Arabic Text On T-Shirt May Cause Delays

Aug 9th 2007
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Apparently Arabic text on a t-shirt in an airport is equivalent to wearing one saying “i am a bank robber” in a bank. It seems that this t-shirt that says “we will not be silent” and includes an English translation right underneath was deemed a security threat.

The American Civil Liberties Union and New York Civil Liberties Union today filed a federal civil rights lawsuit charging that a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) official and JetBlue Airways illegally discriminated against an American resident based solely on the Arabic message on his t-shirt and his ethnicity.

JetBlue and the TSA official, identified as “Inspector Harris,” would not let Raed Jarrar board his flight at John F. Kennedy Airport until he agreed to cover his t-shirt, which read “We Will Not Be Silent” in English and Arabic script.

According to the complaint, Harris told Jarrar that it is impermissible to wear an Arabic shirt to an airport and equated it to a “person wearing a t-shirt at a bank stating, ‘I am a robber.’”

You can buy the t-shirt from goodstorm here.

Hat tip to Wonkette

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