Customs should pay $$ when a innocent Muslim misses his flight and is forced to pay $600 for a hotel room. Don’t you agree? We aren’t just talking about inconvenience. We are talking about innocent people who suffer and literally pay for it!
Who should pay for the innocent dead and injured in Paris or Brussels? ISIS? Syria? Saudi-Arabia?
How about those that are responsible?
I think their bodies are in pieces currently.
Since they aren’t alive anymore then perhaps the followers of the religion whose teachings they follow should pay, as these acts of terrorism are spawned from their faith. The victims are awaiting your donations.
My religion says that killing a single person unjustly is equivalent to killing all mankind. So I’m not sure what religion those bombers were following, but it certainly wasn’t mine.
You think members of the ISLAMIC State of Iraq and Syria are not muslim?
ISIS claimed responsibility for the belgian attack, paris attack, etc.
Nah, you’re right, they were probably scientologists.
I mean, Donald Trump calls himself a humanitarian, Republican, not-racist person. That doesn’t mean he is.
Man this sucks, but I really appreciate that you are willing to share. I always like to think that the US has done a decent job with religious and cultural tolerance (at least under this administration), thus keeping a relative peace. But man! What a way to radicalize people, by having the security apparatus act ignorant and arbitrary, while doing nothing to further anyone’s safety.
Last I checked, religion isn’t stated in the US passport (unlike Germany back in the 1930s..) so how did the immigration officers know you were muslim (or why would you automatically conclude that traveling as a ‘muslim is the worst’?)
It seems like many are getting hung up on the title.
Traveling sucks for me and many people with the same or similar ancestral background and religious beliefs, and disproportionately affects us compared to others. But that’s too long for a title.
I guess this was partly clickbait then. To me, the term Muslim refers to a follower of the Islam religion. I can’t tell from a person’s name or background or color whether he/she is Muslim. Thankfully, religion is never stated on the US passport.
I do wonder whether Jewish people (or people with Jewish-sounding names or those who ‘look’ Jewish) face similar experiences as you when travelling to the Middle East or countries that do not recognize Israel.
I have no doubt that Israelis would face something similar to me (or worse) in some Middle Eastern countries, just as those Middle Easterners face the same in Israel.
“clickbait?” Now you just sound obtuse.
@Joey.
Please. Let’s not play stupid here. Please. Not stupid. You only make yourself look stupid.
I figured this would spark comments.
I honestly don’t think this was a rant. He’s just speaking the truth. I have to admit, one time I was sent to secondary screening in Canada and I took it as a personal affront. (As a white American male who had visited Canada and returned home a dozen times). I can imagine how frustrating it would be as an American citizen regularly being detained on the way home.
There are radicals in all religions and they are usually the ones who cause the most trouble. The unfortunate reality though is that almost all terrorism that has occurred around the world in the past 20 years has been committed by ‘radical Muslims’. I’d like to think that the US can rise above the fray, but until this fact changes, profiling and stereotyping will continue.
“The unfortunate reality though is that almost all terrorism that has occurred around the world in the past 20 years has been committed by ‘radical Muslims’.” -JJ
Wow. That was a dumb comment. Actually, almost all terrorism committed in the world have been by Christians. Terrorism = carpet bombing, cruise missiles, and drones. That’s hardcore terrorism, and cowardly at that. Christians have murdered 4 million Muslims since 1990. 4 MILLION.
How about we just look at the last twenty years, or 100 years or 500 years, or just since every OTHER religion has stopped killing non-believers. There is only one left that kills innocents.
Do you live under a rock?
Christians don’t kill non-believers? Never read the Bible? Check Deuteronomy 17:2-7. Holocaust? Abortion doctors and bombings? Wisconsin Sikh Temple? Tennesse Valley Church shooting? Eric Rudolph at the 1996 Olympics? Same guy killed at an abortion clinic in 1998. A wack job flew a plane into an IRS building in Austin, Texas, in 2010. Timothy McVeigh? Those are not to murder non-believers?
Christians don’t kill the innocent? What? Are you on crack? Have you heard of cruise missiles, drones, and carpet bombing? Did you miss that whole thing when the US military killed 30 doctors and nurses (Doctors Without Borders) in Kunduz, Afghanistan? Just collateral damage? Well, 4 million have been subjected to collateral damage. http://www.middleeasteye.net/columns/unworthy-victims-western-wars-have-killed-four-million-muslims-1990-39149394
Nope, live in a quite nice brick house. The last time I checked Deuteronomy was written long before the 500 years timetable I was talking about, but that would not matter because you had already missed the point. Muslims are the ONLY group that is killing non-believers TODAY. But don’t fret your little hippie self, people like me will also protect those like you when the time comes, and you’re welcome.
People like you would feel right at home in Nazi Germany.
Man, I went into the comments section expecting dribble and I found it. Listen, to those people who believe that TravelSummary is whining or complaining about the situation and that is somehow insensitive, it’s not. YOU have never been in this position. He is just laying out the facts. And that is, that travel for those who fit a profile has become increasingly difficult and downright hostile. Your religion is not listed on your passport, but that’s not going to stop a TSA or immigration officer from eyeing you across a security line and pulling you aside for random interrogations. No one is saying that it only happens to those people, but it does happen more often and disproportionally to those people. Thanks for sharing TS.
