The Fiqh Council of North America — a body of Islamic scholars — issued a fatwa this week that says going through the airport scanners would violate Islamic rules on modesty.
“It is a violation of clear Islamic teachings that men or women be seen naked by other men and women,” reads the fatwa issued Tuesday. “Islam highly emphasizes haya (modesty) and considers it part of faith. The Qur’an has commanded the believers, both men and women, to cover their private parts.”
The decision could complicate efforts to intensify screening of potential terrorists who are Muslim. After the Christmas Day bombing attempt in Detroit by a Muslim suspect from Nigeria, some have called for the use of body scanners at airports to find explosives and other dangerous materials carried by terrorists. Some airports are now in the process of buying and using the body scanners, which show in graphic detail the outlines of a person’s body.
In the U.S., there are now forty scanners in nineteen airports and could be as many as 450 by the end of the year.
But certain Muslim groups say the scanners go against their religion. One option offered to passengers who don’t want to use the scanners would be a pat down by a security guard. All passengers, regardless of faith, may opt for the optional same sex pat down. The Muslim groups are urging members to undergo those instead.
The American policy is far more lenient than the one instituted by airports in Britain, where travellers who refuse to pass through the scanners can be barred from boarding.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations, says it endorses the fatwa.
“We support the Fiqh Council’s statement on full-body scanners and believe that the religious and privacy rights of passengers can be respected while maintaining safety and security,” said Nihad Awad, national executive director of CAIR.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) argues that it is committed to keeping passengers safe and insisted the scanners do not represent an invasion of privacy.
“The TSA’s mission is to keep the travelling public safe. Advanced imaging technologies are an important tool in a multi- layered security system to detect evolving threats such as improvised explosive devices,” said a spokesman.
“Use of these technologies includes strong protections in place to safeguard passenger privacy. Screening images are automatically deleted, and the officer viewing the image will never see the passenger.”
The TSA stressed that the body scanners are “optional to all passengers”.
Those who turn them down in the US “will receive equivalent screening that may include a physical pat-down, hand-wanding, and other technologies.”
“Physical pat-downs are performed by Transportation Security Officers of the same sex as the passenger in a private screening area, if the passenger requests.”
“Body scanners do not produce photos”, the agency added. Rather, the images “look like chalk outlines”.
Sources:
Niraj Warikoo, “Airport body scanners violate Islamic law, Muslims say”USA Today February 13, 2010
Micha J. Stone, “Religion: Islamic scholars forbid full-body scans for Muslims” Portland Humanist Examiner February 13, 2010
David Gardner, “Muslims warned not to go through airport body scanners because they violate Islamic rules on nudity” Daily Mail U.K. February 13, 2010