DAR AL HARB - U.S.A.: MOSLEMS DO NOT PRAY INSIDE AIRPORTS IN SAUDI ARABIA

Behavior of imams warranted action
Dale E. Carpenter - Harpers Ferry, W.Va.

I am an American who lived and worked in Saudi Arabia from 1991 to 2005. During 14 years traveling through airports in Saudi Arabia and numerous other Middle Eastern countries, I never observed anyone praying as did the six Muslim clerics before a US Airways flight in Minneapolis ("Clerics' lawsuit threatens security of all passengers," Our view; "False reporting is wrong," Opposing view, Post-9/11 travel debate, March 27).

The prophet Mohammed taught his followers not to pray by the side of the road. This has been interpreted by Muslim scholars to mean that your religious practices shouldn't inconvenience others. If the imams felt the need to pray, they should have gone to one of the quiet seating areas in the Minneapolis airport where prayer is welcome.

The imams were not under any religious obligation to pray at scheduled prayer times because Muslims are exempt from observing scheduled prayer times while they are traveling.

The imams' antics onboard not sitting in their assigned seats and requesting seat belt extenders for no apparent reason are highly suspicious. I applaud US Airways' actions in this incident.
They were correct in recognizing this suspicious behavior and in taking appropriate action.


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1) Behavior of imams warranted action