Human Lives Human Rights: Even after the 20 years have passed since the Sept. 11 terror attacks, for those who live at the intersection of anti-Blackness and Islamophobia in America, life is very difficult.
On the anniversary of 9/11 attacks, a white woman was arrested for allegedly attacking and verbally harassing an African-American Muslim woman during a flight on Saturday, according to a report from the Detroit Free Press.
The alleged victim, Aicha Toure, was traveling on Spirit Airlines Flight 3807, from Detroit to Atlanta, when the woman reportedly grew violent and began calling her a “Muslim terrorist.”
When the white woman noticed that Toure and other passengers were recording her, she allegedly threw a punch at Toure and was arrested by the Wayne County Airport Authority Police Department.
Now the Muslim civil rights organization is urging Wayne County authorities to bring hate-crime charges against the woman who verbally berated an African-American Muslim woman.
In a statement on behalf of the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Dawud Walid, executive director, called for the suspect to be “charged to the full extent of the law.”
He added that “Swift arrests along with strong prosecutions must be instituted to deter future acts of anti-Muslim hate crimes.”
This attack is not the first of its kind, the incident, on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks, is one of many that Muslim Americans — especially in Detroit — have reported against them in the past two decades.
Meanwhile, the Spirit Airlines responded by saying the airline seeks to make its guests “feel safe, welcome and respected,” and does not “tolerate discrimination or harassment of any kind.” It confirmed a passenger “chose to use appalling language … and she is no longer welcome on any of our flights.”
Amy Doukoure, a CAIR-MI attorney, said about the incident: “The alleged actions of this individual are reprehensible and she clearly targeted religious and racial minorities for her violent words and actions.
