Washington, February 16: Muslim scholars have criticized the use of body scanners for security in US airports as a violation of religious teachings on decency not only in Islam but in all faiths, asserting that officials need to be educated on respecting people’s religious convictions.
“The scanners are un-Islamic and against decency,” Sheikh Ali Suleiman Ali, a member of the Fiqh Council of North America (FCNA), told.
The FCNA, based in Indiana, has issued a statement against Full Body Security Scanners on the ground of violating Islamic teachings that men or women be seen naked by other men and women.
The scanners, also known as nude-body scanners, have been installed in airports after the December 25 foiled plane bombing attempt by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a Nigerian Muslim.
“A general and public use of such scanners is against the teachings of Islam, natural law and all religions and cultures that stand for decency and modesty,” said the FCNA.
“The fatwa basically reiterates the fact that privacy and guarding the private parts should not be violated other than in terms of necessity,” stressed Dr Ihsan Bagby, a member of FCNA Executive Council.
“These screening devices show the private parts of both men and women.”
FCNA advised Muslims to insist on having alternatives of nude body scanning like the patting down search.
“Muslims won’t have a problem to the pat-down search,” said Sheikh Ali, also the imam of the Canton Mosque.
He insisted that it is not only Muslims who have spoken out against the controversial body scanners.
“We know that Christian and Jewish groups do not approve this too.”
The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), a grassroots civil rights Muslim group, has thrown its weight behind the FCNA fatwa.
Balance
“It is our responsibility to reach out to US officials and educate them on the matter,” Dr. Bagby told.
The scholars asserted that American Muslims, estimated at nearly 7 million, fully support any necessary measures for the safety and protection of all passengers. “We are not against security,” insisted Imam Ali, the FCNA member.
“We are concerned about the security and safety of human beings, but this is not in the way.”
He noted that US officials are not aware of the severity of the issue for Muslims and other religious groups.
“They need to be educated about that. We need to educate them.”
Imam Ali believes that officials should understand the urgency of finding other alternatives for body scanning that does not jeopardize people’s morality.
“We wish the government takes this seriously. This has to do with ethics and dignity of human beings.”
Dr. Begby, a prominent African American convert and a professor of Islamic Studies at Kentucky University, agrees.
He believes officials are likely unaware of the high emotions Muslims have regarding the body scanning issue.
“It is a major religious concern and not a matter of inconvenience for Muslims.”
He insists that moves like the FCNA fatwa are not about heaping criticism or being misdemeanant, but rather about education.
“The fatwa is to make officials notice that this is a very serious religious issue. It is our responsibility to reach out to US officials and educate them on the matter.”
-Agencies