When Khairuldeen Makhzoomi boarded his Southwest Airlines flight on April 6, he had no idea that he would end up becoming the latest example of Islamophobia in the United States. After speaking to an uncle about his experiences at a dinner with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the 26-year-old senior at the University of California was unceremoniously booted off the flight.
The reason? During his conversation, the political science student spoke a number of Arabic words that alarmed fellow passengers. The words were "inshallah," which literally translates to "God willing," a very common Arabic phrase.
"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, 'inshallah, inshallah, I will call you when I arrive.' And during the conversation a lady was staring at me," he said.
Initially, Makhzoomi thought that the reason the lady was staring at him was because he spoke too loudly. Soon, however, she left the plane, coming back with an Arabic-speaking Southwest Airlines employee and two police officers, who promptly escorted him off the plane.
"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.
Once he was out of the aircraft, Makhzoomi stated that he was questioned by the Southwest Airlines employee aggressively. According to the political science student, the employee talked to him "like (he) was an animal."
"I said to him, 'This is what Islamophobia got this country into,' and that made him so angry. That is when he told me I could not go back on the plane," Makhzoomi said.
After retorting, things just got worse for the student. He was soon brought into the terminal, searched in front of a crowd of onlookers and questioned by three FBI agents in a private room. After interrogation, he was eventually released. Southwest Airlines refunded his ticket.
In a statement about the incident, Southwest Airlines outlined how the events transpired.
"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," the company said.
Although he was extremely distressed by the turn of events, Makhzoomi said that he does not seek to pursue any legal action against the popular airline. Rather, he simply said that all he is looking for is a sincere apology.
"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."
Almost two weeks since the incident, however, the political science student is still yet to receive an apology from the airline.
