Bizarre ban

After the US administration’s ban on people from 10 Muslim countries entering the country, it has now imposed what is largely being called the ‘Muslim laptop ban’. Passengers travelling to the US on airlines flying from certain Muslim-majority countries – ranging from Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan, Egypt and Tunisia – will not be allowed to carry a device larger than a smartphone in the cabin. As the decision started to be roundly mocked on social media, the UK government decided to implement a similar ban almost immediately, with a slightly smaller list of countries. Word is that other countries across Europe are considering similar bans. Much of this sounds like the beginning of a rather lame joke. Not only has the laptop ban come out of the blue, it follows the irrational original Trump ban on Muslims entering the US. Both American and British authorities insist the decision follows fears of electronic devices being used as weapons – which in itself sounds silly to the regular air traveller. Laptops and similar devices can apparently be used as explosives or hacking devices. Even if that is true, there has been no attempt to explain why such a device cannot pose a danger in the aircraft’s cargo hold.

The sheer ridiculousness of the this latest ban is the fact that it has been imposed only on specific countries, whose only shared characteristic is that the majority of their population is Muslim. Apparently Muslim laptops are more dangerous than non-Muslim ones. If terrorists have managed to convert laptops into bombs, then would it not make more sense that such ‘bombs’ never be allowed on planes at all – no matter which country they’re coming from? Already, laptops and other electronic devices are examined at a number of airports. They go through numerous screening devices, including turning the device on before boarding a US-bound plane. The Muslim laptop ban is a reflection of all that is wrong with the global ‘war on terror’. Instead of a rational approach to fighting terrorism, the entire focus seems to be on creating unnecessary paranoia. The vulnerability of airports has certainly increased over recent years, with the Istanbul and Karachi airports joining the Brussels airport in being targeted by terrorists. But neither of these airports is united by religious or cultural geography. Terrorism does not exist within geographical borders – and targeting laptops certainly cannot eliminate it. There is a need for sense to prevail. Measures such as this only contribute to making life more miserable for the average [Muslim] traveller.