Assignment

Assignment

The Transportation Security Administration has moved beyond just checking for weapons and explosives. It's now training airport screeners to spot anything suspicious, and then honoring them when searches lead to arrests for crimes like drug possession and credit-card fraud. But two court cases in the past month question whether TSA searches—which the agency says have broadened to allow screeners to use more judgment—have been going too far.

A federal judge in June threw out seizure of three fake passports from a traveler, saying that TSA screeners violated his Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable search and seizure. Congress authorizes TSA to search travelers for weapons and explosives; beyond that, the agency is overstepping its bounds, U.S. District Court Judge Algenon L. Marbley said. “The extent of the search went beyond the permissible purpose of detecting weapons and explosives and was instead motivated by a desire to uncover contraband evidencing ordinary criminal wrongdoing,” Judge Marbley wrote.

In the second case, Steven Bierfeldt, treasurer for the Campaign for Liberty, a political organization launched from Ron Paul's presidential run, was detained at the St. Louis airport because he was carrying $4,700 in a lock box from the sale of tickets, T-shirts, bumper stickers and campaign paraphernalia.

Religion: Islamic scholars forbid full-body scans for Muslims. Islamic scholars issued a "fatwa" this week forbidding Muslims to go through full body scanners at airports because it violates Islamic rules on modesty.

The FIQH Council of North America, a body of Islamic scholars, issued the fatwa. The fatwa says: "It is a violation of clear Islamic teachings that men or women be seen naked by other men and women. Islam highly emphasizes haya (modesty) and considers it part of faith. The Quran has commanded the believers, both men and women, to cover their private parts."

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) claims that images are automatically deleted, and the officer viewing the image never sees the passenger. Supposedly the scanners do not produce photos and look like chalk outlines.

If scanners violate Islamic law, passengers can opt to be patted-down by same-sex security guards, an option favored by the Muslim scholars. All passengers, regardless of faith, may opt for the optional same sex pat down. Many passengers have expressed privacy concerns. The idea of exposing one's self to a stranger is unappealing to most everyone.

Safety is another growing concern of travelers. An International Committee on Radiation Safety submitted a report saying pregnant women and children should not be scanned because of the exposure to radiation during the scan, even though the level of radiation exposure is very low.

It is ironic that Muslims should feel violated by a security measure put in place to try and prevent further acts of terror by fellow Muslims. While privacy is a legitimate concern, religious preference is not. It is difficult to support accommodations for religious superstition of any kind. Religious ignorance and superstition is the very source of terror, death and destruction the scans are meant to prevent.

Portland International Airport (pdx) currently does not have full body scan technology ...