@Insiya.
You are right. But, idiots will never listen to logic. C’est la vie.
I think the author has embellished the details. If young upstanding citizens are regularly detained for three or six hours, that’s outrageous. On the other hand, it’s not the Amish who are responsible for most of the recent atrocities in the name of religion.
The silence from Muslim leaders around the world is deafening.
It certainly can be deafening when you cover your ears:
– http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/saudi-arabia-condemns-brussels-attacks-300239717.html
– http://www.brusselstimes.com/brussels/5288/brussels-attacks-grand-mufti-of-egypt-present-in-brussels-condemns-double-attack
– http://www.petra.gov.jo/Public_News/Nws_NewsDetails.aspx?lang=2&site_id=1&NewsID=244544&CatID=13
– http://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/kerry-iraq-president-condemn-brussels-terrorist-attacks-116032300083_1.html
– http://gulftoday.ae/portal/4ef1a309-8fe5-4f1a-902b-19025ad620b4.aspx
But … but … my preconceived notions!
as much as I loathe the spread of more islamophoabia, I gotta say – cmon Omar stop w/the bullshit. the more you perpetuate your arab masters the worse it gets for you as an avg non-arab muslim (like the arabs refer to you in a racist tone, a mawali)… are you seriously gonna sit there and link ‘news’ that saudi arabia condemns this sort of attack LOL. that is beyond laughable, when ISIS ideology is completely based on saudi salafis aka sunni wahabbism. https://twitter.com/jo_bouk/status/712878361396256768
saudis are killing innocents in yemen, not to mention what they do to their own citizens like raif badawi or sheikh nimr al-nimr. saudi oil money has destroyed your homeland of pakistan by way of radicalizing the youth and pouring millions into madrassahs. THATS why you get pulled aside at the airport but NOT the jackass saudi/qatari princes who come over to party/do drugs/drink/have sex slaves/drive recklessly every year in the west – http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3281354/I-prince-want-Saudi-royal-Prince-Majed-bin-Abdullah-bin-Abdulaziz-Al-Saud-accused-cocaine-fueled-rage-threatened-kill-Los-Angeles-mansion-staff-watched-pleasured-male-aide.html … http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-beverly-hills-cars-qatar-20150917-htmlstory.html
but as a ‘proud american’ you posit these egregious articles that are nothing more blowing smoke up the west’s ass once again.
you might say ‘yeah but I dont do anything bad etc’ and the liberal part of me agrees with you or feels bad for you that you have to unnecessarily spend many hours thru some crap because of what your fellow muslim brethren do. but cmon, be honest how big really is your beard? … also the tone of your post where you were happy someone converted to islam, bodes no good will from the rest of the civilized world – because of your you vs them mentality – where you celebrate an unknown somebody merely for ‘joining’ the muslim ummah. what’s the big deal, why are you happy whatever the hell that former informant does with his life? you dont want the terrorists actions to reflect on you but you take pride in some random persons actions? you cant have it both ways.
safe travels and I hope the realpolitik world at large opens your eyes as to why you’re treated the way you are. think about it. ppl are not simply racist or hate pakis or ppl who look like you. I mean you arent arab, why do you keep an arab name, the same ppl who hate you and treat you as 3rd rate in their own land. arab racism against brown and black folks is the worst but that’s a topic for another day. I leave you with an article by a rather smart paki author here: http://www.religionnews.com/2015/12/16/muslims-must-reject-notions-of-non-muslim-inferiority-pakistan-isis-taliban-christians-jews-saudi-textbooks-extremism/
These are the types of comments someone like me can only dream of and hope for. The entertainment value for me is off the charts.
yup yup for sure. keep laughing at the truth that stares at you in the face. and then you wonder why you get treated suspiciously like a terrorist.
dont actually focus on change on your standing and perception in the world, when someone shows you a viewpoint that may help. just cry about it in blogposts with the same victim mentality muslims and esp pakis excel at.
that makes perfect sense.
“pakis?” You’re an obnoxious piece of shit.
yeah Omar, fly to the middle east and do a one-man mission to make everyone stop hating each other. Only that way can you get Adam’s approval! It’s actually really simple. Just be careful coming back to America with all those passport stamps.
This combined with your dialogue with the immigration officer makes you sound like a pompous little ass. I understand that you think you own the world at 28 because you have hard working, affluent parents, but in the end, you are a kid with a keyboard.
1. I’m not Arab and I don’t know what “Arab masters” you refer to.
2. The Saudi government is indeed one of the worst. You’ll find no argument here from me, but again, you’re equating me with groups like ISIS, Arabs, Saudis, etc. that have absolutely nothing to do with me or my religion. Culture (which is basically why Saudis restrict women so heavily) and religion (which does not restrict women that way at all) are not the same thing. The Saudi government (and others as well) is backwards because they stick to their old cultural teachings and not the religious ones.
3. Why shouldn’t I be happy that someone converted to Islam – something I view as a positive thing? He found peace and tranquility in the religion and people he interacted with. Should I not encourage the good and condemn the bad? I take pride in the fact that this informant went from doing something extremely bigoted and illegal to seeing who people of my religion truly are. That’s a wonderful thing.
