2 Muslim clerics kicked off plane in Tenn.

A pilot refused Friday to take off from Memphis with two Muslim clerics traveling to a conference in Charlotte, N.C. Atlantic Southeast Airlines, which operates the Delta Connection flight, said the incident is under investigation, the (Minneapolis) Star Tribune reported. Masoud Rahman, a former imam at the Muslim Society of Memphis, told the newspaper he and Mohamed Zaghloul, imam of the Masjid An-Noor Mosque, were seated on the plane, which had left the gate. But the pilot then returned to the gate and they were ordered to get off. Delta transferred them to a later flight to Charlotte and apologized, he said. They missed the opening prayer and other events at the North American Islamic Jurisprudence Conference. "I don't know what kind of pilot he was, I don't know his mentality," Rahman said. "I think some action should be taken so this won't happen with other people, any religion, any person, any professional."