VEILED US MUSLIM WOMAN HARASSED ON FLIGHT

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Detroit,  15 Rabi’ul Akhir 1436/5 February 2015 (MINA) – An American Muslim woman accused Delta airline’s staff of discriminating against her by forcing her to the end of the plane, with her crying sick child, after being harassed by a passenger who hinted they were not Americans.

“I felt as if she was attacking me because she said it in such a mean way,” Darlene Hider told Buzzfeed News on Wednesday, February 4, On Islam quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

“What am I not American because I’m wearing a scarf? You automatically assume I’m not American because I’m wearing a scarf?”

Troubles started when Hider was travelling with her husband and four children on Delta Flight 1576 from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Detroit on Monday afternoon.

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Boarding the aircraft, a woman sitting in front of the family complained that Hider’s children were being disruptive as Hider’s 9-month-old son was sick at the time and was crying.

When Hider’s husband told her that their children that were not making trouble, the woman is said to have responded, “Is that how you raise your children?”, allegedly adding she wouldn’t fly with young children because “this is America.”

“I felt as if I wanted to defend myself but I couldn’t because of the Islamophobia going on. It’s enough that I wear a scarf. We have to prove ourselves every day to people and it gets tiring. I’m not a terrorist,” Hider said.

“I’m American. I was born and raised here. I have American friends, Jewish friends, Christian friends,” she said.

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A Delta employee on board the flight then tried to “defuse the situation” by moving Hider and her children to the back of the plane.

When her husband and other passengers interfered, the said employee threatened to have these people removed from the flight, Hider said.

“As bad as that moment was, I did feel a lot of unity,” she said, recalling how other passengers tried to calm her.

“Whether it was Arabs or Americans or black people or white people, these people were consoling me and saying it was OK. It was a very emotional time for me.”

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Apology

Upon landing in Detroit, airline representatives met her to apologize for how she was treated.

A spokesperson for Delta Airlines added that the airline is investigating the incident and does not condone discrimination in any fashion.

“I want justice,” she said tearfully, adding she does not want a mere apology.

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“I want justice for every woman who wears a scarf and who’s Muslim and doesn’t have to worry about being on a plane or in a restaurant or a mall, or walking down the street.”

“I made the choice to wear this scarf,” she said. “It wasn’t forced upon me. I feel at this moment people need to know we are not oppressed. That is what I’m standing up for and I will not be quiet.”

Hider’s brother Abed Ayoub, who works for the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, said the incident reflected the core of discrimination they face on planes.

“That’s the reality of discrimination,” Ayoub said. “It impacts us all and can hit close to home.”

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“It may not sound like much at first glance, being told to move from your seat, but it fits into a pattern of discrimination against Arab Americans,” he said.

“This happens to our community on planes. It happens to our community while we’re flying.”

“These women are mothers. These women are sisters. These women are wives. They are women whose lives are going to be impacted by what you’re saying to them. You don’t have a right to treat them that way.”

This is not the first incident for American Muslims in flights.

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In 2009, nine members of a Muslim family were removed from a domestic AirTran Airways flight to Orlando, Florida, after they chatted about their seats in the plane.

Another incident occurred in 2006 when six imams were removed from a domestic flight for what passengers considered suspicious behavior.

They were removed from the flight, handcuffed and detained in the airport for questioning for over five hours.

Since 9/11, American Muslims, estimated between six to seven million, have become sensitized to an erosion of their civil rights, with a prevailing belief that America was targeting their faith. (T/P011/R04)

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Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)

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