4. Where did you get the impression it was me vs. them? Who is “them” anyway?
5. I know why I’m treated the way I am. I didn’t even ask for any changes to the system in this post. I just said it sucks, and this is the life I live. I’ve adjusted to this reality.
6. The name “Omar” isn’t strictly an Arab name anymore. It’s used by Spanish-speaking people around the world. I’m not going to change my name because of assholes that literally can’t look beyond my name before judging me.
7. You’ll get no argument from me about how backwards Pakistan and it’s government are/were. The corruption there destroyed a wonderful country, and it will take a while for it to get back to where it once was.
@Adam.
You are dumber than Ken Adams. Wow.
Child abuse and sexual assault are endemic in Amish communities, a radical form of Christianity. Why aren’t Christians doing more to stop them?
@John.
Don’t you know? Christians won’t hate on other Christians, especially the white variety. But if you’re black, forget about it. They’ll just enslave you or burn your church or town down.
The silence from Muslims who want to say that you’re a bigoted asshole? Hey, I’m not silent on that!
The author is factually incorrect.
Traveling as a Sikh is far worse. Sikhs are also heavily discriminated against by Muslims in Muslim countries like Pakistan.
Sikhs also suffer the brunt of anti-Muslim hatred. More Sikhs have been killed in anti-Muslim violence in the US than Muslims have.
There are lots of people caught up in the negative acts of terrorist acts that aren’t Muslim either so might want to chill out a bit.
Would you happen to have a source for the “More Sikhs have been killed in anti-Muslim violence in the US than Muslims have?” I couldn’t find it with a quick Google search.
I’m not here justifying hate crime or discrimination against anyone but the title of your blog post is simply wrong. You really should correct it if you want to retain any credibility.
1. The US Government dragged their feet on recognizing crimes against Sikhs as “hate crimes” while crimes against Muslims were included in this bucket.
1. 6 Sikhs killed at Wisconsin Gurudwara Shooting: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wisconsin_Sikh_temple_shooting
2. First person killed in hate crime in the US after 9/11 was a Sikh: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Balbir_Singh_Sodhi
3. US News Article on Sikhs Victims of Anti-Muslim Crimes: http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015-12-31/sikhs-become-a-casualty-of-anti-muslim-actions
4. List of Hate Crimes Against Sikhs from 2001 – 2012 that were able to be easily pulled up (lots probably unaccounted for because Sikhs were not placed into groups that hate crimes could be committed against for tracking reasons): http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/07/history-of-hate-crimes-against-sikhs-since-911_n_1751841.html
5. Another article: http://fusion.net/story/240946/american-sikh-hate-crimes/
The fact of the matter is Sikhs men actually wear turbans and keep a beard while many Muslim men do not.
Hate crimes against any innocent people are ALWAYS WRONG. To say “Traveling as a Muslim Is The Worst” is factually incorrect. It’s probably 2nd worst or maybe even 3rd worst after being Sikh and being South Asian (which many Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists are). There are many Muslims who do not “look” Arab or South Asian and many Arabs look European.
I’ve been with Sikhs denied entry into clubs/restaurants because they had to remove their “hat”. Numerous Sikh models and comedians have been denied boarding or harassed at airports. The Sikh Coalition has spent hundreds of thousands helping push through legislation that protects Muslims.
The reality is that non-hateful Muslims have the power to shut this down. You have to be united and vocal. Do not let these idiots ruin your faith and your image. We all have to have this kind of self-regulation and it’s not to say that it’s easy. Sikhs have dealt with terrorism in their own community and it was awful. Sikhs fought against it and shut it down. Muslims can do the same. As Captain Planet would say, “The Power is yours!”
I have no doubt that Sikhs are mistakenly attacked as Muslims, but I’m not so sure they’re killed more than Muslims.
To your other point, I agree that Muslims in general are terrible at being united in any positive form. It’s why ISIS and such kill more Muslims than all others combined. But to say that we “have the power to shut this down” is an oversimplification in my opinion. It’s much more complicated than having some of us, or even 1 Billion of us, standing up and speaking against it. I don’t know what the answer is but it certainly isn’t that easy.
Can you point to a single act of a white supremacist attacking and killing a mosque in the way that Sikhs have suffered at Gurudwaras? There’s no doubt that the “sentiment” is vastly anti-Muslim and not anti-Sikh but the idiotic and racist people think Sikhs are Muslims and Sikhs “appear” more Muslim than most Muslims so the title of your article is still wrong.
Traveling as a Sikh is the Worst.
It seems like you’re blaming Muslims for the treatment of sikhs by Americans. Maybe you should be more upset with the Americans who mistreat sikhs instead.
agreed. Sikhs are more heavily identified as ‘Bin Laden’ look alikes compared to any given avg muslim who may have a scruff and no head gear.
then you probably shouldn’t be justifying the TSA’s actions so blindly here when they’re clearly incompetent
Tough. A sufficiency of muslims are the enemy of the western world that my safety and security outweighs your comfort.
So we should also do the same for white Christian 2nd Amendment supporters entering movie theaters, schools, and churches.
amol, like chris rock says in one of his brilliant stand ups… “I aint scared of black ppl… I’m scared of niggas” … same philosophy applies here. why? cause what you posit is NOT the same thing. even tho in general I’m against the gun lobby and the NRA in our country.
but dont conflict the two issues. right now your laissez faire attitude is akin to the soft bigotry of low expectations for the shit certain members do from a certain community/religion. “yeah lets let it slide… they are only in the 14th century acc. to their own calendars. it will take a while for them to grow up and join the modern world in the 21st century. but until then lets just pretend there is no problem here. its cool, its all good. let the kids play. they will learn on their own.”
