One day, Khairuldeen Makhzoomi was proudly asking the U.N. secretary-general a question. The next, he was booted from a Southwest flight and questioned by the FBI.
For the 26-year-old student at University of California, Berkeley, it was a shocking turn.
Now he's pushing for an
apology from the airline and spreading the word about what happened, which he calls a clear case of Islamaphobia.
It all started, according to Makhzoomi, after he decided to call his uncle in Baghdad after getting on the plane. While he waited for takeoff on his flight from Los Angeles to Oakland, California, they chatted in Arabic about an event he'd been excited to attend the day before: a dinner with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
"I just called him and talked to him about it and everything, and he told me (to) call him when I get to Oakland, and I said, 'insha'Allah insha'Allah (God willing), I will call you when I arrive.' And during the conversation a lady was staring at me," Makhzoomi said.
The political science student thought the woman might have been concerned with how loudly he spoke on the phone. He saw her abruptly leave the plane. And suddenly, the situation turned.
"One guy came with police officers within two minutes -- I can't believe how fast they were -- and told me to get off the plane," he said.
Southwest declined to provide details about the incident but said in a written statement that the airline doesn't tolerate discrimination.
"Prior to the departure of Flight 4620, our crew made the decision to investigate a report of potentially threatening comments overheard onboard our aircraft. A group of our employees including the flight crew made the decision to review the situation. We understand local law enforcement also spoke with that passenger as the aircraft departed the gate," Southwest said.
"No further action" was taken after questioning Makhzoomi, an FBI spokeswoman said.
Makhzoomi says he hasn't received an apology from Southwest since he got kicked off the April 6 flight.
"All I want is an apology today," Makhzoomi said. "We as a people, Iraqi, American, Iranian, we share one thing in common, and that is our dignity. If someone tries to take that away from us, we should fight but not with aggression, with knowledge and education. One must stand for his principle."
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Now he's pushing for an
apology from the airline and spreading the word about what happened, which he calls a clear case of Islamaphobia.
It all started, according to Makhzoomi, after he decided to call his uncle in Baghdad after getting on the plane. While he waited for takeoff on his flight from Los Angeles to Oakland, California, they chatted in Arabic about an event he'd been excited to attend the day before: a dinner with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
"I just called him and talked to him about it and everything, and he told me (to) call him when I get to Oakland, and I said, 'insha'Allah insha'Allah (God willing), I will call you when I arrive.' And during the conversation a lady was staring at me," Makhzoomi said.
The political science student thought the woman might have been concerned with how loudly he spoke on the phone. He saw her abruptly leave the plane. And suddenly, the situation turned.
"One guy came with police officers within two minutes -- I can't believe how fast they were -- and told me to get off the plane," he said.
Southwest declined to provide details about the incident but said in a written statement that the airline doesn't tolerate discrimination.
"Prior to the departure of Flight 4620, our crew made the decision to investigate a report of potentially threatening comments overheard onboard our aircraft. A group of our employees including the flight crew made the decision to review the situation. We understand local law enforcement also spoke with that passenger as the aircraft departed the gate," Southwest said.
"No further action" was taken after questioning Makhzoomi, an FBI spokeswoman said.
Makhzoomi says he hasn't received an apology from Southwest since he got kicked off the April 6 flight.
"All I want is an apology today," Makhzoomi said. "We as a people, Iraqi, American, Iranian, we share one thing in common, and that is our dignity. If someone tries to take that away from us, we should fight but not with aggression, with knowledge and education. One must stand for his principle."
read more
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