Bizarre twist in imams' airline lawsuit

WASHINGTON, March 21 (UPI) -- A U.S. Islamic group is offering to pay to defend "John Does" being sued by six imams who were removed from a plane in Minneapolis for suspicious behavior.

The suit arose from an incident last November in which passengers and crew reported the men aboard a US Airways plane were disruptive, did not take assigned seats, loudly criticized the war in Iraq and shouted about al-Qaida and Osama bin Laden.

They were removed from the flight, interrogated and later released.

They have since filed a lawsuit alleging discrimination by the airline, the airport authority and the "John Does" who reported them, The Washington Times reported Wednesday.

However, M. Zuhdi Jasser, director of American Islamic Forum for Democracy, told the Times his group will raise money for the unnamed peoples' defense.

He said anti-Muslim "backlash will be even greater when Americans see Islamists trying to punish innocent passengers reporting fears."

Minnesota law firm Faegre & Benson LLP is also offering to represent the passengers for free, the report said.