Sad Reality

BBC News:

Mohammed Umar Haleem Khan, 22, was told by US Embassy officials that "a lot of bad people" shared his name.

The Manchester Metropolitan University student had to pay an extra $80 (£45) to have his fingerprints checked against a US terror suspect database.

This is ridiculous. The governments should allocate their financial resources to check for fingerprints.

"I'm sure that if some white candidate came along there would have been no problem."

I'm sure that if nineteen non-white Muslims had not attacked the US on 9/11, there would have been no problem for you, Muhammed. But that is not the reality. Race, religion, and sex are the few factors that security personnal can and should use to check for potential suspects. Of course, such a method does not eliminate the threat, it only makes it harder for the Islamists.

I am saying this as someone who has been affected by the strict rules after 9/11. I have travelled to Saudi Arabia, with transit in Europe, from Canada and vice versa. The only time I ever missed a flight was when I didn't have a visa for transit. Yes, a visa for simply landing and waiting at an airport. Need I say that only citizens of certain nations need this visa.

Most of the people who're irritated by these rules are innocent and I'm sure they're offended by being singled out. They must understand: The motivating factor of these nations is security, not racism for its own sake. Pray tell if you know a better way of improving the system.

First link via Indigo Jo.

Comments

[C David Jones]

Reasonable and candid. I say here as I say everywhere... it is the vocal minority speaking louder than the quiet majority. So few people claim this is offensive and prejudice to stop someone from a particular part of the world. It is also reasonable if there were 10 or 12 Irish Catholics caused similar terror in this country, there would be a noticeable crack down and those singled out would be coming from England/Scotland, very white complected with blonde or reddish-brown heads.
It is reasonable to say this is not race-based, but security driven. Good onya.

[Isaac Schrödinger]

Thank you.