My prior comment was just continuing your train of thought – if safety and security outweigh the comforts of others, why not apply to things that have happened here in America like school/church/theater shootings? What’s happening to people like Travel Summary is veiled racism, plain and simple. What’s worse is that TS is a normal guy like the rest of us, so spending 6 hours of resources on him actually takes away from fighting the real battle of terrorism. The guy has even gone through Global Entry, which involves an one-on-one interview with CBP at a GE office.
Put yourself in the shoes of someone else — if people you had never met and have absolutely no affiliation with other than a general label that applies to 1/6 of the world’s population did a dastardly act, and all of a sudden, everyone around you was suspicious of you and upended your ease of living your peaceful life, how would you feel?
I agree. TS may not be a bad guy. it is a waste. but I disgaree that its racism when its well known that pakistan is the global hub of terrorism. who are you gonna profile: buddhists from thailand? hindus from nepal? christians from south sudan? … it is just being logical and playing the odds. when your usual suspects are ones who look like Omar, have names like him, come from places he originates — that’s the place you look for problem areas.
once again your argument makes no sense because church/theater shootings arent happening in the sky or on a plane. so not sure how you want to check for that? … on ground, well if you’ve ever visited places which are reeling from the effects of terrorism – particularly in the 3rd world, it is a pain having to go thru metal detectors just to watch a movie in jakarta or new delhi. but if security threats come to that in the west, then that’s something we’ll have to deal with. but I hope it doesnt.
Perhaps you can justify profiling Muslims, but it doesn’t justify pulling someone aside to ask nonsensical questions as where the person’s been when his travel information is already available on his passport. This isn’t counterterrorism. It’s harassment and stupidity, pure and simple. And only a moron would think that it’s okay to waste time, resources and energy harassing an obviously innocent person.
You want to talk about “being logical and playing the odds?” More people die from mass shootings than from terrorism in America. If you want to instill profiling of people like Omar because of terrorism, it’s only logical to instill the same profiling of people who have committed mass shootings.
“not sure how you want to check for that?” It’s easy – you just install gratuitous “security checks” throughout society targeting people who commit mass shootings in public places, just like how I have to go through a metal detector to get on the Delhi Metro. Yeah, it’s really inconvenient, but I’m just following your example of “being logical and playing the odds.” Maybe you’ll speak up against it once it starts affecting you.
amol, you are purposefully missing the point and being dense. lemme preface by saying TSA is completely incompetent and sucks balls. so sure put in checks for mental disability or radical groups of any kind (KKK, southern confederates, gung ho gun owners)
but that doesnt change the point that with any lax on scale that an airport/plane allows, you can bet your bottom dollar that those who wish harm to america will take that opportunity to maximize catastrophe and damage as much as possible. dont let your bleeding heart tell you otherwise and convince you that there isnt a dichotomy between radical elements who hide behind religion with a political agenda who believe in mass chaos vs. insane but lone gunmen with no backers/supporters/masterminds.
I’m all for more security. sure profile those individuals at risk. I live in a city with high gun violence so go ahead install those checks. I’m all for it. but its not quite the same. because bombs are not the same as guns.
Adam – the point Amol is making (which I agree with) is that you’re lumping me into the same category as the terrorists, so you’re saying extra checks on me is OK for general safety. But saying “so sure put in checks for mental diasbility or radical groups” isn’t analogous. You’d have to check anyone that could be in the KKK or have a mental disability, which is…everyone.
Your “safety and security” is completely lacking in common sense. And if anything, people like you are more likely to shoot up schools and movie theaters, so perhaps you should be profiled before entering those.
I just wanted to chime in to say this is a great article. Thank you for sharing your experience and thoughts. Don’t be discouraged by the ignorant, reactionary comments!!
“O believers, take not Jews and Christians as friends; they are friends of each other. Whoso of you makes them his friends is one of them. Allah guides not the people of the evildoers.”
Maybe because Muslims think everyone but Muslims are evil…deal with it. If I knew I was getting on a plane with a Muslim pilot…gets one thinking.
You know, the Quran only permits Muslim men to marry women of one of three faiths: Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. It would be hard to marry someone if you can’t be friends with them. Your quote is a popular one taken out of context and translated poorly from an Arabic language that is difficult to translate from.
Further reading: http://www.politifact.com/punditfact/statements/2014/may/16/sean-hannity/sean-hannity-koran-says-dont-take-christians-and-j/
Omar are you seriously gonna justify the non-sensical medeival babble in texts from that era as a translation error? LOL cmon bro… if muslims followed the quran to a T, they would be best friends with jews. why? cause islam is literally based on judaism. it is the implementation of judeo-christian traditions on pagan arab culture.
but you know what changed? when after the death of the prophet, the religion was heavily politicized. I bet you dont even know the quran was written 20-30 years after mohammed died. and it was compiled in a way that benefitted the inheritors of the caliphate – the quraish, who ironically enough were the sworn enemy of the prophet in his lifetime. this is also why the quran is out of order, but I doubt you speak arabic or have even actually read the entire book. anyways, dont fall for the follies of political islam. you can see the results of it yourself where no muslim nation on earth is worth living in. surely 30 odd muslim countries, there would be atleast one bastion of hope? NOPE.
