THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume XII, Issue # 146, August 4, 2010
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
NIQAB SECURITY OUTRAGES AT CANADIAN AIRPORTS
By Dr. Daniel Pipes
THE NIQAB AS A SECURITY RISK AT INTERNATIONAL AIRPORTS IN CANADA: FAILURE OF CANADIAN SECURITY
AGENTS TO CHECK THE IDENTITIES OF NIQABIS BOARDING PLANES -- A BREACH THAT THREATENS THE SAFETY &
SECURITY OF THE TRAVELLING PUBLIC & CAN ENABLE ISLAMIST JIHADIS, WITHOUT DISCOVERY & APPREHENSION, TO
ENTER THE U.S.A. FROM CANADA -- POLITICAL CORRECTNESS AD ABSURDUM
FULL STORY:
I visited Toronto in early March, 2010, and, as I left the country, I passed through the usual security check at Pearson
International Airport. What made it different is that the next passengers after me in line were a man, a small child, and a
person in niqab. (I write "person" rather than "woman," as I hardly know who was under the niqab outfit.)
Curious how the niqabi's hidden identity would be handled, I looked back as the trio was dealing with the security
agent. To my astonishment, the agent did not demand to see the niqabi's face, but was content to see those of the man
and child. I wanted dearly to video this procedure on my mobile phone, but dared not, thinking that this could well get
me hauled in on some charge that I, ironically, was breaching security.
This experience comes to mind as I follow a current story about a similar situation at Montreal's Trudeau International
Airport. The Toronto Sun explained on August 1 how Mick Flynn of Bradford, England, was boarding a flight
there on July 11, when he witnessed two women with their faces covered board an Air Canada Heathrow bound flight
without being asked to remove their veils. In fact, in the video that Flynn has posted online, a man traveling with the
group hands in all the passports and is the only one to interact with airline staff, while two veiled women simply walk
through.
Unlike me, Flynn did something about this outrage:
"I complained at the desk — and again as I boarded the plane —
asking if the pilot was happy that two women boarded without
being identified. Both members of staff whom I spoke to were
flustered and clearly embarrassed."
In a public statement, Air Canada insisted:
"Airline passengers have already undergone multiple security
checks before arriving at the boarding gate. A final check is
made at the gate prior to boarding in order to confirm passengers
on the flight."
This, of course, is mumbo-jumbo. Then, to make the story even richer, Air Canada has threatened a lawsuit against
Flynn for his video.
A day later, the Sun followed up with a report from Pearson:
"A veteran airline worker at Canada's busiest airport said few
veiled Muslim women are forced to reveal their faces before
boarding flights. The long-time frontline worker at Toronto's
Pearson International Airport said there is no clear-cut policy
given to airline workers on how to deal with this and other
sensitive issues. … employees working with various airlines in
Toronto, Montreal, and Ottawa said that checks often occur at
the luggage check counter, if at all, and that women who refuse
to show their faces are simply allowed to board."
The veteran Pearson worker said there are many factors that have led to what he deems a security risk: The lack of a
clear policy from airline management, worries about political correctness, and often aggressive behaviour from men
traveling with veiled women.
"In general, what happens is the woman stands at the back, the
man comes up with the documents. He's quite aggressive and
leaves little room for airline workers to challenge him. … So, why
would a general worker who is paid $12-$15 per hour take this
upon themselves?"
Transport Minister John Baird issued a statement promising to look into the matter.
"If the reports are true, the situation is deeply disturbing and
poses a serious threat to the security of the air travelling public.
If our current security policies in this area are deemed to be
lacking, our government will take the necessary steps to protect
the safety and security of the travelling public."
On August 3, Baird came out with a more assertive statement:
"I'm the Minister of Transport, they validate my ID every the time," Baird told Ottawa radio station CFRA.
