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Stopped for looking at Muslim websitesTechnorati Tags: apple store, bentalls, kingston This afternoon I had my third encounter with the police under the present anti-terrorism régime. However, it’s the first time that suspicion has been raised about me personally. Kingston has an Apple Store, which like other such shops, has a room full of Macs which offer free internet access. When I’m near an Apple Store, I always go in to check my email and my blog, so as to approve any legitimate comments and delete any spam. Others go in for similar email-related purposes and to engage in long chats over various chat systems in various languages. The staff must know me: I go in there often, visit the same websites, stay about 15 minutes (less than I do in Regent Street, because Kingston is near my home and I’ve no need to stay an hour) and go. Today, as I was closing up (and leaving my blog open, to drum up a bit of publicity), two policemen came up to me and asked me if I’d come out for a chat. They told me that someone had raised concerns about me, that they were there for anti-terrorism purposes, that there was concern about people accessing extremist websites which they were sure I could understand in the current climate. They asked for ID, which I duly provided, and asked me if they knew me, to which I replied that they might, as a few years ago I had complained (to the local MP, who I believe also raised it with the local Safer Neighbourhood scheme) about idiots on mopeds using a nearby subway as a cut-through and about youths loitering in there which does not really give much of a sense of assurance. We had a bit of a talk about what I do on my website, what a blog is (he had never heard of them) and the fact that I used their machines to approve legitimate comments, so as not to hold up discussion, and get rid of spam. The other cop talked to his colleagues over his radio and gathered that I was not under any suspicion, and eventually I was let go. The two cops weren’t discourteous at all, but I was rather annoyed that suspicion was raised about my using Apple Store Macs to read websites which are not extremist, in the sense of advocating terrorism, at all. My hunch is that it was either the way I dealt with the staff as I walked in that raised suspicion, or else someone was annoyed with my manner and complained out of spite. Any time I walk into that shop, I have shop staff coming up to ask me if I need any help, which (like most people who go in, I’m sure) I didn’t. I had just come in to use the Macs. They knew that, and since I’ve been in there many, many times, I’m sure they knew that. I actually don’t like it when staff do that - it’s annoying, as it is when I’m in a restaurant and the staff come over to ask me what I want any time I raise my eyes from my reading material. My way of dealing with it is to say “no thanks” and walk past without looking at them. I’m sure this annoys them, and I’m sure that having to question every customer that comes in does as well. However, if they really wanted to know if I was looking at extremist websites, they could have come onto the computer used, after any time I’d been in the shop, and looked at the Safari web browser history, rather than bother the police. I wonder if I’d been treated as courteously, or been let go after 5 minutes, if I’d been Asian-looking or had one or other of the names which untold thousands of Muslims, including a few terrorists, have. Possibly Related Posts:
17 comments to Stopped for looking at Muslim websites |
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Copyright © 2009 Matthew J Smith - All Rights Reserved |
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It seems very officious, especially as the staff know you.
If they had any suspicions - or were doing random checks - it would have been better to look at the history file, which would have proved that you weren’t looking at extremist sites without having to call the police.
He didn’t know what a blog was?
Doesn’t inspire confidence in the police.
ASA, I feel for you bro…sucks to be profiled!
I wonder though Br. Yusuf, what would happen if you refused to cooperate? Not that I wouldn’t do exactly what you did under the circumstances, but really doesn’t the police need some evidence or some thing to go by in order to query people? At what point, would we say enough is enough and refuse to comply with these “requests”, many of which may not have any legal standing? So, as citizens, instead of just complying with requests for ID, etc., we ask the cops “why?”. And if he doesn’t have the ground to stand upon, what if we refuse?
I have heard enough horror stories from these innocent cooperations, where people have said the “wrong” thing in terms of being technically wrong or being misunderstood wrong, that has gotten them into a lot of trouble. I think we need a team of lawyers with a 800 number, paid for by the Muslim community, to start “fighting back” against these inquisitions. wallahualam
” using Apple Store Macs to read websites which are not extremist, in the sense of advocating terrorism”
Umm, so what extremist websites were you looking at?
