"Muslim? Step over here please"

The recent alleged terror plot in London has thrown a whole new debate into picture. One that has already been in place but now is being talked about in a more open manner. That of racial/religious profiling at the airports to increase the security and minimize the delays for frequent flyers and the aam junta.

It is quite well known that people of Asian descent are frequently detained by airport authorities in "random" checks and are forced to undergo further and more thorough searches. So far, it was under the cloak of "randomness". Now they want to be open about it and say, hey, if you are a muslim, then you are a suspect and must prove yourselves not guilty by submitting to detention and searches. Will that really be effective??

Yes, muslims are the major source of threat for the americans and britons right now. Arguning that there are non-muslim terrorist organisation is simply wrong given the fact that it is the muslim terrorists who present threats to them. Not LTTE or Naxalites, but muslims. Mainly because of all the mess they have created in the Middle East. So, it does make sense to view muslims with a jaundiced eye for them. But will that really be successful? Will that really help them?

I personally do not think so. I think it would be too easy to hide one's religion. What if you get a passport with Jesus Christ written on it. If you are getting a fake passport, how hard would it be to get it in a non-muslim name. Maybe, Deepak Chopra? How would the airport authority find that out, unless they detect the mendacity of the passport...

Secondly, there are way too many people coming in illegally and so far, neither Britain nor the US have been able to put an end to that. So, there is nothing to stop a terrorist to get into their countries and once in there, they could very well become anybody with any name. Create an identity that is difficult to trace and you are no longer identifiable as a muslim, unless they strip them and look at their wee-wees, which would require them to be suspects in the first place.

Thirdly, according to MIT, most suicide bombers are not muslims!

So, such a move would not just be racist but would not serve its purpose and would only perpetuate a hostility that is unnecessary and stupid.

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