LONDON – As the reaction to YouTuber Adam Saleh being removed from a Delta Airlines flight spreads across the internet, his account of what happened is being questioned. Not only as he is a known prankster, but the fact that his visibility has shot up to now over 2.3 million subscribers as a result of this incident.

A passenger on the same flight claims that Adam Saleh encouraged a friend to shout out across the plane in Arabic to film their reaction. Very similar to many of his other ‘pranks’ where he purposely provokes individuals then monetizes their reaction by sharing it on YouTube. If this passenger’s account is true, then we have been duped and exploited by a person seeking fame through other’s hardship.

To counter any claims of prejudice the passenger witness added, “I am mixed race of Jamaican/British descent, so I have had more than my fair share (of racism)… I have been the best man at two Arabic weddings.”

What bothers me is that Delta have in the past behaved unfairly removing Muslims from flights by way of racial profiling, and when this happens, it should be called out and better standards along with training should be put in place. But it seems that Adam Saleh is the latest Muslim to come forward and complain of being profiled simply for fame. Another recent example being the 18-year-old student Yasmin Seweid in New York who said that drunk men abused her and tried to remove her headscarf; they did not, she confessed to telling a lie.

By behaving in this selfish manner, these individuals take away valuable resources that should be mobilized to protect individual’s rights when they are breached. Their behavior mocks the hardship faced by those who are genuinely profiled, and worse they cause unneeded stress at a time when tensions are high, both domestically within the United States, with the rise and validation of white nationalism as a result of President elect Trump’s campaign, as well as on account of acts of terrorism across the world.

The information age has changed who we are as people and how we behave. Inherently there is nothing ‘wrong’ with people sharing where they go, what they do, even what they eat, though sharing sometimes on social media can be in poor taste.

Prophetic Manners

In fact, we are taught in Islam to be proud of what we have with Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) saying that God likes to see the effects of the blessings God gives to people; he even said, whoever has hair, honor it, meaning, look good, dress well, and so on.

What Islam discourages is showing off. Today, you will see mosques full of men tucking their trousers into their jeans because they are taught a hadith which says that anything below the ankles is in the hell fire. What isn’t taught is the context of this statement, that in Arab tradition, having a long train (cloth/cloak along the ground) was an act of pride. Having long trousers wasn’t being prohibited, but showing off to imply arrogance and status was. We know this as in another hadith, Abu Bakr said that his garment slips down sometimes to which the Prophet (PBUH) said, ‘(It’s ok), you are not doing that out of pride.”

So much is written about ‘showing off’ that Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said that there is a place in hell  known as the pit of grief reserved for people who recite the Qur’an only to show off. This doesn’t mean that we should not beautify our voices and sing the Qur’an in the most beautiful of ways. What we shouldn’t do is show off.

Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said that one group of people who will be ruined on the day of judgment are those who sell goods by taking a false oath. Adding that some people will have their efforts rejected because instead of living their life to please God, they do it to show off, ‘So it can be said of me’.

I cannot help but feel sorry for any person who in desperation of fame and notoriety, exploits the existing climate of fear, to boost their profile on social media. It is truly disgraceful.

Delta issued the following update, “Upon landing the crew was debriefed and multiple passenger statements collected. Based on the information collected to date, it appears the customers who were removed sought to disrupt the cabin with provocative behavior, including shouting. This type of conduct is not welcome on any Delta flight.”