Minneappolis Star-Tribune managing editor Anders Gyllenhaal recently wrote to a reader (hat tip: Powerline) : “I don’t think the paper dropped this story, but I do think it had run its course. I would like to have seen a story delving into who these folks were, a good suggestion, but I don’t think it’s timely at this point. I think this is one of those stories that runs for a couple of days, then subsides. I gather you disagree, which is fine.”

Is Anders right? Or does the imams story have legs, loads of fresh angles that readers will be interested in?

Well, let’s see.

The police reports. I spoke with a retired Washington D.C. police detective and asked him to examine the reports closely. He did. He requested anonymity on the grounds that he cannot become part of the controversy due to his current line of work. Still he raised a lot of interesting questions.

The reports did not describe the appearance of imams (clothes, shoes, demeanor) nor list their places of employment. This is standard in police reports, he said. By contrast, the employers of the witnesses, in some cases, were listed. One worked at 3M.

There are unexplained contradictions in the reports that a trial attorney would “have a field day with.” One example: Officer Windgate’s report says the plane was swept by a bomb-sniffing dog, reboarded and left for Phoenix. Officer Huddlemeyer wrote the passengers were rebooked for a later flight. (As it happens, Huddlemeyer is wrong and looks sloppy, he added.)

The police reports are oddly silent, the retired detective says, on key procedural questions: Were the interrogations audio or video taped? If not, why not? Was an Arabic-language translator brought in? Who was the translator? Where is his report? Was a body-language expert called in to monitor the imams’ interrogation or review the videotape? Where is his report? One imam refused to sign a Miranda statement. “If they didn’t tape the interview after that, it was a huge mistake,” the retired detective said.

The witness statements were not typed up and signed. If the case ever goes to trial and a witness cannot read his own handwriting, the detective said, expect a circus in court. “Defense attorneys live for this.”

Then, he said, there are the apparently unasked questions: why didn’t they all pray together? Why didn’t they get tickets to travel together? Why did some request seat-belt extensions? Why did they split up on the plane? Why did they ask other passengers to change seats? Why did one pretend to be blind? Finally, one imam said he did not participate in the prayer and would pray when he returned to Phoenix. Why didn’t the others wait as well?

The whole process, he said, seemed rushed. The imams could have been held for 24 hours, without being charged. Yet they were processed in less than a quarter of that time. Was someone powerful calling the Minneapolis Airport Police and demanding their release? Who? Was it Rep.-elect Keith Ellison?

Motive. Assuming these six imams were pulling some sort of publicity stunt, what was their motive?

One possible motive: a desire to help Rep.-elect Ellison win congressional support for his bill to ban “profiling of Muslims.” The evidence here is circumstantial: He spoke at the imams’ conference the day before the incident. Did they talk?

There are other possible motives.

Were the imams doing this in order to force the Minneapolis air marshals to reveal themselves and therefore undermine they ability to function covertly? While this seems unlikely, it is concern raised by several federal airline security officials. It should be addressed.

Or perhaps the imams wanted to undermine the authority of the captain to unilaterally remove people from the plane. Debra Burlingame got me thinking about the role of the captain and imams’ interest in undermining it, when she phoned me this past weekend. Burlingame is a former flight attendant (who saw a lot in her eight years in the sky), whose brother was the pilot of the American Airlines flight that was hijacked and rammed into the Pentagon on 9-11. “My brother used to say that an airplane is not a democracy, but a dictatorship of the pilot and co-pilot.”

Although Captain John Howard Wood’s decision was far from unilateral—he consulted the FBI, an air marshal, airport police, a US Airways ground security coordinator, and a US Airways security center in Phoenix—it was ultimately his call. If the captain believes that a person is a potential threat, he has the power to remove him. This is a time-honored right that descends from the centuries-old right of sea captains to put ashore difficult or dangerous passengers.

Water down that right with tangled stream of bureaucratic second-guessing and the captain will automatically weigh his career goals against passenger safety. This could create some unexpected turbulence. Do we really want airline captains to perform Supreme Court-style balancing tests? When we did this to police officers in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, crime soared. If we do this to airline captains, the threat of catastrophe is even greater.

The Prayers. Ahmed Tharwat, who hosts an Arab-American show on Twin Cities Public Television, wrote an op-ed for the Minneapolis Star Tribune on Nov. 29. He said that Muslims, while traveling, can pray all five daily prayers at home upon their return. Therefore, he contends, the imams did not have to pray at the airport.

An array of Islamic authorities online support Tharwat’s view. The last two prayers of the day are Maghrib and Isha. Maghrib must be said at or near sundown. Isha can be said at the same time or at any other time until sunrise, when other prayers are required. While some Muslims differ on whether prayers can be combined (such as the followers of the Hanafi Madhab), virtually all agree that Isha can be said after sunset. These are not controversial points.

So why did they say those prayers when they, strictly speaking, didn’t need to?

More importantly, there is a general dispensation from praying or fasting while traveling, as outlined in the Koran at 2:185. Weren’t the imams aware of this fairly well known exemption from praying while traveling? (The prayers must be made up later.) Islam is quite aware of the hardships of travel. Mohammed himself said: “The journey is a type of punishment.”

Another point: the imams would have to perform ritual cleansings prior to praying. Did they? Where? They might not have to cleanse again for the second prayer on the plane, as long as they didn’t break the wudu—the state of spiritual cleanliness. Touching a non-believer or a female non-relative are among the ways to break the wudu. It is very easy to bump into people boarding a plane… Is there room enough in an airline bathroom to cleanse again (Remember, they have to wash their feet too)?

Randy Crew, a veteran airline pilot, emailed me with this interesting comment: “As a pilot with an airline for over 32 years beginning with my first job in Karachi, Pakistan, I know a little about how they practice their faith especially when praying. The number of times I have flown to Jeddah carrying pilgrams is too numerous to count. Even on their own aircraft, chartered they are quiet and very reserved. These men were not representing the wise Imam they were supposed to be.”

Why would these six imams pray loudly and publicly when devout Muslims on pilgrimage to Mecca do not?

Samana Siddiqui, a writer at alt.muslim who seems largely sympathetic to the imams’ plight, makes some sensitive and practical observations, which have been largely missing from this discussion:

“In addition, when it comes to Islam, the sensitivity level towards Muslim behavior is extraordinarily high given the 9/11 terror attacks, particularly in relation to air travel.

So what’s a praying Muslim to do? Here are a couple of ideas:
1. Most large airports have some form of prayer area or chapel. If possible, pray there before the flight in order to avoid having to pray on board.
2. If a chapel is not available or you were unable to catch the prayer on time, do not begin Salah while people are boarding. Everyone is already tense as it is at this time. Once the flight has completed takeoff, consider praying in your seat. This is low-key and less likely to attract fear and attention.
3. If you would like to complete the prayer with the full movements of bowing and prostrating, privately ask one of the flight attendants. Explain what the prayer is, why you need to perform it and why you cannot wait to pray it after you land. Also, say up front that you do not wish to scare or inconvenience any of the passengers or crew. You just want to offer your prayers and would really appreciate it if you could do so in a private location. If your request is granted, it would be nice to send a thank you note through the airlines’ customer service department when you get back home.
I personally know of one Canadian Imam who did most of what’s outlined in suggestion number three and had no problem praying. In fact, the flight attendant was only happy to make space for him.”

So if the Star-Tribune or any other news operation wants to examine the case of the flying imams further, there are plenty of fresh angles to pursue. My fellow scribes feel free to follow up!