NEWS GLEAMS | CAIR-WA Lawsuit Against Alaska Airlines, Reproductive Rights Legislation Signed Into Law

A round-up of news and announcements we don't want to get lost in the fast-churning news cycle!

curated by Vee Hua 華婷婷

️Letter From the Editor️

CAIR Washington has filed a lawsuit against Alaska Airlines alleging discrimination against two Black male Muslim passengers from Sudan. Meanwhile, in ongoing attempts to pass reproductive rights legislation in the aftermath of the overturning of Roe v. Wade, Mayor Bruce Harrell signed into law four bills passed by Seattle City Council; a fifth is in committee.

New Holly residents looking to spend more time in the library will be delighted to hear that its local Seattle Public Library branch will now be reopening on Sundays, plus King County Elections is hiring outreach coordinators for those who are fluent in Russian and Somali!

—Vee Hua 華婷婷, interim managing editor for the South Seattle Emerald

✨Gleaming This Week✨

• CAIR-WA Filed a Lawsuit Against Alaska Airlines for 'Flying While Muslim'
• Mayor Signs Bills Passed by Council to Protect Reproductive Rights
• NewHolly Branch of Seattle Public Library Adds Sunday Hours
• King County Elections Hires for Outreach Coordinators With Russian and Somali Language Skills

CAIR-WA Filed a Lawsuit Against Alaska Airlines for 'Flying While Muslim'

by Nura Ahmed

On Aug. 8, 2022, CAIR Washington, a chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, along with the CAIR National Legal Defense Fund filed a lawsuit against Alaska Airlines. The suit alleges discrimination against two Black male passengers — both bearded, Sudanese, and Muslim — based on a discredited complaint of a fellow passenger.

"Abobakkr was texting in Arabic with a friend who was not on the flight. Another passenger, who did not speak or read Arabic, was snooping as Abobakkr texted. Seeing the Arabic language made this passenger upset, and they complained to Alaska Airlines personnel," writes CAIR-WA's press release. In response, CAIR-WA asserts that Alaska Airlines removed them from the flight, "subjecting the men to additional security measures after having already reviewed Abobakkr's phone and confirm[ing] to police that the text messages were innocuous and that the men posed no threat, and explicitly prohibiting them from traveling together on re-booked later flights."

The case that CAIR-WA filed requests that Alaska Airlines pay for damages and demands a jury trial, claiming federal and state violations of the two passengers' civil rights. To prevent similar situations from happening again, CAIR-WA also asks for an injunction to order Alaska Airlines to provide cultural and racial sensitivity training for their employees, as well as establish culturally sensitive protocols and procedures in handling passenger complaints.