Adam – I certainly don’t expect you to understand the nuances of Arabic, especially that which was written 1400 years ago. It’s easy to pick out sentences here and there without having historical context. The Quran wasn’t meant to be followed to a T – for example, the Quran doesn’t even teach Muslims how to pray. The ideal way to learn the Quran is to learn the historical context and teachings of the Prophet, and those are what makes up our religion.
Islam is absolutely based on Judeo-Christian traditions, which is why these religions are so similar. Don’t let people point out the differences in order to divide and conquer. Everyone loses that way.
“Cause islam is literally based on judaism. it is the implementation of judeo-christian traditions on pagan arab culture.” -Adam.
“I bet you don’t even know” Christianity stole ideas based on pagan-Mithraic, Zoroastrian, and Egyptian traditions: Creation, the Great Flood, Moses’ birth, Ten Commandments, Angels/Demons, Heaven/Hell, Christmas, Easter, and a Messiah born from a virgin. All of the early Christian churches were even Mithraic churches.
“I bet you don’t even know” the New Testament was written decades after the death of this supposed white Jesus (he’s white, right? Most of the paintings and depictions say so).
And Christianity is any better? Like having multiple wives and raping little teenage girls? Or priests preaching to African slaves that they were destined to be enslaved so embrace it. Oh yeah, Christianity is so much better…
WTF does some Quranic passage have to do with detaining an innocent person? You’re a special kind of stupid, aren’t you?
I liked this post
That’s the nicest thing anyone’s said to me all day!
wow. selectively read your Koran much?!? killing infidels IS justified, hence it’s NOT killing all mankind. to paraphrase: ‘convert to islam or die’. and… beheading is the correct way. raping ‘the women’ of your enemies is also a spoil of war (and ISIS’s #1 recruiting perk). yes… a religion of peace and tolerance. ahem. oh, and we’ll leave the prophet’s 6 year old bride (yeah, i know… he swears he didn’t do her til she was 9) for another time….
as to profiling… if, to be pc, they do no profiling and show the same attention to an 89 year old caucasian/black/hispanic lady as a 22 year old muslim male…. sorry, they’re wasting resources. step out of your pc fantasy world and into reality. when those 89 year old women start flying planes into building and killing random people all over the world….. if that happens, THEN the old ladies should be given more scrutiny just the same. if you disagree, you’re a lost cause. i suppose if they notice a muslim male has just shaved off all his body hair, they shouldn’t profile him either…
btw, i flew back to the US yesterday from HKG. i got a big black X on my tsa card and went to the additional screening area. they searched every inch of my bag. asked me the countries i’ve been the past 3 months, how much money i have on me, and a whole lot of ridiculous questions. then, ignoring that, started asking 1 by 1 whether i had been to Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Yemen, etc etc. All details of my work. why i was in each country i did visit (tourist wasn’t a good enough answer for him. he’d reply, ‘but why Thailand. why Malaysia, etc etc etc). went on for 6-8 minutes. i’m as white as they come, born in the US and served in the military. i must be a victim of discrimination. right?
as an aside… if you really want to know what it’s like to be profiled in the US everywhere you go… be obviously poor, young and male and, if you have a car, have it be a pos. you’re a criminal in stores and to the police until proven otherwise. a lot of socio-economic profiling is confused with racial profiling by people who have never been poor and white! thus they think it’s because of their skin, when it’s because they’re poor. and, yes… i grew up very poor and very white- and know what i’m talking about.
Geez, I’m really glad that security did give you an extra few checks in HKG. You sound like the kind of person that needs to be carefully monitored.
@abby.
But you deserved it. I mean, c’mon, we whites have blown up federal buildings, shot kids at schools, murder anyone at abortion clinics, burn down black churches, and lynch and rape blacks for centuries.
So, I think we should be screened with extra scrutiny EVERY SINGLE TIME.
Oh, wait, but that’s not the case. You haven’t been secondary screened EVERY SINGLE TIME. Did you miss flights? Wait in a barren room for hours? Held without a reason? Have any of those happened to you? No. Then stop your bitching!
Omar … Great post…
I pray that things become better for you
Traveling while Muslim. I’m the same age with a similar background. Pretty much experienced everything you have mentioned. I got a new passport a couple months ago and the only stamps I have in there are Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.
