Jihad Watch: Flying Imams' lawsuit

Long before 9/11, I had thought that CAIR's aim was to conduct witch hunts against anyone who dared to say any critical about Islam, thereby threatening people's lives and livelihoods. Shortly after 9/11, CAIR had set up a bulletin board on its web site, no doubt expecting an outpouring of goodwill from people who didn't fault Islam or the ummah for 9/11. What CAIR got were articulate criticisms of Islam by people writing under names such as "Al-Hallaj" or "Asma bint Marwan," the name of a poetess murdered by Muhammad's henchmen for writing satiric verse about him.

In response to a defense of CAIR as a "civil rights group" I posted a message about CAIR's true aims. My friend The Adventuress, whose presence on the Web is sorely missed, alerted me to the fact that CAIR's webmaster had deleted my message. CAIR is backing the Flying Imams' lawsuit, in which the imams seek to identify the passengers who tipped off the crew in order to sue them as well.

Writes Katherine Kersten in the Minneapolis/St. Paul Star Tribune:

Who are these unnamed culprits? The complaint describes them as “an older couple who was sitting [near the imams] and purposely turn[ed] around to watch” as they prayed. “The gentleman (’John Doe’) in the couple … picked up his cellular phone and made a phone call while watching the Plaintiffs pray,” then “moved to a corner” and “kept talking into his cellular phone.”

In retribution for this action, the unnamed couple probably will be dragged into court soon and face the prospect of hiring a lawyer, enduring hostile questioning and paying huge legal bills. The same fate could await other as-yet-unnamed passengers on the US Airways flight who came forward as witnesses.

The imams’ attempt to bully ordinary passengers marks an alarming new front in the war on airline security. Average folks, “John Does” like you and me, initially observed and reported the imams’ suspicious behavior on Nov. 20. Such people are our “first responders” against terrorism. But the imams’ suit may frighten such individuals into silence, as they seek to avoid the nightmare of being labeled bigots and named as defendants.

This lawsuit confirms my longheld suspicions about CAIR.