Muslim Woman Wasn't Removed From Newark Flight Because Of Religion, Authorities Claim

Authorities are refuting a Muslim woman’s claims that she was removed from a flight at Newark Airport because of her religion and ethnic identity, according to a report.

According to Kameelah Janan Rasheed, 30, the incident took place on Nov. 26 after she had already passed through airport security and customs on her way to board a Lufthansa flight to Istanbul.

Rasheed said that an FBI agent allegedly ordered her off the plane, causing her to miss the flight.

Rasheed, an American citizen who is Mulsim, said she was wearing a hijab on her head while also wearing running pants, a T-shirt and a pair of sneakers, according to nj.com.

• See related article: Woman Says She Was Removed From Newark Airport Because She Is Muslim

But authorities have denied that Rasheed was stopped because of her religion or ethnic identity.

“I can assure you it’s not because she’s Muslim,” a U.S. Customs agent told NJ.com. “We do screening of Christians, we do screenings of Jews, of whatever.”

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection released the following statement after news of Rasheed’s accusations emerged:

“Our dual mission is to facilitate travel in the United States while we secure our borders, our people and our visitors from those that would do us harm like terrorists and terrorist weapons, criminals, and contraband… While we are not at liberty to discuss an individual’s travel experience due to the Privacy Act, our CBP officers are charged with enforcing not only immigration and customs laws, but also enforce over 400 laws for 40 other agencies and have stopped thousands of violators of U.S. law.”

According to her online biography, Rasheed is a conceptual artist, writer and former public school social studies teacher.

A 2006 Amy Biehl U.S. Fulbright Scholar to South Africa, Rasheed holds an Ed.M (2008) in Secondary Education from Stanford University as well as a BA (2006) in Public Policy and Africana Studies from Pomona College, according to her online biography.

Photo of Kameelah Janan Rasheed via Facebook