Yusuf Islam & no fly list

[Om_Mohammed]

Assalaamu alaikum.

I am sure by now that most reading this already have heard of Yusuf Islam's deportation from the US. It is not much of a 'news' item anymore.

But I noticed an article which reported this incident, that apparently he (Yusuf Islam) was placed on a US 'no fly' list. In other words, a warning list to immigration officers of the US as to which individuals were not permitted entrance into the US.

Does anyone know where one can view this list? Is it possible for public to view this list??

Om Mohammed.

[tbahrain]

Wa alaikumsalam.

The 'no-fly' list is kept confidential. Not even the airlines have access to it. There is a legal action pending on the legality of the liist. Perhaps the article below will help.

Wassalam.

Here, in question and answer form, is a look at the government's watch lists.

Q: How does the government keep known terrorists off commercial airliners?

A: At the check-in counter, airline employees check passenger names against a "no-fly" list and an "automatic selectee" list, which flags them for extra screening.

Q: What's the difference?

A: The no-fly list includes names of people who are deemed a direct threat to aviation. The selectee list includes names of people who need extra attention from security, because of intelligence information. People on the no-fly list aren't allowed to board planes.

Q: Do airlines check names against terrorist watch lists?

A: No, because the government is reluctant to share classified information with private companies or foreign countries.

Q: How many names are on the lists?

A: The Homeland Security Department won't say, but says the lists have been greatly expanded since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Estimates range from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands.

Q: Does anyone check passenger names against terrorist watch lists?

A: Yes, for international flights into the United States. Fifteen minutes after a plane takes off, airlines transmit passenger data to the Customs Service's National Targeting Center.

Q: What kind of passenger data?

A: Passport information - name, passport number, country of issuance and birthdate - and passenger name records. The amount of information in passenger name records varies by person and airline. It generally includes name, address, flight details, seat location and form of payment. It can also include itinerary for an entire trip, travel agent, credit card number and meal preference.

Under an agreement with the European Union, certain data elements are filtered out, such as meal preference.

Q: What does the National Targeting Center do with the names on flights from overseas?

A: Law enforcement officials use various computer programs to compare the passenger data with names on lists, including lists of terrorists, wanted criminals and people who've violated immigration laws.

Q: What happens if someone on the no-fly list is on a flight?

A: The response includes diverting the plane to another airport or forbidding the plane to enter U.S. airspace. Law enforcement officials meet suspects upon landing and interview them.

Q: How do people get on the list?

A: The Transportation Security Administration compiles the lists based on information from other federal agencies.

Q: How do people find out how they got on the list?

A: They don't.

Q: How do people get off the list if they feel they've been mistakenly tagged as a terrorist?

A: They can clear up confusion if they think they've been mistaken for someone else on the list by calling the TSA's consumer response center at 866-289-9673 and finding out what the procedures are. To remove someone from the list, the TSA consults with the agencies that supplied the information.

Q: Why was Islam allowed on the plane?

A: United Airlines and the government are investigating. But some airlines have old reservation systems that only include part of a person's name. Sometimes names, especially Arabic ones, are spelled several different ways and don't match the names on the lists. It wasn't until Islam's passenger data was forwarded to the National Targeting Center that trained law enforcement officials identified him.

Q: Shouldn't the government be checking passenger names against all the lists?

A: That's what the Homeland Security Department and the Sept. 11 commission say. The department on Tuesday announced a plan to check the passenger name records of people on domestic flights against watch lists.

Q: Why hasn't that been done already?

A: Privacy advocates, both liberal and conservative, have blocked a similar plan. They were concerned about the government having access to large amounts of personal information about people. They question whether the Homeland Security Department has a strong enough commitment to a system for allowing innocent people to get off the lists. They're concerned about lists that are developed in secrecy and could be used to target people with politically unpopular positions.

[Om_Mohammed]

Assalaamu alaikum.

Thankyou for the informative questionaire.

Guess it makes sense that they would not release this list for public knowledge.

Om Mohammed.

[Tayeb]

Wa-alikum-as-salaam:

I have an ironic remark. If Yusuf Islam wasn't so famous perhaps he'd been detained and kidnapped to Guantanamo or elsewhere.

How many Muslims are in these secret prisons?

And where are the so-called humanitarian organisations?

I took the trouble to talk to some of them including Amnesty International and they seemd to ashamed and impotent, because after all the fact is that they respond to their master sponsors, and you know who they are. So much for democratic West!

M'aa-salaama,

[lubna]

Assalamoalykum all
and i have to make yet another ironic remark i.e since yousaf islam is so famous that is why he is used as a 'lesson' to other muslims!

so how many of us will take heed and stop being the 'muslim' !! as xioncrow already made a remark about him resembling a muslim and the fate of yousaf islam!

alhumdulillah muslims with true eemaan set in their heart will not be scared a bit after reading the news like this.....as Allah says their eemaan only increases with the threat of hardships facing them in the way of Allah.the sheer strength of their faith is their precious comodity. as the famous poet Alllama Iqbal said in ( urdu language ),

yaqeen mohkam, amal paiham, mohabbat fatehe alam
jihade zindagani main hain yeh mardon ki shamsheerain

meaning,
these are the swords of the men in the jihad of life
strong belief,constant work and love of the conquerer of the world(muhammad saw)


as for amnesty international.....well at least they are 'peacefully' quite about it!! arent they taking part in keeping the peace by not doing anything at all let alone 'violent'....silence is peacefull isnt it?
you know we muslims have to learn a lot about 'peace'.... ;)
sorry in advance if my sarcasm hurts any member of emnesty international present here or anywhere else ,as their silence hurts me too.... infact both of my cheeks are hurting and luckily i dont have a 3rd cheek ....

wassalam wr wb
lubna