Muslim College Student Claims He Was Harassed By Airline

BERKELEY, CA - U.C Berkeley student Khairuldeen Makhzoomi was kicked off a Southwest Airlines flight from Southern California back home because he spoke Arabic on the phone with his uncle, he tells The Washington Post.

Earlier this month, Makhzoomi traveled to Los Angeles where he heard U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon speak.

The Berkeley senior came to this country from Iraq six years ago as a refugee. His double major is in near eastern studies and political science, and his focus is improving life in Iraq.

After boarding a Southwest flight home the day after the speech, Makhzoomi made that fateful call to his uncle as other passengers boarded. He ended the call quickly when he noticed another passenger react to his conversation. He tells The Washington Post that he was removed from the plane before takeoff.

Makhzoomi claims that he was questioned by police and the FBI before they let him go. He eventually flew home on another airline.

“We were asked to respond, and we determined no further action was necessary,” Ari DeKofsky, a spokeswoman for the FBI’s Los Angeles office, told the San Francisco Chronicle.

To see more details about Makhzoomi’s encounter, read the full story on The Washington Post.