A pair of Islamic Imams were removed from a Delta Connection flight recently for suspiciously — wait for it — looking Muslim!
Yes, it’s that time again. Silly season is upon us. Immediately after 9/11, everyone was suspicious of anyone who appeared even remotely Muslim — watching their every move and refusing to travel with them. Now that Osama Bin Laden has been killed and Al-Qaida has threatened revenge, we’re back to our “Flying While Muslim” scare mentality. And it’s about to get out of hand.
Masudur Rahman and Mohamed Zaghloul were on a Delta Connection flight from Memphis to Charlotte to attend a conference on Islamophobia against Muslims, when the pilot suddenly decided he would not fly the plane with Muslims aboard. The men were forced off the North Carolina-bound flight to undergo an additional security check, of which they cleared. But that was still not enough proof for the suspicious pilot, who still denied them boarding and took off without them.
“It was pure discrimination based on appearance,” said Charlotte attorney Mo Idlibi, who is representing the Imams. The men were racially profiled and denied boarding because they were wearing traditional Muslim garb. “What happened runs completely counter to all of our fundamental principles here in the United States,” Idlibi continued, saying he intends to push for compensation and disciplinary action against the pilot and the airline. The 2 Imams were eventually permitted to fly on a much later flight, while a 3rd Imam was forced to drive to Charlotte instead.
“I was humiliated and felt so bad that others would look down on us,” said Zaghloul, who is originally from Egypt. “We need to tell people the truth about Islam: It is a religion of peace, a religion of justice, a religion honoring other people, regardless of color or religion,” said Rahman, who was born in India. “It’s racism and bias because of our religion and appearance and because of misinformation about our religion. If they understood Islam, they wouldn’t do this.”
Atlantic Southeast Airlines, which operated the flight on behalf of Delta, says it is investigating.
You said it right DJ that this is gonna be silly season. I still have white women grab their purse when I pass by. I guess Muslim is the new black.