Racist Virgin Atlantic Airways rewards Hindu passengers, denies discounts to Indias Muslim passengers ********************************************** The aviation industry worldwide has a history of racism against Muslims. And, this time it has once again proved to be true. UK-based airline Virgin Atlantic Airways has decided to attract Hindu passengers named after Bollywood film stars in a big way by offering discounts on air tickets. According to media reports the passengers who are named after 12 Hindu Bollywood stars such as Sonia, Rohit, Kiran, Rahul, Priya, Arjun, Pooja, Vijay, Tina, Anthony, Simran and Karan are eligible for discounts. The airline decided to extend its discount offerings to Hindu passengers named after Bollywood film stars this year once again. Media reports quoting Stephen King, General Manager, Virgin Atlantic Airways – India, said that over 1,000 passengers bearing Hindu film star names were shortlisted and provided discounts last year. This summer the airline is looking forward to carry even more passengers with similar Hindu-sounding names. Virgin Atlantic Airways has launched ‘Feel like a Star campaign’ and is offering 5 percent discount in Economy Class and 10 percent discount in Premium Economy Class. The discounts can be claimed by Hindu passengers on the basis of their name itself. The airline launched the discount offer under this scheme on March 18. The booking should be made by up till April 17. The travel period on this offer is till July 31. The airline is currently operating nonstop flights between Mumbai and Delhi to London and onward to the United States. Offering discounts by different international airlines is a normal practice, particularly during a lean season like March-April on Indian routes. But, the way in which Virgin Atlantic Airways has launched this ‘innovative’ offer smacks of Islamophobia and utter hatred against Indian Muslims. Apart from Hindu film stars, Bollywood also has popular Muslim stars such as Aamir Khan, Salman Khan, Shahrukh Khan, Arbaaz Khan, Sohail Khan, Imran Khan, Farhan Akhtar, Saif Ali Khan, Soha Ali Khan, Zoya Akhtar, Shabana Azmi, Arshad Warsi, Naseeruddin Shah, Raza Murad, Javed Jafferey and Irfan Khan. But it seems that the British airline displaying its racist streak remarkably has again decided to overlook Muslim Bollywood stars and chose not to offer discount to Muslim passengers after the name of these stars similarly as is being done in the case of Hindu film stars. Past Racial Discrimination Racism against Muslims is not something new, and it’s a worldwide phenomenon. But this problem is severe in Britain, and all things British, as it is being shown by British tycoon Richard Branson-owned Virgin Atlantic Airways. If it isn’t racism, then after all what it is? Here’s how racism against Muslims has taken place in the aviation industry in its different manifestations. According to a report published in CNN (20th December 2011), two U.S. based Islamic religious leaders — Masudur Rahman and Mohamed Zaghloul — hailing from Tennessee filed a lawsuit and sued Delta Air Lines and Atlantic Southeast Airlines for discriminated against them and barring from boarding their flights in May 2011. The two persons were Imams in mosques. They claimed that the airlines refused to allow them on the aircrafts because of their traditional Muslim attire donning religious garb and headgear. This incident took place on May 6 when they were headed from Memphis to Charlotte for attending a conference on anti-Muslim bigotry. Take a look at yet another classic example of racist behavior against Muslims in the UK. A Muslim airport worker was refused a job interview by Cathay Pacific Airways simply because he was a Muslim. According to a report in Daily Mail (19th February 2011), Algerian-born Salim Zakhrouf, aged 38, who is UK citizen and had lived in the country since 1991, was sent an email saying that he was not selected for the interview. However, the same person applied for the same job only two days after receiving email using a fake British-sounding name ‘Ian Woodhouse’ with an identical CV and home address, and he was promptly called for the interview by the same personnel officer who had first refused him. He, however, declined to attend the interview saying that he wanted to make a point that Muslims were discriminated against. He also called his union, Unite, which took the case to an employment tribunal charging Cathay Pacific Airways of racial discrimination. How can one ignore these instances of racial discrimination against Muslims when it continues to happen year after year? In yet another incident of Islamophobia, New Zealand First MP Richard Prosser called to ban young Muslims from flights. The incident was reported by New Zealand Herald (12th February 2013). Prosser was quoted as saying that young Muslims shouldn’t be allowed to travel on Western airlines because ‘most terrorists are Muslims”. He commented: “If you are a young male, aged between say about 19 and about 35, and you’re a Muslim, or you look like a Muslim, or you come from a Muslim country, then you are not welcome to travel on any of the West’s airlines.” Ways to tackle Racial Discrimination There are many ways to tackle racial discrimination and Islamophobia. Terrorism or violent retaliation are simply not the answers. If Muslim Indian passengers are not welcome by Virgin Atlantic Airways, then the best way is to boycott flying with the airline and seek other cheaper options. Surely, Virgin Atlantic Airways is not the only airline, and there are many that can be explored. Giving a bodyblow to airline’s finances is the only way to make it realize the importance of Muslim passengers. In the present case, Hindu passengers bearing Hindu Bollywood film actors name are strictly not at fault, and therefore the retaliation should not be misplaced or directed against them in any manner whatsoever. The airline needs to be penalized for its racial discrimination or else it should make amends and change its behavior vis-a-vis Muslim passengers. Another effective way of tackling Islamophobia is to sensitize people like Richard Prosser for whom most Muslims are terrorists. This could only be done by spreading the true message of Islam, increasing the pace of interfaith dialogs world over, strengthening human bonds and values, and completely isolating religious extremists in all religions. Muslims after all deserve to be honored human beings and the world a better place to live in.
Posted on: Wed, 26 Mar 2014 11:12:49 +0000
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