Please see my previous related posts here, here, here, here, here, here,  here and here.

The flying imams: Connecting the dots
Scott Johnson

Star Tribune columnist Katherine Kersten has not gotten the word from editor Anders Gyllenhaal that the story of the flying imams has played itself out. In an important column for tomorrow's paper, Kersten opens up some new avenues of investigation: "Suspicions about imams grow as terror links pile up."  ...

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Suspicion about imams grows as terror links pile up
Katherine Kersten

The grounded imams incident at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport has been a public relations coup for the imams, their supporters and their claims that the group's only suspicious activity was saying evening prayers.

US Airways continues to defend its crew's decision to pull the imams off a plane last month, saying they took the seating configuration used by 9/11 hijackers, requested seat-belt extensions that could be used as weapons and otherwise raised concerns.

Who are the parties involved here, who seem so interested in linking airport security with racial bigotry? ...

*** Update and bump. Original timestamp 2006.12.10.23:49

Imams seek to settle with airline
Audrey Hudson

A group of Muslim imams is seeking an out-of-court settlement with US Airways, saying they should not have been removed from a Minnesota-to-Phoenix flight last month and were not behaving suspiciously.

Five of the six Islamic religious leaders have retained the Council on American-Islamic Relations for legal representation and are seeking a "mutually agreeable" resolution, said Nihad Awad, CAIR executive director.

US Airways scheduled a meeting with the imams on Dec. 4 to discuss the incident, but the men canceled it and hired the activist group to act as legal counsel.

"With the hopes of reaching an amicable resolution to this matter, we would like to take this opportunity to ask for a formal meeting with US Airways executives and legal counsel," said Arsalan Iftikhar, CAIR's national legal director, in a letter to the airline. ...

The Washington Times first reported on Nov. 28 that the imams were not in their assigned seats, but seated in a formation similar to the September 11 hijackers and controlled the exits to the plane. The men also requested seat-belt extensions but did not appear to need them, and engaged in conversations critical of the United States, according to police reports and eyewitness statements.

The imams and CAIR officials maintain that press reports as well as Internet sites and blogs have circulated charges they say misrepresent the facts of the Nov. 20 incident.

"Unfortunately, the false claims and smears used against these religious leaders only serve to cloud the real issue involved, that of how national security can be maintained while preserving constitutionally protected freedoms and respect for religious diversity," said Mr. Awad.

CAIR says the men were handcuffed for several hours and is also demanding hearings on religious and ethnic profiling at airports.

Mr. Shahin told The Washington Times he was only handcuffed for "10 or 15 minutes" and that the imams were not led off the plane in handcuffs.

Federal air marshals and pilots called the imams' actions a probe of airport security as well as a probe of the politically correct mentality of air passengers. ...

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Shakedownmania! Airport imams looking to get paid?
Allahpundit

For the pain and hardship they suffered when their hijacker-ish behavior was thwarted.

Actually, the article doesn’t say that they’re asking for money, just something “mutually agreeable.”

This one’ll be fun.

The Washington Times first reported on Nov. 28 that the imams were not in their assigned seats, but seated in a formation similar to the September 11 hijackers and controlled the exits to the plane. The men also requested seat-belt extensions but did not appear to need them, and engaged in conversations critical of the United States, according to police reports and eyewitness statements…

An airline spokeswoman says they have received the request from CAIR for a meeting, as well as a meeting request from Rep.-elect Keith Ellison, Minnesota Democrat, the first Muslim elected to Congress, but no date has been set. ...

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Ed Morrissey has more here.

See also Richard Miniter here and Katherine Kersten here.

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Michelle Malkin and Dan Riehl have more

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Update 6.