Khairuldeen Makhzoomi, who arrived in the US in 2010 as an Iraqi refugee, was removed from the April 9 flight from Los Angeles to Oakland, California, after the airline said another Arabic-speaking passenger reported hearing him say something that alarmed her.
The airline said in a statement that it regretted what occurred, but under federal regulations it had no alternative but to remove Makhzoomi.
"To be honest with you, I really was intimidated," Makhzoomi told The Associated Press yesterday. "It was an overwhelming process. They made me feel as if I were guilty."
"The statement he made was not illegal, there was nothing that involved threats or anything like that, so he was released," airport police Officer Rob Pendregon said.
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The 26-year-old University of California, Berkeley, senior said his troubles began as he was excitedly telling his uncle in Baghdad that he was on his way home after attending a speech by United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
When he noticed a woman in the next row staring at him he told his uncle he'd call back later, adding he ended the conversation with the phrase "inshallah," meaning "God willing."
Two minutes later, he said, a Southwest employee approached and told him he'd have to leave the plane. In the terminal he said the man, accompanied by three police officers, told him he should have known better than to speak in Arabic on an airplane, given how it might rattle people these days.
The FBI was called, he said, after the employee blamed him for delaying the flight and he responded, "No, I think this is what Islamophobia got this country into."
After being released he was told he couldn't return home on a Southwest flight and his ticket was refunded.
"We would like the opportunity to speak with Makhzoomi further about his experience and have reached out to him several times," the airline said in a statement.