#UnitedForTahera: Muslim Woman Claims She Was Discriminated Against on Flight After She Asked for an Unopened Diet Coke.

#UnitedForTahera has been trending after she shared an unpleasant experience she had aboard a United Airline flight:
Tahera Ahmad, a chaplain at Northwestern University, probably wasn't expecting to gain a global audience when she vented about her in-flight experience during a recent trip.

On Friday, Ahmad, who is Muslim, claimed she had been mistreated because of her religion during a flight on United Airlines.

"I am in tears of humiliation from discrimination," she wrote. "The flight attendant asked me what I would like to drink and I requested a can of Diet Coke. She brought me a can that was open so I requested an unopened can due to hygienic reasons. She said no one has consumed from the drink, but I requested an unopened can. She responded, 'Well I'm sorry I just can't give you an unopened can so no Diet Coke for you.' She then brought the man sitting next to me a can of UNOPENED beer. So I asked her again why she refused to give me an UNOPENED can of Diet Coke. She said, 'We are unauthorized to give unopened cans to people because they may use it as a WEAPON on the plane.' "

"So I told her that she was clearly discriminating against me because she gave the man next to me an unopened can of beer. She looked at his can, quickly grabbed it and opened it and said, 'It's so you don't use it as a weapon.' "

Ahmad's tale doesn't end there. When she asked other passengers if they "witnessed this discriminatory and disgusting behavior," Ahmad says a man cursed her out and made offensive comments about her religion.

"[He said] 'you Moslem, you need to shut the F--- up.' I said, 'What?!' He then leaned over from his seat, looked me straight in the eyes and said, 'Yes you know you would use it as a WEAPON so shut the f--- up.' I felt the hate in his voice and his raging eyes," she wrote.

"I can't help but cry on this plane because I thought people would defend me and say something. Some people just shook their heads in dismay."

A spokesperson for United Airlines said in a statement that they are trying to get in contact with Ahmad about the incident.

"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.

"We look forward to speaking with Ms. Ahmad and hope to have the opportunity to welcome her back."

Ahmad's story quickly went viral, with people using the hashtag #unitedfortahera on Twitter to show their support and lodge complaints at United.

When asked if it is United Airlines' policy to not serve unopened beverages for safety concerns, the spokesperson directed PEOPLE to Shuttle America, who operated the flight. Shuttle America did not respond to request for comment. Ahmad also did not respond for a request for comment.

Earlier this week United got in hot water on social media after Canadian singer Sarah Blackwood was kicked off a flight because her 23-month-old son was crying. In a statement, SkyWest Airlines, who were operating to flight for United, claimed that the child was not seated before departure and posed a safety concern. Blackwood responded and said she was in a window seat and her son was "not even close to an aisle."

Ahmad told the Chicago Sun-Times that she received an apology from the flight attendant on behalf of herself and the other passenger, saying that the United employee had “acknowledged it was unethical and said he never should have said anything”.

The story of Islamophobia at 30,000 feet went viral just hours after an anti-Islam protest in Phoenix drew global attention following a lethal incident in Texas earlier this month.

culled from People.