Well just imagine if you are a young black person walking into a store and being followed by Korean store owners. I hate being followed around by people because of my skin color. Next time they do that, make em work for their money. Ask them for all kinds of stuff and the be like, “Yo! I was just looking.” :)
ALL terrorists use Google, or Yahoo.. ErGo.. Google/Yahoo are Terrorist websites.. right?
Well, I don’t know which Apple Store you’re using as your free internet cafe today but doesn’t it occur to you that the staff might just think you’re a bit of a piss taker?
As for the police, they’d be failing in their duty if they didn’t check you out. Scumbags of every sort (terrorists, paedophiles, fraudsters, etc) love computers they can use anonymously and untraceably - and an Apple Store fits the bill nicely.
Can I suggest you invest in an internet-enabled mobile phone? It will allow you to manage your blog on the move without upsetting anyone.
Assalamualaikum I am so sorry to hear that this occured to you. Having been stopped and questioned (for no particular reason) in front of a crowd of people who all stare at you suspiciously, I know that it can be both an annoying waste of time but also quite humiliating. I hope you weren’t too put out by it. Wassalam Saffy
don’t stress yusuf…. allah is with the believers at this difficult time….( if i say it to enuff peeps maybe i’ll start feeling it myself!)
I would suggest that you consider the possibility that your very minor inconvenience is due to the fact that the majority of nutcases who’ve commited acts of terrorism in the UK have claimed, frequently and at the top of their lungs, that they were doing so in the name of Islam. That would tend to cast a pall of suspicion over Muslims, would it not?
Now, if Muslims were at the forefront of efforts to find and apprehend the next Mohammed Atta, we might feel a bit better about having you for neighbors.
Thanks for sharing Yusuf. Underlines the criminalisation of all things Islamic that has happened in the last few years, and that this is not an issue of race either.
Assalamu ‘alaykum wa rahmatullah I pray that you are in the best of health & imaan. This is a short message to notify you that this entry has been selected for publishing on IJTEMA, a venture to highlight the best of the Muslim blogosphere. To find out more about IJTEMA, and how you can further contribute, please click here. May Allah bless you for your noble efforts. Wa’salam
Shalom,
I hope everything goes well.
why don’t you buy yourself your own computer…that would eliminate you having to use someone elses machines…considering what has happened in the UK, whoever reported you was totally justified.
If you weren’t doing anything wrong, then you shouldn’t be upset about being questioned.
Amad, do you mean an (0800) number? (That’s a UK freephone number, by the way.)
Salaam Yusuf,
Sorry to hear about your harrassment. I hope that the authorities are able to learn from their mistakes and gut reactions that are triggered off by people with a grudge.
I will reccomend people to avoid the apple brand and look to use their blackberries instead of that horrible little unfriendly iphone that they are regretting spending their money on. All in the name of harrassment. What a pity iphone will lose money due to some silly employees.
You sound like an arrogant ass to me. You are so self-important that because you can’t wait until you get home to check your email you take advantage of a local Apple Store to leech their internet (which is really there for customers looking to spend money, which you aren’t). You use it for your own email checking, and posting to your personal blog. You ignore the employees there and don’t even look at them while dismissing them as you walk past.
If I saw you do that to somebody I would call the cops too, just to spite your ignorant, elitist attitude. I am glad you got profiled. Hope it happens again. Do the world a favor, and don’t buy Apple products. I think most apple users would rather see you use a blackberry, because we feel a certain level of pride about the fact that for the most part, we aren’t assholes.
Oh, you’re title page says you’re an unemployed blogger. Now it all makes sense.
Hey Junior, get a job. You have too much attitude and too much time on your hands. And, you know what they say about idle hands…
“YOU WORRY ME!” By American Airlines Pilot - Captain John Maniscalco
The rest of this can be read here, with some notes on its origins - IJ