Muslims as Targets of Scrutiny at Airports

Re “Guilty of ‘Flying While Muslim’?” in Voices, Dec. 11: I was disturbed to read of what happened to Salam Al-Marayati and his family at LAX. I know Salam and his wife; they are each a shining star and a loud voice of moderation among the American Muslim community. I hope that this incident will not slow down Salam in his work and struggle for human rights and that he will continue in building bridges of understanding and harmony between the different communities and his dialogue with the leaders of this nation. Salam should always remember that, if a bad thing happened to a good man, first he will take a moment to thank God for his blessing and then change the bad situation into a good one. I am sure that is what Salam will do.

Nadim Sallman

Irvine

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If Al-Marayati is really concerned with the lesson his small children will learn while being questioned at the airport, I have a suggestion. He could tell them that several evil Middle Eastern men, justified with an evil interpretation of Islam, murdered thousands of innocent Americans recently, and are a real threat to repeat such a despicable act today. That it is the responsibility of every good man and woman to root out this evil and protect innocent life, and that unfortunately means extra scrutiny of all Middle Eastern men, the innocent and guilty alike.

Until Irish grandmothers present the greatest threat at our airports, Muslim men should receive the greatest scrutiny. He could explain this to his children.

David Friedman

Irvine