Prayer ritual causes alarm

I heard something on the radio the other day that caught my attention but a recent Associated Press brief put it all into perspective.

I had heard that some sort of prayer ritual caused a lot of concern on an airplance the other day, so much so that a security alert was issued.

I heard the words “prayer” and “ritual” and I didn’t know what to think.

I never imagined that it was a Jewish prayer tradition that was at the source of the heightened alarm.

Due to my job and a story I did several years ago, this particular prayer ritual would not have caused me anyconcern. But of course not everyone covers religion nor are they all privy to Jewish traditions and beliefs.

The thing is the tefillin prayer ritual is not generally known outside the Jewish faith community.

The AP brief on the recent incident is below. I’ve included some pictures that were taken by an Oklahoman photographer back in 2008 when I did a story on Tefillin. I have included them, along with excerpts from my 2008 story, so readers can get a general sense of what parts of the ritual look like and what it all means. Just a general FYI.

——–

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Pilots on an Alaska Airlines flight from Mexico City to Los Angeles locked down the cockpit and alerted authorities when a flight crew grew alarmed at the behavior of three men who turned out to be conducting an elaborate orthodox Jewish prayer ritual.

The three Mexican men began the ritual that involves tying leather straps and small wooden boxes to the body, and the crew of Sunday’s Flight 241 alerted the cockpit, airline spokeswoman Bobbie Egan said.

The cockpit was placed on a security lockdown for the rest of the flight — meaning the door couldn’t be opened even for pilots to leave briefly. Normal protocol calls for the cockpit to be locked, but on longer flights the pilots will leave and return from the flight deck.

FBI and customs agents along with police and a full assignment of fire trucks met the plane at the gate at Los Angeles International Airport, and the men were escorted off.