As valuable as cheap airplane tickets, discount hotel rooms and cheap vacation packages are these days; security is being given top priority. Two Muslim women trying to pass through a security checkpoint at Britains Manchester Airport were not allowed to proceed because they refused to go through a full body scanner.
A fatwa (a legal pronouncement in Islam issued by a religious law specialist) was issued last month forbidding Muslims from passing through full body scanners.
The women had tickets to fly to Islamabad, Pakistan. One woman refused to go through the scanner because of religious objections, while the other cited medical concerns.
Airport security personnel explained to the women that they would not be permitted to board their Pakistan International Airline flight unless they agreed to be scanned. Faced with this requirement, the women decided to forfeit their tickets, worth approximately $600 apiece, and leave the airport with their luggage.
The airport said that these passengers were not allowed to fly because they violated the government directive on scanners.
Since scanners were installed at the Manchester and Heathrow airports on February 5th, approximately 15,000 passengers have passed through the scanners. These two women were the first travelers refusing to be scanned.
Britain is in the process of installing additional full body scanners to strengthen its aviation security. Privacy advocates claim that use of these scanners amount to virtual strip searching. The machines show a detailed naked outline of the scanned passengers body.
Manchester Airport counters that exacting procedures are being followed to ensure passengers privacy. Travelers are only randomly selected to go through the scanner.
According to the TSA (Transportation Security Administration) going through full body scanners in the U.S. is optional for all passengers, but those who refuse will be subject to pat down searches.