c. 1999 Religion News Service

(Mohamed Nimer is research director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Washington, D.C.)

UNDATED _ Federal government investigative procedures in airplane crashes follow the logical route of examining evidence against all plausible explanations, including mechanical failure, pilot error, sabotage, murder and suicide.

Although the investigation into the crash of EgyptAir 990 has even barely started, some insist the incident was most likely an act of suicide by a reserve pilot who uttered Islamic prayer words before the plane went down. Many Muslims criticized this view as biased and judgmental.

Early reports failed to ask the most important question in suicide investigations: why would someone kill himself?

Instead, reporters interpreted the alleged prayer utterance as a last-moment plea for forgiveness by a suicidal crew member. However, news reports did not attribute to the suspected man any reference to forgiveness. Thus, the early reports have twisted the meaning of a Muslim prayer, imposing presumptions about a behavioral pattern almost alien to the Muslim experience.

Suicide is rare among Muslims. The Koran teaches that God is the giver and taker of life. The Prophet Muhammad said a person taking his own life would end up in Hell.

To many Muslims, it seems irrational that a man described as sane and faithful not only would commit an act contrary to his faith, but also would proclaim reliance on God while carrying out the gravely sinful deed.”Tawakkaltu ala Allah”_ the phrase apparently uttered by reserve co-pilot Gameel El-Batouty _ has been translated literally as”I put my trust in God.”Its meaning, however, more closely parallels the English phrase,”So help me God.” In Egypt and elsewhere in the Muslim world, people invoke this prayer in ordinary life as they head out of home, ride in a car, or take a test. In the Muslim understanding, one should do his or her best when handling any task, and pray to God for the best possible result.

Consequently, an accident investigator has no reason for alarm solely because a Muslim pilot proclaimed his trust in God. It is plausible the pilot, having identified a problem, both tried his best to handle it and prayed for the success of his action.

What about the possibility of a mentally disturbed pilot? Muslims are not immune to mental illness. But, again, uttering a prayer in no way implies mental illness. Only an extensive psychological profile can offer the insight necessary to calculate El-Batouty’s mindset at the time of the crash.

If the downing of the plane was an intentional act by a sane man, Muslims would not characterize this case as suicide. They’d call it an evil act of mass murder.

Islamophobes who equate Islam with violence have insinuated the prayer amounted to a smoking gun pointing to terrorism in the EgyptAir incident.

In contrast, professional investigators are searching for facts to answer why anyone related to Flight 990 would want to bring it down. Valuable information can be found in suspects’ emotional, social and financial conditions, and their behavioral attitudes, perceptions of political reality,and past experience with violence.

Let us assume a mechanical failure or a pilot error triggered the events that led to the crash. In such a situation, a devout Muslim pilot believing death was at hand, would be likely to proclaim Islam’s main article of faith and its common farewell proclamation, the Shahada:”There is no god but God and Muhammad is the messenger of God.” The transcript of the cockpit voice recorder could tell us if these words were uttered. If they were not, chances are El-Batouty did not surrender to the eventuality of death.

Does the utterance of a prayer make clear what scenario should drive the investigation in the crash of EgyptAir 990? No. Should investigators dismiss the prayer as invaluable data? No, it may support or give context to other evidence.

But let us jump to no conclusions based on the saying by a faithful Muslim of a common statement in the Islamic world. Let’s wait for the investigators to reach their expert conclusion based on all the evidence they can find.

IR END NIMER