Full-body scans decried by scholars as contrary to Islam
By Herald wire services
Sunday, March 7, 2010
DETROIT - A group of Muslim-American scholars has issued a religious ruling that calls upon the faithful to not go through body scanners because the scholars say the machines violate Islamic rules on nudity.
A growing number of body scanners, 450 more of them this year, are to be introduced in airports in Michigan and across the United States, say Transportation Security Administration officials.
Their increased use - several go online at Logan International Airport tomorrow - comes after the Dec. 25 bombing attempt on an airliner over Detroit, heightening fears of terrorism. The suspect in the failed bombing is a Nigerian Muslim.
The Fiqh Council of North America, based in Indiana, said the scanners contravene Islamic law, which is grounded in the Koran. The council consists of an executive council and 10 scholars.
“It is a violation of clear Islamic teachings that men or women be seen naked by other men and women,” reads the order, called a fatwa. “Islam highly emphasizes haya (modesty) and considers it part of faith. The (Koran) has commanded the believers, both men and women, to cover their private parts.”
In a statement late Thursday, the TSA said it is committed to keeping passengers safe and protecting privacy. “Screening images are automatically deleted, and the officer viewing the image will never see the passenger,” the agency said.
The suspect in the Dec. 25 attempt, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, is accused of hiding explosive chemicals in his underwear. Since then, some have called for body scanners at airports to find dangerous materials on passengers. Critics say the scanners show details of the outlines of a person’s body.
The TSA said the scanners “do not produce photos.” Rather, it said, the images “look like chalk outlines.”
One option offered to passengers who don’t want to go through a scanner is a pat-down by a security guard of the same gender, the TSA said.
http://news.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view/20100222muslims_airport_scans_violate_faith_full-body_scans_decried_by_scholars_as_contrary_to_islam/
