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NU Muslim Chaplain Claims Discrimination After Being Refused Unopened Can On United Airlines Flight

(CBS) -- United Airlines is in damage control mode after a prominent Muslim scholar and chaplain at Northwestern University wrote about a humiliating experience she said she had on a flight Friday, reports WBBM's Mike Krauser.

Chaplain Tahera Ahmad wrote on her Facebook page that she asked a flight attendant for an unopened can of Diet Coke for hygienic reasons she said and was told it was against airline policy because it could be used as a weapon.

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She said the flight attendant gave the woman next to her an unopened can of beer, which she did open after Ahmad said it was clearly discrimination.

She said she asked people around her if they witnessed what she said was, "discriminatory and disgusting behavior," she said a man across the aisle said, "you Moslem, you need to shut the f*** up."
He looked her in the eye, she said and could feel his hatred when the man said, "You know you would use it as a weapon so shut the f*** up."

She said she thought people would defend her and couldn't help but cry.

United Airlines released a statement saying, "United is a company that strongly supports diversity and inclusion, and we and our partners do not discriminate against our employees or customers. We are reaching out directly to Ms. Ahmad to get a better understanding of what occurred during the flight. We are also discussing the matter that Ms. Ahmad describes with Shuttle America, our regional partner that operated the flight."

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