Gawker: Muslims Going to Anti-Prejudice Conference Kicked Off Plane
HuffingtonPost.com: Masudur Rahman, Mohamed Zaghloul Asked To Deboard Delta Flight To Charlotte
CNN: Muslim group: two imams pulled from plane bound for North Carolina
QUOTE
According to the two Memphis imams, who spoke with WCNC in Charlotte, they had been screened twice at the airport before boarding the flight. The plane was taxiing on the runway when the pilot turned the plane around; both men were screened for the third time after being removed.
After that security check, he said a Delta employee at the gate informed him that the pilot of the flight would not allow him on board. He says the employees in the airport were very apologetic—even angry—and said they tried repeatedly to convince the pilot that he was wrong.
Rahman said he was even told that the gate agents asked the passengers if they felt uncomfortable about the two Muslim men, and reported back to the pilot that the people on board the plane were not concerned.
After that security check, he said a Delta employee at the gate informed him that the pilot of the flight would not allow him on board. He says the employees in the airport were very apologetic—even angry—and said they tried repeatedly to convince the pilot that he was wrong.
Rahman said he was even told that the gate agents asked the passengers if they felt uncomfortable about the two Muslim men, and reported back to the pilot that the people on board the plane were not concerned.
QUOTE
Masudur Rahman, who is also an adjunct instructor of Arabic at the University of Memphis, said by telephone from the terminal at Memphis International Airport that he and another imam had already been allowed to board their Delta Connection flight to Charlotte, N.C., before they were asked to de-board.
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Rahman said he and Mohamed Zaghloul, of the Islamic Association of Greater Memphis, were cleared by security agents and boarded the plane for an 8:40 a.m. departure.
The aircraft pulled away from the gate, but the pilot then announced the plane must return, Rahman said. When it did, the imams were asked to go back to the boarding gate where Rahman said they were told the pilot was refusing to accept them because some other passengers could be uncomfortable.
Rahman said Delta officials talked with the pilot for more than a half-hour, but he still refused.
The men were taken to a lounge and booked on a later flight.
* * *
Rahman said he and Mohamed Zaghloul, of the Islamic Association of Greater Memphis, were cleared by security agents and boarded the plane for an 8:40 a.m. departure.
The aircraft pulled away from the gate, but the pilot then announced the plane must return, Rahman said. When it did, the imams were asked to go back to the boarding gate where Rahman said they were told the pilot was refusing to accept them because some other passengers could be uncomfortable.
Rahman said Delta officials talked with the pilot for more than a half-hour, but he still refused.
The men were taken to a lounge and booked on a later flight.