Seems various European countries are embracing or bracing themselves at the prospect of installing body scanners in their airports. The UK, Italy and the Netherlands are calling for a progressive introduction of machines, while France, Spain, and Germany are still on the fence.
Naturally, many European Muslims are none too pleased about these “virtual strip-search” devices, which the Belgian Home secretary has come out and called “excessive measures.” The European Human Rights Commission (EHRC), is one of several bodies to raise a proverbial eyebrow about the potential violations of personal privacy.
Singled Out?
There’s a great piece on this intimate issue in MuslimahMediaWatch, which refers to Trevor Phillips, head of the EHRC who has said that the machines breach privacy laws. Mr. Phillips has also voiced concerns over possible racial and ethnic profiling of black, Asian and Muslim passengers.
It’s a tricky issue. The European countries in favour of the new scanners cite the failed attack on an American airliner on Christmas Day as cause for additional airport security. Many of us frequent or even occasional flyers are no strangers to the stringent security controls and arduous waits at airports, where you have to abandon your bottle of Evian and can have a nail-file or ball point pen classified as a potential weapon.
I’m in two minds about the enhanced security and the potential body searches (I was given a body scan at Ben Gurion airport as it happens). On the one hand, I felt discriminated against, (was it because I’m not blonde and blue eyed?), despite the assurance it was a “random check” but. On the other hand, I felt somehow reassured that such measures were being taken to protect everyone’s safety, and you can always buy another nail file…
Age of Consent
Media sources have also raised the point that Europe’s Muslim women who choose to dress modestly could find the machines particularly offensive. Still, it’s important to note that the scanner debate is far from exclusively a Muslim concern. Jewish news sources have been quick to condemn the new scanners, and The American Civil Liberties Union has issued a statement against the scanners that does not single out any specific religious group or gender.
According to our friends at MMG the debate raises universal human rights issues such as the possible infringement of child protection laws, which has lead to the trial of these scanners only being actioned for over 18’s.
It’ll be interesting to see how each of the European nations reacts over the coming months, and even more interesting to see how passengers take to the new machines.
