Kudos to the Delta pilot who refused to fly with the two Muslims aboard for a Memphis to Charlotte flight May 6. One of the Muslims removed from the flight, Masudur Rahman, claimed "It's racism and bias because of our religion" rather than a concern for the safety of the American travelers on board. He further stated, "If they understood Islam, they wouldn't do this."

If "they" understood Islam and acted appropriately, there would be no Muslims in this country. It is ridiculous for Americans to have to be fearful of flying with members of the Islamic religion whose most militant sect, al-Qaida, is responsible for most of the terroristic acts against the U.S. partly in response to our continued endowment of Israeli aggression against the P.L.O.

Had the original pilots of the planes used in the attacks on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon refused to fly with armed Muslims aboard, there would have been no Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. There are apparently many faces of the Muslims who are anti-American, from those who carried out 9/11 to the fire breathing members of al-Qaida who oppose us in the Mideast.

It is impossible to distinguish between Muslims who are anti-American and just waiting for a chance to do us harm, and those who are merely pursuing their religious beliefs in this country. The only way to be sure and safe is to exclude them all. Such action would not constitute bias or racism against a particular nationality just because they may be different from us, or the condemnation of a specific religion because it differs from our beliefs but the action is necessary to create conditions in which it is safe to live without a constant fear of terrorism.

The enemy is within us or waiting to come in, not in Iraq, Afghanistan or Pakistan where we have squandered trillions of dollars (which make up a sizable percentage of our 14 trillions of dollar-plus federal deficit) and thousands of American lives.

To sum it up, we have to get out of the Mideast and get the Muslims out of the U.S.

Jim Scharnagel
Gainesville