British Man Removed From easyJet Flight Because WhatsApp Message Sparks Fears He is a Terrorist

A British man claims he was removed from an easyJet flight because a message about prayer, which he sent via a social media app, was misinterpreted, BBC News is reporting.

Devout Christian and business analyst Laolu Opebiyi, 40, was removed from an easyJet flight travelling to Amsterdam from Luton Airport after a passenger saw a WhatsApp message on his phone with the words “ISI Men” and feared he was a terrorist.

The passenger had asked him, “What do you mean by prayer?” before walking into the cockpit and asking to be allowed off the plane. After a few minutes, six other passengers had disembarked too. Two armed police officers soon appeared and then told Mr. Opebiyi to pack his bags and get off the plane too.

According to the Daily Mail, Opebiyi was questioned repeatedly about his faith, the London church where he worshiped, and if he planned on converting to Islam.

“Even if I am a Muslim, it was pretty unfair the way I was treated. I don’t think anyone, irrespective of their religion should be treated in such a way. If we keep on giving into this kind of bigotry and irrational fear, I dare say that the terrorists will have achieved their aim,” Opebiyi said.

Opebiyi explained to police that the WhatsApp group was called “ISI Men” which was short for “Iron Sharpens Iron.” The phrase comes from the Bible, specifically Proverbs 27:17: “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. (New International Version).” In other words, a person sharpens another one spiritually if they both pray and discuss the Bible together.

The passenger who was monitoring his phone over his shoulder mistook it for “ISIS men” and cried blue murder.

The police released him. But he was further shamed when he got to the easyJet desk and met the seven passengers that had refused to travel with him. “If he is on the next flight, I am not getting on the flight,” one of them allegedly said. Opebiyi eventually got on a 10:25 a.m. flight — four hours after he was meant to originally fly.

easyJet apologized over the misunderstanding. But a spokesman said it was of the utmost priority for them to provide safety and security for their passengers and that it was only a precautionary measure.

Mr. Opebiyi now has suspicions that he is on a terror watchlist because he was queried by officials as he traveled back from Amsterdam the next day and his passport refused to work when he got to the electronic departure gates.

“Someone felt I was a terrorist because he saw the word ‘prayer’ on my phone and now I stand in uncertainty about my freedom of movement in and out of the United Kingdom.”

Mr. Opebiyi is not the first person wrongfully accused of being a terrorist. In 2015, a student was wrongfully accused of being a terrorist after he was seen reading a textbook on terrorism for his degree. Mohammed Umar Farooq was studying for a Master’s degree in terrorism, crime and global security at the Staffordshire University where the accusations were directed at him, according to the Independent.

He said he was sitting down in the library reading the textbook when he was approached by a university official who asked him about his views on ISIS, Al-Qaeda, and homosexuality. Farooq said his perspective showed that he was opposed to extremist views but the conversation was relayed to security guards and raised red flags.

“The implications were if I did not challenge this, it could end up being serious for me…so I had to fight back.” Mr. Farooq hired a lawyer to challenge the claims and after a three-month investigation into the issue, he received an apology. Dr Noel Morrison, academic registrar and director of student experience, said it was highly regrettable that a misjudged situation had impacted on a student at the university.

Do you believe Pastor Opebiyi was treated unfairly by easyJet? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

[Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images]