(WASHINGTON, DC, 10/7/2022) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today announced the filing of its brief before the Fifth Circuit in its federal antidiscrimination lawsuit against Mesa Airlines on behalf of Issam Abdallah and Abderraouf Alkhawaldeh.
Issam Abdallah and Abderraouf Alkhawaldeh, two respected leaders of the Dallas-Fort Worth area Muslim community, were subjected to racial discrimination while attempting to fly home to Texas after an international relief fundraiser in Alabama. The pilot assumed they were terrorists based on their “Arab, Mediterranean” race and refused to fly with them on board, telling security that she was “not flying this plane with a brother named Issam on it.”
Earlier this year, United States District Judge Reed O’Connor granted summary judgment for Mesa. As the brief explains, that was a mistake because a jury could find that Mesa violated federal law by racially discriminating against Abdallah and Alkhawaldeh.
“It is unacceptable to treat anyone like a terrorist because of their race or their religion” said CAIR National Litigation Director Lena Masri. “Mesa Airlines failed to give Issam and Abderraouf the dignity promised by our civil rights laws.”
“Issam and Abderraouf were profiled, surveilled, and deemed to be a threat simply because of their race,” explained CAIR Staff Attorney Hannah Mullen. “Mesa’s disgraceful conduct is exactly what the Civil Rights Act of 1866 is designed to prevent.”
CAIR’s mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es mejorar la comprensión del Islam, proteger las libertades civiles, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
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CONTACT: CAIR National Litigation Director Lena Masri, 202-642-4934, [email protected]; CAIR Staff Attorney Hannah Mullen, 202-516-4726, [email protected]