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March 14th, 2011
04:17 PM ET
Prayers spark scare on airplaneBy Eric Marrapodi, CNN Belief Blog Co-Editor On Sunday, three Orthodox Jewish businessmen triggered fears on a flight from Mexico City to Los Angeles. Passengers on Alaska Airlines Flight 241 became alarmed when the three men began to pray out loud. "Shortly after takeoff ... three passengers were praying out loud in a language other than Spanish," according to an airline spokeswoman. "They had something that appeared to the flight attendants to be strapped under their clothing," the spokeswoman said. "The flight attendants alerted the flight deck, who in turn alerted the tower at LAX. Law enforcement met the plane upon arrival." During weekday prayers, some Orthodox Jewish men wear teflillin, or phylacteries - black leather straps wrapped around the left arm and around the forehead. The straps are connected to small boxes with tiny scrolls containing Jewish scriptures. Many Orthodox Jewish men also wear a prayer shawl called a tallit under their clothes, with knotted fringes at each of the four corners. The airline spokeswoman said she was unaware if the men were wearing either of these traditional items. When the planed landed at LAX it was greeted by members of airport police, the FBI and Customs and Border Protection. According to FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller, the men were questioned and their baggage was searched before they were cleared to go. "The men were extremely cooperative," Eimiller said. Airport police Sgt. Belinda Nettles told CNN there was never any threat to passenger or aircraft safety. CNN's Carol Cratty and Nick Valencia contributed to this report.
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The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.  |
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Bible didn't predict airplanes, therefore airplanes are a figment of our imagination.
Shut UUUUUUUUUP ALREADY. What shmuck hasn't seen an orthodox Jew strap up and pray? I've seen it dozens, maybe hundreds of times. I see Israeli soldiers strapped up praying on top of tanks. What idiots are these pilots?
As per orthodox jewish law, tefilin and a prayer shawl must be worn during morning prayers. Morning prayers need to be said anywhere starting from sunrise until approximately 4 hours later. Many longer morning flights, depending on departure and arrival times force Jews to pray on the aircraft. Most prefer to pray before or after the flight when possible.
God protects Israel because of His immovable covenant in His own Word. Other nations and empires are simply mere backgrounds comparing to her. Those who hate her are altogether foolish and self-destructive.
It would neither hard nor impossible for terrorists to cloth like Jew, like a wolf in a sheep clothing.
This matter must not be taken lightly, this could be a dry-run for a possible (massive) terrorists attack(s).
A dry run? Of what!?! They did nothing but pray! Sure, to you they would've looked and sounded funny, but they were not threatening anyone and I'm sure any religious scripture box would have been screened before boarding just as all other luggage/bags are.
Why would terrorists have to pose as orthodox jews? I am really not following your train of thought.
Prayer is a nonthreatening religious practice, regardless of the faith. AND if you don't believe in their God, you should feel even less threatened because to you it is just an empty ritual.
Well despite the wild hyperbole I will respond. Would it be an act of terror if someone who actually believed there was a fire shouted "fire" in a theater? If these men didn't mean to cause a panic by praying then we can hardly call them terrorists
Once, I saw a group of Christian Evangelicals praying as a group on a plane. In jesus' name.
No one paid attention. Or, actually, everyone else deliberately did not want to disturb them.
Didn't this happen already?
What a pitiful discourse this is.
The low level of intelligence and compassion displayed by so many in these postings break my heart. This is not the America I know. Go back to the song Frank Sinatra sang "What is America To Me?". Until we respect each other, we cannot command the respect of the world. Indeed, we do not deserve it.
Thank you, Drew! It's good to see there are still intelligent people in this country.
I have to say that I saw this same ritual on an overseas flight to Germany where these jewish men stood up with these leather bands wrapped around their wrists and what looked like blocks on their heads. I awoke out of a dead sleep to see this going on in the plane. I was EXTREMELY uncomfortable with it. I think if this is going to happen, they should do it in one area of the plane and other people should be notified ahead of time that a religious ritual is going to take place. I'm tolerant of other religons, but they need to be tolerant of my space too.
When people come to share a plane or public place they should try to be a human being first, instead of
a show case religious person. Their first priority should be not to cause inconvenience to others, no matter how religious the person is. If he or she doesn't care about others, i have no respect for Jews of whoever they are.
feeling a bit anti... semitic are we
How is it disrespectful to others to pray?
Talking loudly is considered to be rude unless one needs the extra volume to communicate properly.
If your deity is not hearing you, maybe your deity is deaf or suffers from some sort of hearing loss.
Please get your deity's hearing checked right away. It might be a sign of a more serious condition, such as non-existence.
It is insensitive to pray in the tight, constrictive spaces where people are already on edge with the thoughts of terrorism in their minds. Terrorists prayed quite loudly before following through as far as I know ("Allahu Akbar", for example), so it would not be unreasonable for the less informed to feel uneasy. Perhaps instead they should have used common sense and consideration before praying within an environment of heightened sense of security in which religious fanaticism has claimed human lives.
