Phoenix imam seeking boycott of US Airways

MINNEAPOLIS — One of the six imams ordered off a US Airways flight this week is calling for a boycott of the airline.

"I'm not going to stay silent," Omar Shahin said. "I came to this country to enjoy justice and freedom."

Shahin and five fellow Muslim imams were escorted off a US Airways jet at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on Monday after their praying, conversation and behavior alarmed several passengers and flight attendants.

The incident set off a nationwide uproar, and the Department of Homeland Security's Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties said it will review the incident.

The religious leaders were heading home to Phoenix after a three-day North American Imams Federation conference.

They were released without charges after being questioned for five hours by federal law enforcement officials.

Shahin, president of the imams' group, called for a boycott of US Airways after an agent and his supervisor refused to sell him replacement tickets the next day.