Flying while Muslim at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport

The 4-year-old boy stood as still as he could. His knees were shaking. His arms were raised up high; "hands up, don't shoot"-style. His eyes were shut tight. The lady with the purple gloves patted his head. Then she moved her hands down to his neck and shoulders. She patted his tummy and worked her way down. She touched him everywhere. There was a momentary pause when the little boy's father threatened a lawsuit (he later told me that he knew there wasn't a case). A fourth police officer was called. They were officially a scene. They were the Minnesota Muslim family traveling to Washington, D.C., to visit the Lincoln Memorial and the Natural History Museum.

The Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) is a hotbed for religious profiling. Some Minnesota Muslims would rather drive 7 hours and fly out of Chicago than endure the profiling, humiliation and degradation they are often subjected to at MSP. I can relate.

From January to April 2015, I took five domestic trips and one international trip. My visibly Muslim family and I were "randomly selected" for extra screenings every single time we flew out of MSP. It's not random.

Sometimes the TSA agents are ignorant and rude. Like the agent who started patting my hijab after I was cleared by the full-body scanner. She had to "make sure there aren't any explosives" inside it, she said.

Or the agent who wouldn't let me pass security unless I removed both layers of my hijab and showed her my hair.

We all want to be safe while traveling. I fly frequently. I use carefully crafted language with my family before every trip, making a special point of saying how much I love them. I'm scared just like everyone else.

But profiling people based on their religious dress and religious names does not make us any safer. While TSA agents are fixated on hijabs, beards and Arabic names, they overlook concerning behavior that requires scrutiny.

When we finally approached the TSA agents and handed them our boarding passes, I was sent for additional "random" screening while Mr. Outburst was cleared for travel. He was not even asked about his disturbing, erratic and unstable behavior moments earlier.

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I worked on a case where a Muslim man was added to the no-fly list over a spelling error. He was eventually cleared and the U.S. Attorney's office touted the case as an example of "progress."

I don't celebrate that case. To me, it represents the highest level of incompetency and problems with the system, where an innocent man can end up on the no-fly list because the government can't spell his name correctly.

While focusing on one positive outcome, we undermine the hundreds of other cases involving Minnesota Muslims who have been, and continue to be, profiled simply because of who they are. Many people in the Minnesota Muslim community -- as well as individuals who are perceived to be Muslim -- have an airport story. Here are some of the people I have met:

- A Muslim man went for the hajj pilgrimage and was not allowed back into the country for a month. He lost an entire month's of pay and nearly lost his job.

- A Muslim family that had lived in Minnesota for 30 years had guns drawn at them by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) every time they drove to Minnesota from Canada. The last time, agents handcuffed and detained both the father and his teenage son.

- Several individuals said that when they follow the proper procedures and fill out the TRIP Redress to avoid problems at the airport, the FBI uses it as an opportunity to visit their home uninvited.

-A family was asked discriminatory questions by CBP agents, such as how many times they pray, which mosques they attend, or what books they use at Sunday School.

-A woman's suitcase was opened and searched by CBP and she was asked, "Do you have any religious items in your suitcase?"

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Minnesota Muslims continue to face humiliation and second-class treatment at the airport. And there is no better way to disenfranchise and alienate an entire community.

When the Washington, D.C.-bound 4-year-old Muslim boy's intrusive full-body pat down was completed, the TSA agent smiled and extended her hand. She held a sticker. The little boy turned to her and said, "I don't want it."