This new passport with carry on only and a bunch of one way fares… This should be interesting for my upcoming intl trips next month
Sorry to hear you’ve been given the 3rd (and 4th) degree when travelling. Like many others, I’d wager to say this is unfortunately because of how you look, and not because you happen to be Muslim. I’m a Catholic, American-born (of Italian heritage) and educated, and still face the same treatment. Agreed that Global Entry doesn’t really help; but now our fingerprints and extensive background checks are on file for easy access, I suppose. I’ve encountered your Canadian immigration experience both entering and leaving Vancouver. Mine involved calling the credit cards in my wallet to verify they weren’t stolen, verifying my employment (and that I’d be back on Monday), and all kinds of other fun tidbits I’ll leave out for brevity. I get the standard two officer screen every time I leave Seattle (while my partner, tall and white runs right through, even when we travel together) even when flying domestically, and often get the same treatment in Denver. London was OK at best, and all four German airports were too.Rome and Athens were bad, Paris always sucks (I’ve been denied entry to various landmarks/etc. “because how you say terrorist”), and Helsinki was another tough one. Asia on the other hand .. was cake. Not surprisingly, when in Dubai, Kuwait, or Amman .. I’m often pulled by the arm into the “GCC” lines for expedited screening, and have to assure them my US Passport won’t let me through. Further, we’ve flown through(out) Asia with no issues or questions, even with multiple Middle Eastern VISAs/stamps. Being Muslim is coincidental in this case, I’m afraid.
@Travel Summary.
You, really have to stop complaining. Your people commit all kinds of crap, so too bad. Ever since the Christians and white people have been murdering Muslims (Crusades), burning witches at the stake, enslaving millions of Africans, murdering 95% of all Native Americans, and denying basic human rights to all non-white Americans for centuries, we (Christians and white people) have received the brunt of special treatment: free stolen land (America), free labor (slaves), get away with murdering blacks and others, preferential treatment at restaurants, airports, voting booths, federal buildings and schools (even after we bombed the shit out of them), and continued support to just carpet bomb everyone not named Smith or Johnson.
Okay, so we whites have it tough too! (Oh, I will pray to white Jesus for you so that he may save your soul.)
Thanks for sharing your story Omar. I wish I could say your treatment is un-American, but sadly it is typical stereotyping and racism by the US government. I seriously doubt the level of scrutiny given to people like you or your brother (U.S. citizens and muslims with no criminal record) has ever prevented a terrorist attack, but they do it to create the illusion they are protecting us by preying on misguided fears Americans have of all Muslims.
@Jed.
Omar’s treatment is definitely American: profiling, preferential treatment, racism, bigotry, etc. This country was built on all of those things. I always wondered why whites would always say, “That’s un-American,” when in fact, it is the American way of doing things. For shit-sakes, we have a national holiday to honor North America’s first and biggest terrorist: Cristoforo Colombo, aka Cristóbal Colón, aka Christopher Columbus. How the fuck did that happen? And whites gave shits about MLK Jr. Day? Hahaha. What a fucked up group of people.
I (sadly) agree that Omar’s treatment is American. I said I wish I could say it is “un-american” because it is so outrageous. But as you said, it is quite American based America’s legacy.
I bet Timothy McVeigh would have breezed through customs and immigration every time he traveled. Because if he’s a white Christan then he’s clearly more trustworthy that a Muslim.
Gotta love it:)
Probably not the time to talk about your inconvenience…..Furthermore, the travel some do in this hobby should cause scrutiny. A few people who took up my torch in Brussels are in the hospital with burns and shrapnel in them. ( They now do the job I did in Brussels. ) When you talk about your religion and them not representing you, you are referring to your interpretation of it. Others interpret religious text differently. Trust me, in my religion we have a few whack jobs too, but nobody has yet taken down city blocks for the “faith.”
TS didn’t Muslim travel girl say these things rarely happen to her in the US? Could you be on some mysterious “list” for extra screening in the USA?
I suppose it’s possible, however I don’t think my experience is particularly unique for people of my background.
I have a British friend of Indian origin. He’s Hindu, and yet he goes through the same thing every time he travels to and from America. He gets SSSS printed on the boarding pass every time he travels and on numerous occasions, he’s been pulled off the plane for extra checks in London when flying to the States.
With that aside, thank you for the interesting post.
Please stop! My parents are Serbians and I have serbian first and last name. I am an American citizen. I have been discriminated on airports for ages now…worst was by a guy named Mustafa on Paris airport. When finally he was told bu his superior that he has to release us, two hours after our plane left, he commented on how many Muslim were killed by Serbs in Bosnia. I was 11 at the time of the war and living in States. So now that is happening to you, let’s all cry…give me a break.
@Dragana.
Please tell us that this continues to happen to you…in the USA? Yes? Extra screening and scrutiny? Right?
I don’t think so. Nice try.
Yes it does. Every single time i travel we end up having to do special screening. My dad’s hands and feet were dusted by security for whatever in NYC this September-i guess he looks super dangerous-75 year old with asthma. Just because I don’t blog about it it doesn’t mean it did not happen
Welcome to the club. I am a 61 year old fat man who looks about as dangerous as santa claus, and yet I get pulled out of line 8 times out of ten (yes I keep count) for extra screening and to have my fingers checked for GSR. And yes, I am a global entry holder and use my known traveler number even when flying in country.
As a retired Army Officer, I am embarrassed by my country’s TSA program………it reminds me of Barney Fife of Mayberry and I think it is extremely wasteful and “mostly” ineffective…….following 9/11 I gave my son a briefing on how I expected him to be part of the team that rushes the hijackers if that happens to his flight……he became a deputized sky marshall and I swore him in in the family room……now I am sure the government does not want to admit that is the solution but the shoe bomber incident proved that is the solution and instead of making everybody’s life miserable we need to learn to live in a world with risk………..
