For wearing a Muslim garb and looking like someone from a Middle East country, a Muslim-American doctor—who happens to be the head of an anti-Muslim radicalisation organisation in the U.S.—was detained at an airport in Houston, Texas after arriving from Newark, New Jersey, recently.
Dr. Bilal Rana arrived at Hobby Airport on Nov. 15 from a conference in New Jersey and was held there.
"It was embarrassing, very embarrassing that I could be assumed to be that type of person. It hurts, but I don't profess to be a victim. I understand law enforcement has to do their job and I respect and support them. I always have," said Rana, 36, who lives in Pearland together with his wife and five kids and has been an American since he was a year old, according to ABC 13 Eyewitness News.
He believes his seatmate on the plane became suspicious and reported him to the flight crew.
Because of the incident, he wrote an Op/Ed piece for Time.com in which he said, "To those who saw me as a threat: I hope you never know what it feels like to have a group of police officers single you out."
Rana, president of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association, said having returned from a formal event, he was wearing a plain white "shalwar," a shirt that is knee-length.
He purchased an in-flight WiFi service but it was out of service on the plane. During the duration of the flight, he didn't get up or touch his carry-on bag, he said.
"It wasn't until a few hours later—when an FBI agent flashed his badge at me—that I realised the WiFi may have been turned off on purpose," he wrote. "I realised that looking foreign can make people think you're dangerous on a plane."
He added, "I hope you never know what it is like to be frisked while standing in front of a plane full of passengers. I hope you never suffer the embarrassment of watching mothers hold their children tightly as you walk by them."
"I hope you get a chance to explain who you are before you are judged. I'm not your enemy. I'm your biggest ally," he said.
Rana said he's a volunteer at the Houston Police Academy and has lectured at the Department of Homeland Security's TSA courses.
He said his organisation, composed of 70 chapters and more than 5,000 members, "combats Muslim radicalisation in America" and was awarded the Presidential Service Award in 2009 by President Barack Obama.
Last year, the group launched "Stop the CrISIS" crisis condemning terrorism, promoting peaceful Islam and providing the public a safe place to meet Muslim youth.
When he finally got home from being detained, he said he wanted to tell his kids why he was late.
"They're young, so I honestly don't know how to explain to them why I was detained and interrogated," he said. "I now realise that one of my biggest responsibilities as a father is to stress to my children that being Muslim is a source of pride, and never of shame. I realise that I will have to tell them that most strangers are inherently good, but if they hurt you, perhaps it's out of ignorance rather than malice."
An FBI statement said there was no arrest made and after investigation, no threat was found.
