A British woman has found herself being interrogated under controversial terror laws after returning from her honeymoon in Turkey.
Her crime? Well, Faizah Shaheen is a Muslim and she was spotted reading – wait for it – a book on Syrian art and culture. During her outbound flight on Thomson Airways, a cabin crew member had apparently become suspicious after noticing Shaheen's book titled, "Syria Speaks: Art and Culture from the Frontline."
Perhaps the most ironic fact about the incident is that Shaheen actually works for the National Health Service preventing mentally unstable youth from becoming radicalized. Yet, this didn't stop South Yorkshire Police at Doncaster Airport from treating her like a crime suspect, citing Schedule 7 of the UK's Terrorism Act.
"I was completely innocent – I was made to feel like a culprit,” Shaheen said, according to The Independent . “I was queuing at passport control and saw police staring at me."
"I just got through passport control and then two police officers approached me and took me aside and asked me to show my passport again. I asked what was going on and they said I had been reported due to a book I was reading and was to be questioned under the Terrorism Act."
Angry and frustrated, Shaheen pointed out the irony of the situation, explaining that part of her job "is working on anti-radicalization and assessing vulnerable young people with mental health problems [that] are at risk of being radicalized."
The book that Shaheen was reading is also the recipient of the English PEN award. Compiled by Malu Halasa, the book is a collection of short stories, poems, essays, songs, cartoons and photographs from Syrian artists and writers.
Thomson Airways defended itself saying that all of its crew regularly go through general safety and security awareness training. "As part of this they are encouraged to be vigilant and share any information or questions with the relevant authorities," a spokesperson said in a statement.
South Yorkshire Police acknowledged the incident saying, "She was not arrested, she was held for 15 minutes and was subsequently released."
For her part, Shaheen has said she plans to make formal complaints against the airline and the police.
Unfortunately, incidents like the one Shaheen endured are becoming all too common in the west. With Islamophobia on the rise, individuals have been kicked off airplanes for things as simple as speaking Arabic, doing math or having "olive skin."