All that said if I am at the gate and you come through then yes I am going to look more closely at you than the old lady and her grand daughter…….but leaving you in a room for an hour in inexcusable and shows how backward TSA is………But as an Army officer committed to security as I talk to you I also understand I need you dearly as others with your background form the core of our surveillance of the Middle East because you understand the language and culture so much better than any rural white boy ever could……We need each other and we need to keep reminding ourselves of that fact…….
But your post also reminds me that our country as a nation is intoxicated with weapons and with locking people of color up and throwing away the key…….even House Republicans see this face and prison reform is coming but long overdue……..but the bigger picture is that we have a horrible time putting our weapons down…..we have a hard time accepting that diploma might be better than bombing someone……….I miss the days of CIA missions and Special Forces quietly taking out really bad terrorists and leaving the average foot soldier on American soil………
I don’t have any magic solution to how badly you are treated or how you can solve it but you should feel a certain satisfaction that you have evolved into a higher form of thinking than what you experience at the airport TSA stands………..I truly pity where their head is and the miserable life they have created for themselves………I think your head is in a much higher place……………
“intoxicated with weapons”? where the hell did that come from? And I like the idea of locking up ANYONE who breaks the law, screw their color. You are full of jibber-jabber, whish makes me believe you really are a retired Army officer, cause an enlisted man would not make nearly as many asinine comments.
John the reason you don’t have anything on your collar is so you don’t make the wrong decisions for everyone else’s children……go get your job as a prison guard and stop whining………at ease……….
I truly apologize for entering in a conversation with you as I just read your “woe is me, whites be stepin on my neck” comment. I withdraw from the conversation and will leave you to your self pity. Enjoy.
First of all, you’re an idiot for posting this. What were you expecting? How ironic that you are sooo educated, so that of course nobody else’s opinions can be correct. And it’s good to see all of your twitter bf’s approve of the horrible process you have to endure. Clearly you need a gf or a wife so that you can have someone to vent to and not air it on the #internet.
I understand going through the airport sucks for you; this is the world that we live in, so welcome to it. Terrorism is horrible-but if they didn’t do the current security that is going on right, I’m sure there would be many more acts of terrorism. My question to you is, what are you doing to fight terrorism? You’re a so called ‘American’ and Muslim as well, so what are you doing? Is it not America’s duty to fight terrorism? Who else fights it more than America? Currently I assume you are doing nothing to fight terrorism. I can tell you this though: You get grilled by TSA and have to endure racial profiling because that is how you can help fight terrorism in America. Get that through your head. It’s called patriotism-first and even second generation American struggle with that bc they are loyal to their mother land but eventually you will get it. You fight terror by enduring racial profiling. You do it for #murica, not for you or for anyone else. So instead of complaining, if you could just accept your role it would be a lot easier for you imho.
This last part I’m taking a wild guess, but do you think that all extremist Muslims are born that way? I’m sure some of them convert. THAT is probably why you repeatedly get over-screened. Be patriotic towards America and you will really go places, think about it!
You’re a fucking idiot.
Here’s what needs to be fleshed out by the various sects of Islamic clergy: what is the controlling definition of “innocents” in the context of the Islamic scripts? I constantly am hearing of such scripts forbidding the killing of “innocents” as a means of proof that the religion of peace is not an inaccurate descriptor. However, it is understood that at least some more conservative, or perhaps more accurately, more devout Muslims are of the belief that infidels are not “innocent” by virtue of their failure to submit.
I have little doubt that there are several groups with varying interpretations. Not being able to know who believes what naturally leads to the casting of a wide net from a security standpoint.
Without question, there exists a credible, concerted, and religiously-inspired war effort against the very existence of Western civilization. Unless and until the war is won, life will continue to be suboptimal for all of us who continue to live within the Western world (unfortunately, life in these conditions will be worse for those who may bear a superficial resemblance to those who wish to eradicate us all). The problem would be best resolved by the good Muslims erasing the bad from the earth or lending substantial assistance to that end. Perceived failure to assist in this is viewed as tacit acceptance of the evil-doers’ methods.
I am sympathetic to the plight of peaceful people who are incorrectly viewed as potential threats. However, the only sure fire way to reverse such sentiment is to proactively join in the efforts not only repudiating the bad people, but by consistently taking direct action against them. Whining and hand-wringing about the increased scrutiny received at airports in the immediate wake of a mass murder by islamic extremists does little to inspire confidence to this end.
I think what we can all agree on is we need to work harder at embracing all our differences and moving us beyond a nihilist approach to the confrontations in our lives…………perhaps You could say the next time you are detained in the airport security time out room……..”I am so proud of my Pakistani brothers who worked for the CIA and helped bring down bin laden…….I really don’t think he would have been brought down down without that brother who saw the need to help a democracy sure its’ freedom”………….I can’t imagine that we can’t all agree that that cooperative effort across ethnic and religious lines made and makes our country and our freedoms stronger………as a US Army officer that is what I fought for and that is the myth I will continue to believe in……………I hope that all will feel a moment of love this weekend…..ultimately that is what we are are fighting to protect…………
Wow.. after reading through these comments I am now understanding how a man like Trump may actually win the presidency. It’s really sad how ignorant and hateful people are. Thank you for sharing this story with us.
Seriously Samantha? I can say the same thing about Your Hillary. At least we now have a president with balls.
