Flying While Muslim?

I don't know the facts about the incident -- there are too many versions of the story out there right now.  From what I can gather, six people were acting suspiciously, were asked to submit to further screenings, refused those screenings, and then were forcefully removed from the plane.  What I do know is the response to this incident has been thrown WAY out of proportion.  Granted:  I certainly face less discrimination while flying.  Why?  Because I don't fit the profile.  Yes, that's right a profile.  And what profile is that?  A profile of someone who is possibly a threat to the safety of the passengers and crew.  Is profiling wrong?  I don't think so.  I agree with Mona Charen over at NRO:

It’s a shame. But it’s absolutely necessary. It cannot have been pleasant to be denied the opportunity to fly, to be singled out, to be embarrassed in front of a plane full of strangers. But this knee-jerk reaction to the word “discrimination” is completely out of place in this discussion.

When passengers see six Arab men praying, talking animatedly in Arabic (a fellow passenger understood Arabic and was one of those who contacted a flight attendant), and then boarding an airplane and sitting in different places, I wonder what goes through their minds? Is it: “I sure don’t like Muslims. Think I’ll just harass and annoy them”? Or could it possibly be: “Oh dear God, this is what the 9/11 hijackers must have looked like”?

Is it discrimination? Well, of course it is. But that cannot be the end of the discussion. We are so robotic in America whenever the word “discrimination” is used that we shut down thought and all genuflect in the direction of whoever is complaining. But the proper question is not whether it is discrimination but whether it is justified.

What is even more unfortunate is that the profile looks like it must be extended even further:  to include Grandmothers.  Grandmas must now be included in the list of possible suicide bombers.

64-Year-Old Grandmother Blows Herself Up Near Israeli Troops in Gaza

So was it a case of Flying While Muslim?  No.  It's a sign that in order to be safe, we must submit to more searches.  Not that those searches necessarily keep us safe, but refusing to be searched will limit what you can and cannot do.  But that is a topic for another day.