Kenan Malik, the guy Muslim-haters love (after all, he has a Muslim sounding name), says that Islamophobia is there to “to stifle criticism of Islam“, he claims that it is a “myth“, and claims there is no hate at all directed at Muslims! This view is echoed by such folks as Roger Kimball (who also gleefully reports upon the death of socialism) among other conseratives. Curiously, even the BNP don’t deny there is such a thing as Islamophobia, though, they claim that it is “justified fears of Islamification and of Muslim terrorism in the UK”.

So, in light of that, I’m curious as to how Malik and his conseratives bed-mates would describe the following…

India on Friday lodged a strong protest with the Netherlands at the way it handled Indian passengers from a Bombay-bound flight that returned to Amsterdam shortly after takeoff, a foreign ministry spokesman said.
Dutch authorities detained 12 Indian passengers for more than a day and later released them after finding no evidence of a terrorist threat aboard the Northwest Airlines flight on Wednesday.
…“My brother is a businessmen traveling with colleagues and friends,” said Sanober Chotani, whose brother, Shaqeel, was among those held. “Indians talk more loudly than Westerners. So if you are happy, excited and Muslim, and don’t converse in English, you are a terrorist?”
Lubna Kulsawala said her brother-in-law, Ayub Kulsawala, 32, often flew abroad to sell garments. “He flies frequently for trade fairs and business. But he is Muslim, so he was arrested. Why should he be detained with no calls allowed to family?” she said.

Full story here

The Mail on Sunday screamed “Mutiny as passengers refuse to fly until Asians are removed” on August 20th. Two british asian chucked from a plane.  Whats curious here is the account given by the victims in the mirror days later.

Firstly, they were marched off at Gun-point, was that really needed? The men had cleared the security checks already, why add the weapons.

Whats more curious is that some of the passengers started crying! “Then we heard a child crying. I looked around and there was a girl of about 12 looking at me, pointing and crying… Her parents were putting their arms around her protectively and staring at us”. The men were asian, dressed in western dress, had been drinking beer, eating at McDonalds and had long(ish) hair. What is so terrifying about that? Perhaps its their audacity at speaking “a foreign language” (thats is, not english… while in spain), but, it seems, that brown skin is now enough to drive children to tears, and the elderly to suspicions.. “The pair, studying for degrees at Manchester’s Umist institution, believe the scare was sparked by an elderly lady sitting nearby… Khurram said: ‘We were chatting away in Urdu and she kept looking at us. At first I didn’t really take any notice. I just thought perhaps she’d never seen an Asian person before.’”

And more;

Off-duty Amar Ashraf, 28, was settling in his seat as a stand-by passenger on the Continental Airlines’ flight to Newark when a stewardess said he had to get off.The aircraft had already pulled away from its stand at Manchester Airport and was getting ready to taxi to the runway when he was led away and his bags were taken from the hold.Mr Ashraf said: “I felt very demoralised when I had to get off.“I must have met the profile on the day. I have an Arabic name, I am a Muslim, I’m from Britain and I know how to fly.”

Full story here.

And more;

A Winnipeg doctor is demanding an official apology and compensation from United Airlines after being kicked off a flight in the U.S. this week, an incident he has characterized as “institutionalized discrimination.”   Dr. Ahmed Farooq, a Muslim, was escorted off an airplane in Denver on Tuesday. According to Farooq, reciting his evening prayers was interpreted by one passenger as an activity that was suspicious.

Farooq said the allegation came from a passenger who appeared drunk and had previously threatened him during the trip.

Full story here.

And more;

A senior member of the Edinburgh Airport ground staff relayed the two incidents to The Sunday Post this week.
“I’ve only witnessed two sets of passengers kick up a fuss about Muslims on their flight but I’m sure it’s happening regularly. It’s sad, but people are inclined to take the law into their own hands if they think their lives may be at risk.”

Full story here.

And, the most famous instance;

The British singer Yusuf Islam, formerly known as Cat Stevens, is due to be sent back to London after being refused entry to the United States.

Mr Islam was on a flight from London to Washington when officials realised his name was on a “watch list”. The plane was diverted to another US airport.

Muslim groups in Britain and the United States have criticised the decision, saying Mr Islam is a man of peace.

In our market driven economy, how long will it be before we see the arrival of Muslim-free airways, or no-Asians-air?