#FlyingWhileMuslim Is An Actual Thing On Twitter And Some Of These Tweets Will Gut You
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’d know about the countless stories of discrimination many Muslim passengers have faced at airports across the globe.
The cases of racial profiling at airports is rampant, every so often a Muslim is removed from a flight because the person posed an imaginary threat to the passengers and extensive security checks by TSA is an everyday thing.
In simple words, people are targeted because they appear ‘Muslim’ and the normal behaviour by these passengers is seen as suspicious.
Muslims around the world have been documenting these cases on Twitter under the hashtag ‘Flying While Muslim’ and the reality of it is quite grim.
1. Extra aggressive checks by TSA happens more often than you can imagine
Guess who got selected for an extra special Hijab security check by TSA ???? #FlyingWhileMuslim
— αα ???? (@feeeeeefs) January 3, 2018
2. It happens again…
Just passed a bunch of hijabis pulled from the TSA line at #EWR, literally just standing there asking why theyre being searched and if they’re going to miss their flight. TSA unhelpful, and my sisters looking frustrated #flyingwhileMuslim
— Salma (@univrsalidntity) December 28, 2017
3 And again….
Got flagged by TSA. Again. This time on a domestic flight, and they even admitted it wasn’t “random”. Today we learned that I’m not a terrorist (shocker) and I will ???? burst into tears in front of security. #FlyingWhileMuslim
— Layla || ليلى (@LaylaMina_) November 22, 2017
4. When even using the word ‘blowing’ on a flight causes anxiety
My dad said “things are really blowing up” in the middle of a phone conversation and I got nervous ???? #flyingwhilemuslim
— Myra (@meow_myra) November 17, 2017
5. When even your phone apps might just land you in trouble
I’ve boarded my flight and my adhan (call to prayer) app just went off on my phone. Let’s see how much longer I’m allowed to stay in the plane. #FlyingWhileMuslim #MuslimProblems #TheStruggleIsReal
— Harris Zafar (@Harris_Zafar) November 9, 2017
6. Including your social media apps
Flying back to the US and deleting all my social media apps juuuuust in case #FlyingWhileMuslim
— Farah Khan (@scarfgeek) October 22, 2017
7. Reach airport way before time because of the never-ending scans
2 scans for my bag AND an agent going through my bag… #flyingwhileMuslim in pre-check usually just means getting your extra scans sooner ????
— Namira Islam (@namirari) July 13, 2017
8. Detained for reading a book…
Faizah Shaheen was detained for reading a book about Syrian art on her honeymoon flight. #FlyingWhileMuslimhttps://t.co/e1sfad0DFW
— ReThink Rights (@ReThinkRights) July 24, 2017
9. You’ve to be VERY careful of the words you use on a flight
When I’m tired I sigh and say “Ya Allah” and I’m never really aware that I do this until I’m on a plane. #flyingwhilemuslim
— Dr. Yasmin is fighting sexism and WINNING (@DoctorYasmin) May 22, 2017
10. When you have to show your passport even for a domestic flight
#FlyingWhileMuslim Just asked for my passport for a domestic flight @lsarsour @mehdirhasan #MuslimBan2
— Oppression.org (@OppressionOrg) March 7, 2017
11. And when your reservation gets “accidentally” cancelled
Omg they accidentally cancelled my reservation #FlyingWhileMuslim @Lamis_Deek
— Oppression.org (@OppressionOrg) December 28, 2016