On March 13, 2011, Irum Abbasi, an American Muslim of Pakistani descent, was pulled off of a plane because a Southwest Airlines crew member thought she heard Abbasi say “It’s a go” on her cell phone. Abbasi actually said, “I have to go” because her flight was about to take off, but her hijab rendered her suspect in the eyes of the flight attendant, resulting in her removal from the plane and a search of her body. After she was cleared to return to the plane, the pilot refused to allow her back on because the crew was uncomfortable with her presence. She was issued a voucher and placed on the next flight (Quraishi 2011).

QUESTION: This demonstrates how a crew member's suspicion, once declared, could not be retracted even after the passenger was cleared. Worth exploring the institutional dynamics of security suspicion.

Saher Selod, Forever Suspect_ Racialized…, loc. 153