It was a setup for publicity and a lawsuit from the word "go".

@zibby: setup by who? publicity for who? does US airways WANT bad publicity? I don't get it zibbly.

Publicity for who?
The 6 muslim "scholars" and their mouthpieces.

Regardless, the passengers did absolutely nothing wrong in reporting their suspicions.

No, set up by the 6 muslims. They want to create this fear of acting on our suspisions so "next time" the average Joe must second guess themselves. These people are experts in playing our legal system, our politics, and our fears.

This comment thread should be fun.

Another example is a muslim woman around a Dalas airport who was taking pictures and videos of the airport property and who openly hates the U.S. and supports terorrism. She felt her rights were violated when they questioned her suspicious activity. She eventually even got fired from her job for being such an outspoken supporter of terrorism.

Hey, if your rights are so violated here, go back to Afganistan or where ever you are from and see what your rights are there...let me know when you get there.

Perhaps they should sue the current administration for creating such a toxic climate of fear and suspicion.

Thank god the internet didn't exist in the 40's, or America would never have invaded Germany. "Please, the Jews are just playing this for sympathy, so no one will blink twice the next time they want to lend us money!"

After 9/11, my friend saw a man beaten and dragged off by security. She was standing nearby, and heard security. They didn't have a reason. They hassled him until he spoke angrily, and then jumped on him.

@Franklin Comes Alive!: It's not easy being Muslim!

Sure smells funny. I hope they're forced to say why two of them wanted seat belt extenders which they then put on the floor instead of using.

I think the link should be
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17874497/

I don't blame them for suing and you know your country has reached a dark place when prayer becomes suspicious activity.

Good for them!(The muslims I mean.) This is just flat out racisim.

@darkblast93: Muslim is a race now?

@Rectilinear Propagation:

It was a bit more than just praying.....

Some passengers also said that the men spoke of Saddam Hussein and cursed the United States; that they requested seat belt extenders with heavy buckles and stowed them under their seats; that they were moving about and conferring with each other during boarding; and that they sat separately in seats scattered through the cabin.

@kozicki4: "These people"...wow, you just proved that their lawsuit is justified...

@Pelagius:

Just to be clear I'm agreeing with your side here.

@zibby: OK fine, religious bigotry. Except you know what, my husband is Asian and Muslim and doesn't get shit like this. So this was specifically them being Middle Eastern While Muslim.

These people are experts in playing our legal system, our politics, and our fears.

What year is this? I hope you meant the lawyers, but saying "these people" when talking about an ethnic group is a sign of the problem here!

The US is having trouble adapting to a globalized world, and in particular, our xenophobia is a large reason why.

@roche: And the ONLY part of this I buy is the moving about the cabin to confer with each other. If they were Imams, they probably did not want to spend a lot of money and took what was available, as we all have at one time or another. And Imams are like rabbis, they like to talk, to confer, to kibbitz, as my people say.

A passenger is not an employer or a service provider. How does an individual discriminate?

l@kozicki4:
"Hey, if your rights are so violated here, go back to Afganistan or where ever you are from and see what your rights are there...let me know when you get there."

Well, I think we've established kozicki doesn't like brown people.

@Franklin Comes Alive!: For real.

Thank God this story didn't keep that alert Kinkos clerk from reporting to the FBI about the people who wanted to attack Fort Dix. In some people's ideal world, what he did would be illegal.

@spiderjerusalem:

It is a plane. You are supposed to remain seated unless you are going to the bathroom. When was the last time you were on a plane that just let a large group of people congregate for a nice little chat?

The people in the Fort Dix thing were investigated for MONTHS and were caught in a sting operation buying weapons. This is not the same thing as praying.

Airline passengers "are your eyes and your ears," said Vincent, who now owns an aviation security company. "If attorneys can get those names and sue them, you put a chilling effect on the whole system."

Sure, but what's wrong with there being some accountability?

Considering such shining examples of Free Speech in American Society as Fred Phelps, neo-Nazi Presidential candidates, the KKK, etc. I really don't see how a private individual saying "I hate Muslims/Rastafarians/Whitey" constitutes a civil breach. Now, US Airways or TSA acting on said comments is another matter.

@roche: Um...always? Ive been flying since I was five, and I was not always seated next to people I knew, and families who had allowed themselves to be broken up rather than paying for a stack of tickets would get up, talk to each other, try to trade seats, etc.

@Rectilinear Propagation: Good full-article link - there was definitely more going on then just "praying".

How suspicious the "more" was is hard to gather from the article.

But let's get one thing straight - they were NOT reported for just praying...

@spiderjerusalem: Coulda been their behavior, ya know? I don't have studies, but I'm reasonably sure that dozens - maybe even SCORES! - of Middle Eastern Muslims fly in the U.S. every day without being "reported" by a bunch of their fellow pasengers.