You must be on a watchlist due to a similar name as someone else or maybe just a middle eastern sounding name in general, who knows. Thats why you can’t even check in at the kiosk…you’re already flagged. Its not just a case or immigration/TSA policy or some agents giving you a hard time because you’re brown. There are plenty of other muslims who don’t go through what you do at the airport. Have you tried applying for a redress number? It has helped some people.
Thanks for this post. It’s well-written, it’s entertaining, and above all it tells a story we should all hear. I applaud you being able to describe these unfortunate events without turning it into an angry rant.
I don’t have that many Muslim friends (or Middle Eastern-looking, which seems to be what matters here), but I am deeply interested in this topic on a personal level. As a non-Christian, non-white, foreign-born young-ish male in the US, I often wonder if it’s ever gonna be “my turn”. All it will take, probably, is one crazy Asian dude to do something jaw-droppingly horrible, and the world as we know it will look at my kind with the same level of suspicion. And I get it – people that you don’t understand can be scary. I grew up in a homogeneous society, and remember the first time I saw openly gay people, the first time I saw a black person, and even the first time I saw a white person… moving to the US taught me so much about diversity, tolerance, and understanding, yet some people who’ve spent generations in this country are still quite backwards for some reason.
Americans including many commenters here love to quote “statistics” for the harsh treatment of Middle Easterners in the name of security measure. The only truth in the statistics is tied to the number of hours they see something being replayed on CNN. There is no denial that radical Muslims flew two planes into two skyscrapers… and crashed two more on the same day. But no self-respecting statistician will claim that as statistically significant, whether represented as % of flights flown or % of Muslims worldwide. A mentally ill German pilot crashed a plane into the mountain… technically that is a higher percentage of Germans causing trouble in the skies, but we ignore that, don’t we?
Anyhow. I’m not going to say anything you don’t already know or think. I’m sorry about everything you have to go through, but a quick sample of the comments here and of the presidential candidates tells me that none of it is going away soon. Please keep telling your stories because minorities need to be heard.
Thanks for the thoughtful comments!
Another thought… I’m curious how much terrorism these distasteful TSA tactics deterred vs. created.
Deterrence is impossible to measure. Most of ISIS targets have been non-airport locations, which may have been a result of the fact that post-911 airports are heavily guarded and not worth the trouble. Doesn’t stop those crazy people though, as they find different ways to kill the innocent in different places. Just because a bomb isn’t detonated at an airport (or on a plane) doesn’t mean that it isn’t detonated to cause terror.
On the other hand, there has been increasing attention on how citizens of the Western world travel to join ISIS, and how that’s becoming a major global headache. While I applaud Omar and all my Muslim friends for being cool-headed, rational, and genuinely nice, I really question what I would do if I suffer the kind of discrimination that they receive. I mean, if I live my life being told that I’m a threat to the national security risk to my own home country, and am constantly harassed to the point of regularly missing my flights and stuff, I would probably explode at some point. It will be hard to blame me for absolutely hating the system and the people behind it, right? I mean, being angry doesn’t drive a person to be an extremist, but all you need is 1 in a million to join ISIS in order to cause a lot of harm… and there are a lot more mentally unstable people in this world.
@TravelSummary
Sorry this is happening to you.
No apologies necessary – you did nothing to cause it! But thanks all the same.
Hiya, found this post now in July as you’ve moved to TravelCodex. Read through all the stupid, read thru all the hate and self-justified racism. Read the reasonable stuff, too.
Can’t help to point out the obvious, that religion–any and all religion–is the truest source of hate and violence. I don’t much care if you’re Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Sikh, Hindu, Buddhist, Mormon, etc., etc., etc., too many dumb religions in existence, all who lay claim to absolute truth, and all just as far away from truth as one could be. All religions are based on word-of-mouth stories, from other fallible humans, as their “truth”. No proof, no evidence, nothing but ‘some guy’s stories’ on which to lay responsibility for possibly the entirety of their words and actions.
Mormonism and Scientology are the latest that should’ve shown all religious folks by now–make up a story, be convincing, claim truth, and you’ll have a religion. And then, believers. And then, true believers. And then, discrimination against those who don’t believe ‘the one true story’.
Religion may have been necessary to help bring human beasts into civilization, but this tool is no longer needed and creates many, many more problems than it helps.
So, argue that you’re discriminated against–it’s true. And sad. It shouldn’t be thus. But until humans stop believing in skygods, and the supposed preferences those skygods impart, it will continue. Sorry you lost the lottery at this point in history. I hope you evolve better in the future.
“I hope you evolve better in the future.”
WTF kind of pseudo-intellectual angstheist nonsense is this?
Good job ignoring the entire point of my post!
And, for the future, “pseudo-intellectual angstheists” is literal nonsense.
There is no point to your post. You’re just spouting random gibberish and nonsense.
Honestly if I got a bad vibe from a Muslim when I was getting on a plane, I would not get on.
How would you even know that person is Muslim without asking him or her?
I assume that if you got a bad vibe from a Christian or Jew that it’d be okay.
Hmmm, wonder what is the definition of a Bigot
Google it 🙂
When I said “wonder what is the definition of a Bigot” I was being sarcastic to Shane’s statement… so you look up sarcasm 🙂
you mean google it:)
🙂 you catch up fast 🙂