Muslim Brit detained for reading book about Syria

Faizah Shaheen was returning to England from her honeymoon in Turkey last week when airport security pulled her out of the line of people waiting to get their passport checked at Doncaster Sheffield Airport in South Yorkshire.

For 15 minutes they questioned the British psychotherapist, who is employed by the U.K.’s National Health Service, using their powers under the country’s 2000 Terrorism Act, the Guardian reported Thursday. The officers said a Thomson Airways attendant on a previous flight had reported her for “suspicious behaviour.” Her crime? Reading a book about Syria.

“I asked what was going on and they said I had been reported due to a book I was reading and was to be questioned under the Terrorism Act,” Shaheen told the Independent.

She told the paper that she felt targeted for being Muslim.

Shaheen works with teens with mental illness. Part of her job, she said, is to prevent the teens from becoming radicalized. “I said that to the police,” she said. “I’m actually part of trying to fight radicalization and breaking the stereotypes.”

The book, Syria Speaks: Art and Culture from the Frontline, is a collection of work from more than 50 artists and writers “who are challenging the culture of violence in Syria.”

Thomson Airways told the Independent that it recognizes that “in this instance Ms. Shaheen may have felt that overcaution had been exercised. However, like all airlines, our crew are trained to report any concerns they may have as a precaution.”

Shaheen intends to make a formal complaint against the airline as well as the law enforcement officers who detained her and reduced her to tears, according to the Independent.

“I was completely innocent. I was made to feel like a culprit,” Shaheen said.