Dianna Rugg
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Two Imams kicked off a Charlotte-bound plane say they’re not surprised by the incident, but organizers at a conference the men were headed to say they’re disappointed this type of discrimination still happens so long after Sept. 11, 2001.
Mohamed Zaghloul and Masudur Rahman boarded the plane in Memphis Friday after going through the usual security screenings in the Memphis airport. That included initial TSA screens and an additional scan at their gate. They boarded their plane, which pulled away from the gate, and then returned.
The two religious leaders were asked to get off the plane for additional screenings, after which the pilot refused to let them return. They were put on another flight to Charlotte.
Zaghloul and Rahman were headed to Charlotte for a conference about Islamophobia -- the “fear of Islam.”
“It sort of punctuates for the attendees that this is a serious issue,” said Corey Saylor of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a civil rights group for Muslims.
CAIR has asked the Department of Justice to investigate the incident.
The airline, Delta contract carrier Atlantic Southeast Airlines, is also investigating. They apologized Friday for any inconvenience the pilot caused.
At the conference, one of the organizers called the incident “surprising.” Dr. Eltayeb Abuelyaman said participants in the conference are disappointed something like this would happen so long after 9/11.
“There should be a reason for anything like this to happen,” he said, “and we have yet to find a reason.”
The Imams don’t believe the discrimination had anything to do with the death of al Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.
“He got what he deserved,” said Abuelyaman, “so that’s end of story.”
Instead, they’re worried about everyday Americans who still misunderstand Muslims. But even the two men who were kicked off the plane hope people learn from it.
"It is great injustice and everyone is paying attention to me about,” said Rahman. “I hope that it will get to every people."
May 08, 2011, WCNC
