...or have we had enough of sheiks on a plane?

Question. How many imams does it take to screw up an airline?

Answer. Apparently six will do it.

As everyone knows, six muslim holy men were unceremoniously removed from a US Airways flight from Minneapolis to Pheonix last month. Although the accounts vary, it appears that they were:

Praying together before the flight;

Moving themselves around the plane and occuping seats other then those assigned to them;

Requesting seatbelt extenders (without exhibiting the requisite girth).

This activity freeked a female passenger to the point that she passed a note to a flight attendent. The message was presumably along the lines of, "We're all going to die if you let those terrorists fly with us". US Airways called the FBI and the offending Muslims were pulled off the flight. They were apparently furnished with a road map and shown the car rental counter.

What to do? What to do?

Isitjustme (in the person of its author) is a strong supporter of the ACLU. That support arises from a sense that, as in this case, someone needs to represent the imans. I believe that "flying while Muslim" is not a crime. We are a country founded on the principal of religious freedom. Just because a person practices his faith publically doesn't mean that he must take the bus. Would I have voted those six men off the plane? Absolutely.

What's this? A chink in the shining armour? A bigoted Baby Ruth in the swimming pool of civil liberties?

'Fraid so. The people of the United States (including me) can be forgiven for their reluctance to board a plane with six devout members of a religion that has not only publically denounced America, but blown up four aircraft inside this country.

Would we have ejected six praying nuns? How about six saffron-clad Buddhists? Of course not; and for the obvious reason that neither Jesus Christ nor Buddha is being quoted as an excuse for killing Americans.

There is no central voice of moderation in Islam. The religion is extremely decentralized and therefore difficult to get a handle on. However, we do know that four planes were taken in September of 2001 and that 3,000 lives were lost. At no time in the last four-plus years have we heard that Islam is sorry for that attack. No imam with any moral authority has stood up in America, Saudi Arabia, France, or anywhere else and said that the attack on September 11 was a disgrace to Muslims everywhere. All America knows is that this "War on Terror" isn't over and no one is anxious to become the next casualty.

On behalf of my fellow citizens, I'm sorry for the inconvienence suffered by the six men in Minneapolis. The imams are encouraged to contact the ACLU, Tim Robbins, Jesse Jackson, and anyone else that will advance their case. However, if you want to fly in America, lower your profile. Until we invent a device that separates good Muslims from sneaky ones you are going to be subject to additional scrutiny. Deal with it. Airline safty protects you, too.

As for those nuns...I knew a few that would have made great air marshalls. No guns. Just a ruler.