We will not be silent

Before the Monarch flight debacle there was another example of Islamophobia on a flight from New York to San Francisco on August 12. My close friend Raed Jarrar, a secular Iraqi-Palestinian who was groomsman at my wedding in June (when you follow the link he's on at the top of the steps in the first photo throwing confetti and on the left of the second photo), was flying back from NY to rejoin his American wife Niki in San Francisco. He is a prominent figure in the peace movement and was wearing a T-shirt saying "We will not be silent" in English and Arabic (a slogan first used by opponents to Nazi rule in Germany). But JetBlue airlines decided to silence him, insisting that he remove his T-shirt in case it worried other passangers. Raed explained "I grew up and spent all my life living under authoritarian regimes and I know that these things happen. But I'm shocked that they happened to me here, in the US." (see his blog for more). You can call JetBlue on 001-801-365-2525 to ask them why he was treated like this. The Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee have lodged a formal complaint.

Today the story featured as a front page item on BBC News (and elsewhere)