Islamophobia ‘in the air’: Sealed coke not for you!

NEW YORK: A Muslim traveler aboard a United Airlines flight was denied an unopened can of diet coke and was told “it’s so you don’t use it as a weapon,” just after handing an unopened can to another passenger.

Tahera Ahmad, 31, director of interfaith engagement and associate chaplain at Northwestern University was traveling Friday from Chicago to Washington when the incident occurred aboard the flight, according to her Facebook post.
Ahmad, in hijab, was heading to Washington for a conference on promoting dialogue between Israeli and Palestinian youth.
She had requested an unopened can of diet coke as a hygienic precaution to which the flight attendant replied: “We are unauthorized to give unopened cans to people because they may use it as a weapon on the plane.”
When Ahmad told the flight attendant she was being discriminated against, the attendant opened the beer can to hand to Ahmad’s fellow passenger, and said: “It’s so you don’t use it as a weapon.”
The shocked and bewildered Ahmad asked the other travelers if they had witnessed what unfolded.
A passenger across the aisle turned to her and shouted obscene anti-Muslim profanity.
He then said, “yes, you know you would use it as a weapon.”
Ahmad wrote on Facebook while flying: “I felt the hate in his voice and his raging eyes,”
She added: “I can’t help but cry… because I thought people would defend me and say something. Some people just shook their heads sin dismay.”
Support poured in for Ahmad on Facebook after posting about her ordeal with the twitter hashtag #unitedfortahera. Some social media users pledged to boycott United Airlines.
In a statement carried by CNN, United spokesman Charles Hobart said the airline “strongly supports diversity and inclusion.”
“We and our partners do not discriminate against our employees or customers,” the statement said. “We are reaching out directly to Ms. Ahmad to get a better understanding of what occurred during the flight.”
“We are also discussing the matter that Ms. Ahmad describes with Shuttle America, our regional partner that operated the flight. We look forward to speaking with Ms. Ahmad and hope to have the opportunity to welcome her back.”
Ahmad, who has Premier frequent-flier status with United, said Saturday that she had not heard from the airline. But later, the flight attendant as well as the pilot apologized, she said.
“She said she’s working on her rude behavior and that the man (sitting across the aisle) should not have said anything,” Ahmad said according to CNN.
“I’m not doing this to go after United Airlines. This is about bigotry and racism and our country is going through a very difficult time right now. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and so many others worked so hard ...” Ahmad added.
“They strove so hard so that Americans would not mistreat each other on the basis of the color of their skin or religious or ethnic background but I guess we’re still on that journey.”