A simple request to give her an unopened can of juice on a United Airlines flight left Tahera Ahmad in tears.
Ahmad, who is director of interfaith engagement at Northwestern University, traveled from Chicago to Washington to promote dialogue between young Palestinians and Israelis.
She was wearing a hijab on her head, and for hygienic reasons she was asking for an unopened can of juice. The flight attendant told her she couldn't do that, but then handed an unopened can of beer to the man next to her.
Ahmad protested and asked why she did it, and was told: "I don't have the authority to give unopened cans to people because they could use them as weapons."
Then the flight attendant abruptly opened the can of beer she had previously given to the passenger.
Ahmad then asked the other passengers if they saw what was happening, but she experienced another inconvenience. A man sitting across the street shouted, "You Muslim, you should shut the f*** up. Yes, you know she would use that as a weapon. So shut up."
United spokesman Charles Hobart said that the flight attendant tried several times to comply with Ahmad's request, but that there was a "misunderstanding".
However, he did not want to explain what kind of misunderstanding it was, noting that he spoke with Ahmad to "understand each other better" and that he apologized "that she was not served properly on the road."
Ahmad said that the company tries to trivialize the discrimination she experienced.
"I did not receive a written, sincere apology for the pain I experienced and the hateful words. This is not about a can of juice," Ahmad wrote on Facebook.
She also wrote that she regularly received unopened drinks before, and that she does not want the flight attendant to be fired.
"I don't expect United to punish unjustified behavior, discrimination and hateful words, but to acknowledge their responsibility," she stated.
The flight attendant and the pilot later apologized to Ahmad.
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