I still assert that this was a scheme to get on a plane, act as suspiciously as possible without doing anything illegal, get booted if possible. After that, bask in the coverage and hope one of the lawsuits is successful for a nice bonus.

I'll be interested in how the case proceeds, needless to say.

You know, it's amazing how many people are utterly convinced of the "right" decision in this case despite not actually being there themselves.

I have a hunch that the same posters lashing out at the passengers for speaking up are the same ones tossing blame because no one went far enough to stop the VT shootings.

If these six were innocent victims of circumstance, I'd feel a little more sorry for them. This was a well planned, highly organized media event to see how far they could go before someone was suspicious of them...and then open up a can of lawsuits. THEY WERE ON THE PLANE FOR THE SOLE PURPOSE OF ALARMING AND THEN SUEING PEOPLE.

Overheard making anti-American remarks?
No luggage?
Seat belt extenders they want to hold, but not use?

If you can be sued for your personal opinion of someone else's behavior, then citizen action is DOA. If I find that your loved ones may be in danger, I will not speak up for fear of being taken to court. The only winners is this situation are radical Islamic militants.

Mentioning only "normal" prayers in the initial article is a slap in the face to the people on that plane who saw a wide variety of odd behaviors for anyone to exhibit.

@roche:

So they mentioned Saddam Hussein and spoke angrily of the United States. Boy, those are two very uncommon things aren't they?

Also, lets use our heads, if I am going to hijack a plane which do I do: stay very quiet and inconspicuous, or yell loudly and bring attention to myself?

It should also be noted that people brought suspicion upon for these actions alone, way before they entered the plane.

@roche: Then why mention the praying at all? Why is prayer part of the set of activities that's considered suspicious?

The only thing weird here is the part about the seat belt extender.

And the FBI was alerted to the people in the Fort Dix plan by a normal American who noticed something suspicious. The link provided to explain the seat belt extenders only says that they got them because their seat belts didn't fit. Sure, now it makes sense that they put them on the ground.

@WV.Hillbilly: Nothing wrong other than racially discriminating against others. What if I were praying before taking a flight -- and the prayers were Catholic? I'm not religious, but use this as an example: would people be likely to report a white woman in her 30s saying a Hail Mary? I doubt it.

And that's why this is wrong. The United States does not allow discrimination on the basis of race or religion. And yet, we allow it to go om and pretend to look the other way.

I think it's about time that those who were wronged by this ridiculous action stood up and said "We won't take this any more".

My son and daughter will not grow up with this blatant bigotry instilled in them. Peoples ACTIONS are responsible for all good / bad in this world, not their race, religion, or their mannerisms.

Good for these Muslims suing.

I hope I count as living proof that people from the US (Texas) are not all bigots.

I'm all for safety, but not at the cost of freedom.

If i see anyone praying right before a flight i will say something. I dont know if they are saying their last prayer but it wont be mine. They have to understand that there will be some sort of reaction with their actions.

@Beerad: I'm willing to admit these guys may have been completely on the level. It doesn't happen to be what I believe, but I could be wrong.

Racism against arabs doesn't seem to count. Seems like you can only be racist against black people.
That news report seemed really biased, the way they showed a diagram of where they were sitting made it look like there was an actual plot.

The fact that saying "Allah" could be perceived as indicating a terrorist shows a widespread acceptance of stereotypes

@gwong: I think there's a chilling effect already when you have to worry about nosy busybody neighbors thinking you did something slightly abnormal and calling the cops on you for, say, putting your trash out right before pickup. (I've heard of cops using that as an excuse to snoop into somebody's life. So now the time we set out our trash is suspicious?? What next, the color of said trash can?

Some people should read articles before hitting the comment button.

@gwong: There's nothing wrong with passengers reporting/complaining to the airline attendants. It's what the employees decide to do with the information that is critical. Ask the passenger to be quiet? Ring the alarm? Whatever. But there's (currently) no legal accountability for raising concerns to an employee.

@mikeyrock: Some people should not make unprovable assumptions about what others have and have not done before hitting the comment button.

@grkgus: I guess it is now illegal to be afraid of flying, or should be, according to you...

@grkgus: So if the person next to you says, "Please, Jesus, keep this plane in the air" you'll accuse them of being a terrorist?

@zibby: Word Son.

@Skiffer:
"These people" refers to terrorists, not Muslims. The point is these guys were likely testing the system and response. They are counting on people being afraid of being labeled racist. Be careful not to play into their hands.

@GreatCaesarsGhost:
I think it's pretty clear based on that particular poster's comments that "these people" refers to Muslims.