"I do have one Cabinet colleague that was denied entry to a
plane because he forgot his valid ID at home. … We're going to
get the facts first and then we're going to take all the action
necessary to make sure that the current regulations are
followed and followed to the letter."
As for setting up special rooms where Muslim women can remove their veils away from other passengers, Baird
dismissed the idea as unworkable. "I have no intention of establishing special rooms at every single gate so that we
can validate someone's identification," said Baird. "This is Canada, we're an open society, we're a society where men
and women are treated equally."
Comments:
(1) It's hard to say something original about this preposterous situation. Obviously, niqabis must not get a free pass
onto planes. If anyone wants a few dozen reasons why, just go to my blog on "Niqabs and Burqas as Security
Threats."
(2) For an amusing counterpoint, also dated August 3, note the complaint of Kim Riddlebarger, Senior Pastor of
Christ Reformed Church in Anaheim, California, who recently attended a United Reformed Churches in North America
synod in London, Ontario:
"Apparently, American Reformed ministers are viewed as a
security risk by Canadian authorities! Here I am getting
frisked in front of a bunch of my fellow ministers and synod
attendees on the same flight out with me. I'll bet the security
people were looking for Cuban cigars – the contraband most
likely to be found on a Reformed minister's person."
(3) As regards the video taken by Mick Flynn, it's fascinating to see the impact of a single low-quality video. Next time,
I must not let the opportunity pass me by. (August 3, 2010)
© Daniel Pipes 2010
Republished with the Permission of Daniel Pipes
Reprinted from the Daniel Pipes Mailing List, August 4, 2010
URL: http://www.danielpipes.org/blog/2010/08/niqab-security-outrages- at-canadian-airports
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
Canada: America's Northern Neighbor & Ally
Islamism & Jihadism -- The Threat of Radical Islam
Page Three
Page Two
Page One
Middle East -- Arabs, Arab States,
& Their Middle Eastern Neighbors
American Foreign Policy -- The Middle East
International Politics & World Disorder:
War, Peace, & Geopolitics in the Real World:
Foreign Affairs & U.S. National Security
Page Two
Page One
Islamist Terrorist Attacks on the U.S.A.
Osama bin Laden & the Islamist Declaration of War
Against the U.S.A. & Western Civilization
Islamist International Terrorism &
U.S. Intelligence Agencies
Counterterrorism & U.S. National Security
U.S. National Security Strategy
Dr. Daniel Pipes, a Ph.D. in Islamic History (Harvard University, 1978), is Founder and Director of the Middle East Forum,
Founder of Campus Watch, Taube Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University, a
signatory of the Project for the New American Century, a former board member of the U.S. Institute of Peace, a former
adjunct scholar at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a Golden Circle supporter of the U.S. Committee for a Free
Lebanon, a former member of the U.S. Department of Defense Special Task Force on Terrorism and Technology, and a
former lecturer at the U.S. Naval War College, Harvard University, the University of Chicago, and the University of
Pennsylvania. Dr. Pipes was the Director of the Foreign Policy Research Institute from 1986 to 1993.
Author or co-author of eighteen books, Dr. Pipes is a regular columnist for National Review Online, Front Page
Magazine, the New York Sun, and the Jerusalem Post. His analyses of world trends and of forces and
developments in the Middle East have appeared in numerous North American newspapers, including the Washington
Post, the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal. He frequently appears on American network
television, as well as at universities and think tanks, to discuss the Middle East, Islam, and the Islamist threat to the
U.S.A. and the West. He also has appeared on BBC and Al Jazeera, and has lectured in approximately
twenty-five countries.
Dr. Pipes is a Polish-American Jew whose parents fled Poland in 1939, immigrated to the U.S.A., and assimilated well into
American society and culture. His father is Richard Pipes, an American historian specializing in Russian and Soviet history
and serving as Professor of History at Harvard University from 1950 until his retirement in 1996. During the Cold War, the
worldview of Richard Pipes was strongly anti-Soviet and anti-Communist.
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THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
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Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
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