I am an Orthodox Jew. I have prayed many times on planes with my tefilin on and have never had a problem. I can't understand how anyone would confuse prayer with an attempt to blow up an airplane. It just makes no sense. By the way, when I do pray on an airplane, I try to explain to my seatmate what I am doing so as to not to cause any undue discomfort. Especially important because a Jew may not converse during prayer.
I wouldn't think there should be any confusion if someone realized that the person praying is Jewish. However, I can see how someone could think that someone praying in Arabic on a plane may intent to do something. It's a very unfortunate reality that many are nervous now because of past events....and I believe that in some terrorist cases the name of Allah was shouted or spoken before the act, which provides that connection of Islam (and possibly an Islamic prayer).
Imagine no religion. It's easy if you try.
yikes. and i thought snakes on a plane was bad.
Without money or religion as a cause, how many wars would there have been?
@ Brent
Well none, because the pursuit of money, more broadly understood as Materialism, and religion, the belief in the Immaterial, is really all there is.
How is it that international airline personnel are unable to identify Orthodox Jews carrying out the normal practices of their faith? A similar "scare" happened not so long ago, and another airline promised to educate their personnel. Come on, people.
Good point. And it seems that they would have some idea as to what Orthodox Jews typically wear, etc. I was even thinking that people should be able to decipher prayers in Hebrew from prayers in Arabic!
This whole discussion proves that religion is at the heart of the world's problems. One sect attacks another. They all attach "non-believers".
Saying religion is the problem is like saying we should cut down all trees because a tree fell on a house during a storm once. There are just as many lunatic atheists as there are lunatic believers!
. . . and I'll get your little dog too !
Hitler and Stalin were both nonbelievers who sought to eliminate many religious sects. Together, they probably killed more than believers ever have. I would expect a Materialist to possess a greater knowledge of history
good points. Thanks for taking this on. OK, I was a little over the top, but it seems like a lot of issues are purely religion based. Examples of crazies are good, but these guys often became a religion unto themselves. I guess the lesson is belief in something that is not logic based.
Again, thanks for the comments. They point out how we need to discuss issues.
Thank you for your civility as well. You are right that even Atheist figures like Hitler and Stalin became cults in and of themselves; I guess maybe this shows us how easily Materialism and Religion can blend, and how dangerous that combination can be? Really nice/refreshing to have a reasonable back and forth like this
The problem is mental illness. It is mental illness that is the cause of so many murders throughout history.
Since religions are delusional, they can be included under the "mental illness" label along with tyrants, dictators and other forms of mass delusion.
Those mass murderers could not have done it without help. Delusions get people crazy and then they might kill or not depending on what sort of things they are thinking about.
That's where we see murder being commanded by a religion's "holy words" of their god.
Hey, in the old days it was considered very okay to wipe out an enemy. Now we are trying to move past that, but religion has it's hooks in a majority of the world's population. Anger will find a focus, a target regardless of the actual causes involved.
Try solving the world's mental health problems. You don't like how other people behave? Who's being the mentally ill person and who is not? Tolerance is not always a good thing for individuals or for any particular group.
Religion is not a good thing unless you keep it in it's protective box and never use it to attack people.
If you worship an invisible god, you'd better damn well keep your religion invisible as well and quit using it as a justification for every evil thing you do to other people. Keep it in your pants and we can all get along.
@ random human comment 23033945X
Well I agree with what you are saying, but how are any of us supposed to know if we the "mentally ill" ones or not? Since our experiences are subjective, it seems unlikely that through these experiences we could discern any standard of Truth
(crickets)
...If you refuse to do anything about it, it will only get worse.
Those poor men were a bit on the uninformed side!
Duh, after 9-11, you can't go on an airplane and do religious chants/mantras out loud without expecting to be noticed.
What were they thinking?
I am buddhist. When I travel, I hide my prayer beads and make no show of any kind pertaining to religion.
They got the slap on the wrists they deserved as a wake up call to the real world, which is very very skiddish about people practicing foreign religions on an airplane in public.
"FOREIGN RELIGIONS"?
#1 The word is skittish.
#2 The men were fully cooperative
#3 A wise man once said practicing one's religion should not be based on where you are, what time of day or who is around you. It should only be based on what you belief. They were doing nothing wrong.
Too bad noone here is well-versed in tibetan buddhism. It makes christianity look kinda dumb, even though it isn't.
Just don't bad rap my buddha. Please separate tibetan buddhism from other religions. Buddha doesn't want your praise, your money, or your morals...he said to analyze what he said and see if it feels right, if not, find another teacher...he just says be aware and compassionate, and if you're not, you will suffer.
And remember, all you nonbelievers, be sure to doubt your own non-belief and study it's history. Why? Cuz you are a newbie! Only since the dark ages have men been cut off from the heavens (spirit) and earth (mother). You guys are the canaries in the coal mine.
Even the buddha said a lack of faith is one of the three chief poisons: ignorance.
I say you guys are amazing! You have faith in no faith! That takes a lot faith! Really!
I know this will draw criticism, but I say if it weren't for all the faithful people of all good religions doing good acts, helping the poor, clothing drives, and on and on, this world would be in a lot worse shape than if just your average aetheist were in charge of helping those who suffer.
