Prior to the Thanksgiving travel crush, I was informed by a "friend" that he had heard or read that the government had decided that some people (mainly Muslim women) would be specifically exempted from having their religious headwear (like the hijab) removed or patted down during TSA security checks. Since this didn't sound right, I queried this acquaintance where he had heard it. Surprisingly, he couldn't "remember".
I decided to check various online sources to get the real story. Along the way, I noticed that some Tea Party-oriented sites were even claiming the Obama, himself, had issued this "pro-Muslim" edict. I guess they must think he has nothing else to do...
Well, surprise of all surprises, it came mostly from those Fair and Balanced "news" people at Fox, along with their most reliable accomplice, CNSNews (Cybercast News Service, formerly [and in actuality] the Conservative News Service).
It appeared that a Muslim advocacy/lobbyist group called CAIR (Center for American-Islamic Relations) had advised Muslim travelers to do as little as possible in cooperating with TSA workers, if they were asked to do a secondary scan (normally a pat-down). Someone at CNSNews (and probably "Fixed" News) apparently thought that CAIR was a government department, which brought about the initial government (Obama) claim. Then, apparently, one of their nut-case reporters asked homeland security secretary, Janet Napolitano, whether any special consideration was being given to people wearing religious headwear. Napolitano basically didn't answer the question (saying they were looking into it or considering adjustments) which Fox/CNS conveniently took as a "yes". A corollary claim is that Muslim women were allowed to pat down their own head and neck which, while technically true for anyone wearing headwear, leaves out the requirement that it be done under supervision, and that their hands would then be scanned for explosive powder.
What CAIR actually told Muslim women was that, if the initial body scan showed suspicion in their headwear, the TSA worker should only target their headwear and should not perform a full-body pat down. This morphed, at the hands of Fixed News, into claiming there would be no examination of Muslim headwear.
As in the case of death panels and an alleged government-enforced ban on "In God We Trust" on coins, an omission or shred of ambiguity was glorified into an anti-Christian/pro-Muslim rant. If the Tea Party and some fundamental Christian groups would only believe the obvious instead of obscure conspiracies, there could be a lot less hate in the world. (Obviously, this value judgment also applies to many other political and religious extremist groups, including those in the Middle East.)
The real fear I have about this type of thinking is that a President or Congressional leader, especially an unqualified candidate along the lines of Sarah Palin, could fall into this simplistic thinking when a truly complex, crucially serious issue needs to be decided. Our current President, I think, actually understands the complexity of issues, and that nuanced decisions are most often appropriate. The people "who want their country back" seem more oriented to the quick Reagan-esque, often blindly "America-first"-type, decisions that have often alienated people around the world.
A few links, including Fox News in their full misleading glory, are worth checking out:
http://www.arguewitheveryone.com/general-political-discussion/156642-who-started-rumor-muslim-women-were-exempt-tsa-pat-downs.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dB5XykfW6T4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MAQj2Rn06c
http://message.snopes.com/showthread.php?t=67655
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2013428303_scans14.html
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