The compliance of the airline to the request of the passenger is telling. By accommodating racist attitudes toward Muslims, the message is that Muslims are not worthy of protection from humiliation and racism because the state has confirmed they are dangerous through its security policies. Passengers are able to report their fellow passengers as suspicious to flight attendants just for being Muslim and consequently have them removed them from flights. This practice normalizes fears of Muslims and thus racializes them as a threats.

Builds on: "Post-9/11 hijabs function like skin color in racializing Muslims as non-white."

Saher Selod, Forever Suspect_ Racialized…, loc. 151