Muslim Fans Say They Were Profiled At NFL Game
POSTED: 1:29 pm EST November 2, 2005
NEWARK, N.J. -- Several Muslim football fans claim they were profiled and unfairly detained by stadium security personnel and the FBI at Giants Stadium during a game in September.
But the FBI said it was where they were, not what they were doing that led to the questioning of the five fans.
FBI spokesman Steven Segal told The Associated Press the five were congregating near the main air intake duct during the Giants-Saints game.
The fans were removed from their seats and questioned after other fans saw them prostrating themselves on the ground as part of daily Muslim prayers, which must be performed five times each day.
Former President George H.W. Bush was among the 80,000 fans on hand that night as part of a fundraising campaign he and former President Bill Clinton were leading for victims of Hurricane Katrina.
One of the Muslims, along with his lawyer, said the five were unfairly profiled and detained because they had been praying as their faith requires.
One of the men, who asked not to be identified because he fears harassment from the incident, said he and the others had no idea they were near an air intake.
The Muslims were detained about half an hour before they were told they would be given upgraded seats. They chose to leave.
Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved
http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/5233722/detail.html
This is kind of hard. While the profiling sucks and is unfortunate, I think if I was near these guys I might get kind of spooked too. While the FBI should brush up on their facts, these men need to realize that it's not everyday that you see Muslims praying in the middle of a giant (no pun intended) stadium full of people. How were the offiicals supposed to know that the men didn't know they were standing near air ducts? What if they had just pulled off some sort of attack with the air ducts and were praying before becoming "martyrs"?
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