Did you know nearly every charitable organization in this country is christian-based?
Don't slam christians until you help the planet as much as they have.
Nice job skimming over the fact that the "dark ages" you talked about were caused due to religion. I have nothing against religions, but assuming that all atheists are callous and cold hearted is pretty damn stupid.
I've met plenty of Buddhists and been surprised at how open and accepting they are. But I guess there is exceptions to everything.
I like a lot of what you said, but Christianity is misleading at best. Of the top 27 charities in the world (most of which are in the U.S.), only 2 are Christian based.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wealthiest_foundations
@ Liam
Have you considered that we may be in a different type of Dark Age right now? I for one observe a lot of emptiness in the modern world, and I think Materialism is largely to blame for this. Religion gives some lucky people meaning in their lives and I think SOME atheists are unwise to discount it so casually
"...nearly every charitable organization in this country is Christian-based?" REALLY???? Cite your statistics, please.
And are you going by sheer numbers of organizations, counting each storefront church as a separate organization, etc., or do you have a valid source for this info? Does amount of money distributed or applied towards the cause factor in, or does the Westbor Baptist Church count just the same as, say, United Way?
Did you say "nearly every charitable organization in this country is christian-based?"....what planet are you on?
Open your eyes, do some research, then talk.
Alan, Why is it you think you are so right? Really, God? Buddha, Mohammed (I'd draw a picture if I could" Jesus, whatever....Bet case is there may be a god that created this universe, but it has nothing to do with any of that. How may highly intellectual people believe in god. Have you seen the faces and IQ's of the most relgious people....look att the Deep South, Look at the brainwashed kids in the Madrassaas with an IQ approaching 90 at best, God is there to control you from going agianst the system of those ho control the fiancial markets...every king need the bishops to reaign in the masses. And Christians have done what to save the world without expecting something in return (not a "Jesus/Ghandi-like" character trait IMO). They do it beacuse their "Good Book" tells them to bring in more Sheeple to be brainwashed to keep their cult alive....
So, you're saying atheists can not be or are not compassionate? I suppose the Crusades and Inquisitions were born out of compassion. Witch hunts too... Fire and brimstone....wahoo.
When the rest of us can't bring a bottle of shampoo onto an airplane, does it make sense that someone wearing funny clothes and chanting religious slogans should bring on a "teflillin"? I mean, how hard would it be for a Muslim to pretend to be a Jew and become the "teflillin bomber"? Their god would probably be amused by the irony.
It's the same god.
I also just wanted to say that I'm really stupid.
Well of course the tefililin would be (and probably was in this case) searched before boarding. If it wasn't found to contain explosives then what is the problem. BTW I agree the the restrictions on liquids are a little absurd
mike, the jewish God and the m..lim god are so not the same. one is the "moon" god and the jewish God is the creator God. see? different.
Dave had a valid point, (except the stereotypical remarks) "it would not be hard for" terrorists to pretend to be a Jew and become the "teflillin bomber".
This incident must not be taken lightly, this could be a dry-run for a possible (massive) terrorist attacks.
All Religion should be banned from air flight. Anyone praying should be immediately ejected to heaven. We should build prayer seats designed for this purpose to more quickly and securely deliver the religous to their gods..
bman, I loved your comment. lmao. so true. now I just wish, we could have those prayer chair everywhere on earth.
bman
All Religion should be banned from air flight. Anyone praying should be immediately ejected to heaven. We should build prayer seats designed for this purpose to more quickly and securely deliver the religous to their gods..
@bman...who ejected you from the foxhole? You should stay there where you are rightfully belong.
CHARD - I have heard and seen these comments about "Muslims" praying to a "moon god". Where are you guys getting this? I am a scholar of Islam, the Middle East, Arab culture, and this is not something I've ever come across. Muslims pray to the God of Adam and Eve, the God of Abraham , Isaac, Ishamel, Hagar, the God of Moses, David, Soloman, and they even believe in the VIRGIN birth of Jesus by the blessed Mary. So, where are you getting this BS from? Please, read for yourself from original scholarly sources that are readily available. Stop being part of the lie, stop being part of the problem, and for once in your live be part of the solution.
I pray everytime that I'm on a plane when it's taking off. However, I close my eyes and pray silently. Why these guys can't keep it to themselves and not freak out everyone on the plane is beyond comprehension. People have been jumpy on planes since 9/11.
And don't forget to bring Chard and the rest of those who love you there. It would be a great time for you to party inside that foxhole.
Uuummm A teflillin is usually smaller than a quarter. Nothing will fit in it other than a tiny (very tiny) scroll. And I can tell you as someone who lives in a neighborhood that is Orthodox Jewish you cannot mistake their clothing for anything other than clothing. This flight attendant was obviously ignorant and closed minded.
It is a fair question that makes sense. but to generalize ur logic on all moslims, is not fair. just last week the moslim congress man warned american people from this sick logic. moslems are human beings like the jews and like christians in usa and in the whole World. every religion has its ups and downs. there are radical moslims, radical jews and radical christians. Terrorism comes from all those crazy radicals. it is unfair to generalize ur logic on all moslims. In case u do not know, Islam means Peace!