E-Paper
How invitees are frisked in the US
THE PERSPECTIVE of US Government in particular and Americans in general towards the entire Muslim community has changed post-9/11. US firmly believes there is Muslim involvement in every terrorist attack, says Mohd Noor Rizvi, B Sc II-year student of Shia PG College, who returned to the city recently after attending a six-week study tour to US.
THE PERSPECTIVE of US Government in particular and Americans in general towards the entire Muslim community has changed post-9/11. US firmly believes there is Muslim involvement in every terrorist attack, says Mohd Noor Rizvi, B Sc II-year student of Shia PG College, who returned to the city recently after attending a six-week study tour to US.
Though Noor and six other Indians (including five Muslims) visited the US as part of an exchange programme, he and other Muslim members of the Indian contingent were thoroughly frisked at the airport and were only allowed to enter US after exhaustive three hours long interrogation by the US security personnel. Undoubtedly, Americans now looks at Muslim with suspicion.
He said: “Despite the fact that the US agency had collected every relevant information about our background prior to our selection, they bombarded us afresh with questions like why we had come to US; what we would be doing there, etc. At the time of selection we were told by the agency that for the sake of national security, US security personnel would frisk us.”
During his stay, Noor attended a seminar on ‘global war against terrorism’. A number of US military men and professors from different universities took part in the seminar and discussed threadbare issues concerning terrorism. There too the general perception was that terrorism and Islamic organisations were two sides of the same coin. “Here I got an opportunity to register my protest,” he adds.
Noor said: “During the question-answer session, I popped one question at them which silenced all. The question was: US had declared Osama bin Laden an international terrorist after he killed 2,500 innocent people on 9/11. So, why was Mr George W Bush, who killed 15,000 innocent people in Afghanistan and Iraq, not declared the most wanted international terrorist?”
Talking to media persons, the B Sc II student said such has been the situation in US that many Muslim families settled there have been compelled to migrate from there and settle elsewhere.
He said, “I met one Pakistani Muslim family at US who are packing their bags to return to their motherland.”
Fortunately, Indians are better off. The people of the US respect the Indian culture and love Indians. During his stay, Noor visited the White House, residence of the US President, the Senate, the United Nations Headquarters (New York), Ground Zero, New York Times office, MTV studio and several other places of significance.
Talking about the university system there, he said: “They too have student unions. But unlike here, their student leader discusses international issues.” Noor described his interaction with faculty members of Dickinson College, Pennsylvania and other universities as “extremely fruitful”. After Noor, it is a teacher from the college who is getting ready to undertake a study tour,” said Principal MS Naqvi.
