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Home Front: WoT
Terror alerts by Muslim names
2007-04-06
Any person with the first, middle or last name of Muhammad automatically gets into the ‘Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment (TIDE)’ in the Homeland Security Administration/FBI’s database as a potential or possible terrorism suspect. When a person with such a name travels, he is subjected to special scrutiny. A letter from Brigid Starkey of Catonsville, Maryland, in the Washington Post this week said, “My son proudly carried his grandfather’s name, Reza, as his middle name. Will this cost him opportunities or cause him embarrassment in the future? How about his friend Ali, a girl of Italian heritage whose nickname is short for Allensandra?” She wrote that every American of “ethnicity and faith” should see this as a wake up call. She noted that entry on the lists of potential suspects maintained in US security agency databases could occur simply because a person had a middle name such as Muhammad, a name as common as Mike or John. “We must end the witch-hunt that is ensnaring innocent people and trampling their rights. This is our America,” the correspondent wrote.
Posted by:Fred

#11  Adolf used to be a perfectly respectable German name. Things change.

Bingo, Baba Tutu! We'll know that things have changed enough when the most popular European baby name is no longer "Mohammed". The end point should be when the name "Osama" falls out of favor in the MME (Muslim Middle East).

Here's a tidy solution to the profiling problem. Have airlines provide flights where people are profiled according to country of origin, religious affiliation and names. Also provide flights where absolutely no profiling is allowed. Let the flying passenger pick their own option.

After 0.1% of the profiled flights are bombed compared to over 50% of the non-profiled flights, I think critics will STFU. Personally, I think that a total lack of booking on the non-profiled flights would quickly settle the matter.
Posted by: Zenster   2007-04-06 16:54  

#10  Was that Muhammad or MuHamhead?
Posted by: Icerigger   2007-04-06 16:48  

#9  Adolf used to be a perfectly respectable German name. Things change.
Posted by: Baba Tutu   2007-04-06 15:37  

#8  Well this sucks...
Posted by: Muhammad Muhammad Muhammad   2007-04-06 14:34  

#7  Anybody noticed that the article is fundamentally not true? The Daily Times of Pakistan is the basis for this assertion? No comments of citations from DHS, FBI or any American source. PLeeeeaaazzzze
Posted by: Just AboutEnough   2007-04-06 14:07  

#6  How about his friend Ali, a girl of Italian heritage whose nickname is short for Allensandra?

As long as it's not Allansandra, she'll probably be OK.
Posted by: Elmereter Hupash6222   2007-04-06 13:39  

#5  Hey lady, if you don't like it, change your name or screw yourself.
When you accept the fact that there is terrorism in the world that can strike anyone at any time, then you MUST accept the invasion of privacy which may be necessary to rid the world of that terrorism. In short, when the religion of blood and death is removed from the human experience, then all things may return to normal.
Posted by: wxjames   2007-04-06 11:47  

#4  This makes it sound like a bad thing.
Posted by: USN, Ret.   2007-04-06 11:32  

#3  My unofficial count shows one out of three terrorists carries the name Mohammed or a variant. Virtually 100% of terrorists are Muslim. Sound like pretty good profiling parameters to me.
Posted by: Glenmore   2007-04-06 07:21  

#2  Reza is a Persian name. In Sharh's Iran there were people who cahnged names from Arab to Persian ones as a mark of indiffernce/hostility toward Islam.
Posted by: JFM   2007-04-06 06:36  

#1  My son proudly carried his grandfatherÂ’s name, Reza, as his middle name. Will this cost him opportunities or cause him embarrassment in the future? How about his friend Ali, a girl of Italian heritage whose nickname is short for Allensandra?”

What about your son getting blown to pieces while traveling to meet his girlfriend?
Posted by: gromgoru   2007-04-06 01:51  

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