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Concerns About Religious Profiling for Security Arise Again After Flight 253

By Howard M. Friedman

The foiled Christmas Day bombing attempt aboard a Northwest Airlines flight approaching Detroit has raised the spectre of profiling of Muslim travellers for added airport screening. Today's London Express reports that Prof. Anthony Glees, director of Buckingham University's Centre for Security and Intelligence Studies, called that move an "obvious and rational" method to deter Islamic terrorists from striking British targets, while, at the same time, reducing lines at airport security gates for others. A spokesman for the Muslim Council of Britain said: "The actions of one misguided individual should not tarnish the reputation of the majority. We will let terrorists win if bigotry is allowed to flourish."

According to TPM, over the week end, Rep. Peter King (R-NY), Ranking Member of the House Homeland Security Committee, said on Fox News:

I think there are situations like this where we are afraid of being accused of profiling. The fact is while the overwhelming majority of Muslims are outstanding people, on the other hand 100% of the Islamic terrorists are Muslims, and that is our main enemy today. So while we should not be profiling people because of their religion, at the same time we should not be bending over backwards to somehow keep them off a list.

A press release yesterday from the Council on American-Islamic Relations urged authorities to avoid ethnic and religious profiling.

Full post as published by Religion Clause on December 29, 2009 (boomark / email).