CAIR - 40, Northwest Airlines - 0

As discussed here yesterday, CAIR-Michigan's Dawud Walid and Imam al Qazwini have taken a principled stand that, when Pilgrims returning from the Hajj show up late for an international flight, hadn't checked in, and lack boarding passes, it is anti-Muslim profiling to refuse to hold up a planeload of passengers while getting it all sorted out. CAIR and Qazwini demanded compensation and an apology.

Northwest Airlines, which 24 hours ago had taken the perfectly correct stance of denying any wrongdoing, has today collapsed, apologized, and made an open-ended offer of compensation, thus restoring my low opinion of that organization. More important, it snatched a defeat for the airline industry, (and airline security), from the jaws of victory already won by USAir when they stood up to the 6 imams in Minnesota.

Northwest spokesman Dean Breest continues to state that Northwest did nothing wrong, but unfortunately that statement comes attached to the airline's sincerely apologizing for any inconvenience. Only the apology matters now. That, and the offer of compensation. Only $150 a piece for the transfer fees for catching late flights home, but the amount doesn't matter.

According to the Detroit News, because the 40 passengers were late, allowing them to board would have meant delaying the flight, and "the complications encountered were so significant that the flight would have been delayed for too long -- complicating scheduled departures as well as other connecting flights at Detroit Metropolitan Airport." This is only common sense.

Rather than inconvenience hundreds if not thousands of other passengers on connecting flights, (many of them other Muslims trying to get home from the Hajj, including all the Muslims already on the Frankfurt plane), it's better to require the 40 tardy passengers to catch a later flight. Andrea Newman, a senior VP at Northwest, is hoping that CAIR will be more understanding. "We try very hard to make sure that everyone is treated the same, and this is an important community to Northwest, as are all communities." She must not be familiar with CAIR. This isn't about being treated the same. It's about being treated better.

One of the world's largest airlines has just signaled CAIR and every other aggressive opportunist Islamic organization that reverse profiling--special disregard of the rules for Middle-Eastern looking passengers--is now company policy, enforceable at the cost of apologies and financial compensation.

No one really believes this has anything to do with profiling, starting with Imam Qazwini. It has to do with successfully winning special rights for Muslims.

It is one of the smaller injustices of life: you find yourself strapped into your seat, after obediently arriving at the airport 2 hours early, and only finally allowed to board your plane after an unexplained delay, now to find yourself and your fellow passengers sitting on the runway going nowhere for 45 minutes. You probably are all waiting for the arrival of an extremely late passenger, who somehow was granted a flight delay. Next time that happens to you, try to get a look when the straggler finally comes aboard. If he is dressed in Islamic clerical robes and wearing a satisfied smile, say hello to Imam Qazwini.