Two U.S. Muslim men wearing traditional clothing were removed from an
airplane on Friday after the pilot refused to fly them even though they
had cleared security.
The incident occurred at the airport in the
southern city of Memphis, Tennessee, as the two Muslims were set to fly
to a conference on prejudice against Muslims in the southern city of
Charlotte, North Carolina. The pilot on the regional air carrier
Atlantic Southeast Airlines had started to taxi away from the gate when
he changed his mind and returned to the terminal.
One of the
Muslims, Masudur Rahman, a professor of Arabic at the University of
Memphis, said the unidentified pilot told him that "I'm not going to
take you." Rahman quoted the pilot as saying that some passengers
"might be upset or uncomfortable" if he and the other Muslim, Mohamed
Zaghloul, were on the flight.
The U.S. government agency that
handles airport security (the Transportation Security Administration)
confirmed the men were removed by the airline. The agency said it had
screened the Muslims and they were cleared to fly.
Atlantic
Southeast operates flights for a much larger U.S. carrier, Delta Air
Lines. After the men were taken off the flight, Atlantic Southeast
apologized to them and said it was investigating the incident. The men
were offered compensation and Delta transferred them to another flight.
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