Arabic-speaking student says he was victim of Islamophobia

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A college student and Iraqi refugee yanked from a Southwest Airlines flight after mentioning a terrorist group's name during a phone conversation in Arabic says he was degraded and humiliated and wants a public apology.

"The statement he made was not illegal, there was nothing that involved threats or anything like that, so he was released," airport police Officer Rob Pendregon said.

The 26-year-old University of California, Berkeley, senior said his troubles began as he was excitedly telling his uncle in Baghdad that he was on his way home after attending a speech by United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

When he noticed a woman in the next row staring at him he told his uncle he'd call back later, adding he ended the conversation with the phrase "inshallah," meaning "God willing."

In the terminal he said the man, accompanied by three police officers, told him he should have known better than to speak in Arabic on an airplane, given how it might rattle people these days.