I will be watching you: Muslim passenger kicked off plane in US

July 21, 2016

Washington, Jul 21: In a case of apparent racist discrimination in the US, a 40-year-old Muslim man was removed from a plane after a flight attendant publicly announced his name, seat number and said she would be "watching" him.

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The matter came to light yesterday when the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) complained to transport authorities that Mohamed Ahmed Radwan was removed from the American Airlines Flight last December because of his "identifiably Arabic and Muslim name."

According to federal law, airlines are prohibited from discriminating against passengers based on religion, ancestry and national origin, among other criteria.

CAIR sent a letter to the Department of Transportation (DOT) yesterday urging an investigation and also called for a "thorough examination" into prevailing practices of major airlines, The Charlotte Observer reported.

In addition, CAIR said the DOT should develop policy guidelines on objective factors to be looked at while deciding to remove a passenger from a plane.

Radwan, a chemical engineer, said he was flying from Charlotte to Detroit on December 6, 2015, on American Airlines Flight 1821.

As he was taking his allotted seat, Radwan said, a female flight attendant loudly announced, "Mohamed Ahmed, Seat 25-A, I will be watching you."

After a minute, she repeated, "Mohamed Ahmed, that is a very long name, Seat 25-A, I will be watching you." Then a third time, according to Radwan, she said, "25-A: you will be watched."

"I was in total shock. I've been flying for over 30 years, and I've never heard something like that," he said.

The flight attendant did not make such a statement about any other passenger, Radwan said. When he asked about her statements, the attendant said she was going to monitor everyone. When asked why she singled him out, the attendant accused him of being "too sensitive" and walked away, he said.

After a couple of American Airlines employees talked to him, he was told the attendant felt "uncomfortable" and he was escorted off the flight.

"I felt too unsafe to fly with American again," he said. Radwan instead booked a much later flight, which cost him about USD 1,500 and interfered with his travel plans.

Worse than the inconvenience was the humiliation of being treated like a terrorist, Radwan said.

"I've been a US citizen for 13 years, but at that moment I felt my sense of being American taken from me," he said.

In April, a Muslim woman was removed from a Southwest Airlines plane at a Chicago airport after she had asked to switch seats as she was told she had made the flight attendant "uncomfortable".

A Muslim family of five were also escorted off a United Airlines flight in March for "how they looked".

Comments

SK
 - 
Saturday, 23 Jul 2016

The airhostess should watch her HUSBAND, as to what he is doing outside the house...... Like Naren and Bopanna..

Clear cut
 - 
Friday, 22 Jul 2016

Don't blame whole nation for mistakes of one or two sick minded people's like Bopanna and kotian. They can't think much further.

Naren kotian
 - 
Friday, 22 Jul 2016

Stinky jihadist ...they deserve it ....well done America .. Love u ....haha guys don't bark about boycotting ..except population ur community cannot produce anything ...computer which u use ..processor in it ...it is owned by Jews ...apple belongs to Americans ....facebook belongs to Jew ...100% consumer oriented products are designed by non Muslims only da ....boycott Anthe kumda ...hogappa fish market open ago time aithu ...mostly kabali style nalli ...naan jihadi da andirbeku...adakke we will watch u andavle ashte ...

Ahmed
 - 
Friday, 22 Jul 2016

dear muslim brother please avoid all american products ...

Ahmed
 - 
Friday, 22 Jul 2016

American trained by RSS .....

Rizwan
 - 
Thursday, 21 Jul 2016

In same country America the boxing legend mohammed ali was honoured , and his name was about to right along with the many legends in a place where it was written in floor. But mohammed ali told if u want to honour me you have to write the name on the wall otherwise I don't want to be honoured ,Because my name resembles the name of prophet mohammed May peace be upon him. So only his name was written on the wall all other name is on floor till today.

sam
 - 
Thursday, 21 Jul 2016

Idiots...boycott american n British airways, then they will come under your feet...now days money speaks.... don't allow any flight attendant to insult any passenger.... they r feeding their family with passengers money...so let them shut their mouth and serve the passenger. Let her watch her husband and children or father n mother where they r going in her absent.

Viren Kotian
 - 
Thursday, 21 Jul 2016

What's wrong? His name was mohammed ahmad. So she the flight staff was terrorised and did what need to be done.

Akshata Rai
 - 
Thursday, 21 Jul 2016

Racism and hatred will destroy yourself. You cannot destroy others.

Rikaz
 - 
Thursday, 21 Jul 2016

Totally shameful behavior of \Stupid American Airlines\"..."

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News Network
February 28,2020

Bengaluru, Feb 28: Historian S. Shettar, 85, breathed his last early on February 28 in Bengaluru. He was suffering from respiratory problems and was hospitalised for over a week.

Shettar was known for his multi-disciplinary work, encompassing linguistics, epigraphy, anthropology, the study of religions and art history. He had extensively worked on the Jain practice of ritual death in Karnataka and Asoka edicts. He had studied and compiled early edicts in Kannada and worked extensively on the growth of Kannada language down the ages.

Born in 1935 at Hampasagara, Ballari district, he went on to study at Cambridge University and started his career as a Professor of History at Karnatak University, Dharwad, his alma mater. He later headed the National Museum Institute of the History of Art, Conservation and Museology in 1978 and Indian Council for Historical Research in 1996. He was also a visiting professor at the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bengaluru.

He was a bilingual historian who wrote in English for most of his career, but started writing in Kannada in later years. In the last two decades, he developed a keen interest in linguistics and wrote multiple books on classical Kannada and Prakrit. His 2007 book “Shangam Tamilagam” is considered a seminal work in the study of the early period of Dravidian languages. It won him Bhasha Samman from Central Sahitya Akademi. He later wrote two works on Halegannada, classical Kannada. His most recent work was “Prakrita Jagadvalaya” in 2018.

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News Network
June 19,2020

Puttur, June 19: A 32-year-old woman in Puttur taluk of Dakshina Kannada district died due to complications caused by dengue yesterday.

The deceased is Naseema (32), wife of Nazeer Master, a resident of Parpunja village in the taluk.

She was not well for past few weeks and she was diagnosed with dengue fever with chills a week ago.

Initially she underwent treatment at a hospital in Puttur. After her condition worsened, she was shifted to a private hospital in Deralakatte.

However, she breathed her last without responding to any treatment last night.

Naseema is the second victim of the mosquito-borne infection in Puttur taluk this month. Last week, dengue had claimed the life of a woman in Bettampady village in the same taluk.

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News Network
June 20,2020

Udupi, Jun 20: Movement of heavy vehicles on Agumbe Ghat section was banned till October 15, following heavy rain lashing due to onset of South West Monsoon.

The Agumbe Ghat connects Shivamogga with the Udupi district. There is a possibility of landslides on either side of the Ghat road if movement of heavy vehicles is allowed during the monsoon, said Udupi DC G Jagadeesh in statement issued here on Saturday.

The movement of all heavy vehicles above 12 tonnes has been banned on the road. Till end of monsoon all the heavy vehicles have to move via Udupi-Brahmavar-Barkur-Shankaranarayana; Siddapura-Hosangady-Hulikal Ghat-Hosanagara-Theerthahalli; Udupi-Karkala-Bajagoli-S K Border-Kerekatte-Sringeri- Shivamogga.

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