russell said what can we do? we can call our manager, he was called and coming and pilot left the gate. he called the pilot back to the gate and pilot came to the gate and mr. john went to him and mr. john was talking to him more than a couple of minutes. >> so you think it's this pilot. you had nothing do with this other passengers, it was this pilot that kept you from flying last night? >> yeah. when mr. john came out and his face is red and upset and he said i apologize, you guys, i'm watching you from beginning to end, you are very polite, very nice, very cooperative, very helpful. we appreciate your patience. and we appreciate them. and they were very good with us. their conduct, they were professional. he said pilot is not allowing you to go. >> okay. listen, guys, we want to thank you so much for talking with us. we want to just mention to our viewers that your friend doesn't speak very good english and was only participating visually. will you be seeking legal action? >> at this point, we're keeping all o

when we are entering into the plane, the supervisor, mr. russell, he said, mr. rahman, sorry, i was pleading to the pilot to let you go. he's not allowing you to go. >> the imams were invited into delta's sky club until they waited for the next non-stop flight six hours after their original flight was scheduled to depart. he compares his experience to that of civil rights activist rosa parks. >> reminds me of the black lady that was kicked from the bus because of racism. >> delta deferred comments to the flight's operator, atlantic southeast airlines which told cnn compensation and reaccommodation on the next available flight were immediately offered to the passenger and the passenger's travel companion. we sincerely apologize for any inconvenience that this may have caused. meanwhile, the two imams flew back to memphis on sunday afternoon without incident. their attorney says the attorney wants delta and southeast atlantic airlines to institute training programs for delta pilots to ensure this doesn't happen again. allan chernoff, cnn, new york. >> in the headl

when we are entering to the plane, the supervisor, mr. russell, he said mr. i mmam, sorry, i was pleading with the pilot to let you go with this flight. he is not allowing you to go. >> delta invited the two men into its sky club at the airport in memphis. they had to wait six hours until the next nonstop flight over to charlotte. delta deferred statement to atlantic southeast airlines. it did say, quote, compensation and reaccommodation on the next available flight were immediately offered to the passenger and the passenger's travel companion. we sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. certainly a very embarrassing situation. fredricka? >> i'm wondering about the pilots. what is being said from them or what might they be facing besides questions? might there be any penalties imposed on them? is there anyone who is saying they want them to explain themselves? >> well, certainly, yes. i mean, an investigation is being conducted by atlantic southeast. the attorney for the imams says he wants training for delta and atlantic southeast airl

when we are entering into the plane, the supervisor, mr. russell, he said mr. raman, sorry, i was pleading to the pilot to let us go with us, in this flight, but he is not allowing you to go. i said, can you say the reason, what is the reason? he said okay, i am asking him the reason but he is not giving any reason. i can ask him again. he went in again and he was going with him maybe more than ten minutes. he came back again and said "he's not giving me any reason." >> it just so happens the imams are in charlotte, traveling there for a conference that focused on islamaphobia. southeast airlines put out a statement. it says, "we take security and safety very seriously and the event is currently under investigation. we sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. >>> at 8:30 eastern time we'll focus on our faces of faith and getting reaction to this story and the killing of osama bin laden from the muslim american editor of "i speak for myself," a new book that chronicles the story of muslim american women. >>> the mississippi river topping i

when we are entering to the plane, their supervisor, mr. russell, he said, mr. rahman, sorry, i was pleading to the pilot to let you go in this flight but he is not allowing you to go. >> reporter: the imams were invited into delta's sky club as they waited for the next nonstop flight, six hours after their original flight had been scheduled to depart. imam rahman compares his experience to that of civil rights trail blazer rosa parks. >> it reminds me, the black lady was kicked from the bus because of some racism. that history i found today in that plane. >> reporter: delta deferred comment to the flight's operator, atlantic southeast airlines, which told cnn, "compensation and reaccommodation on the next available flight were immediately offered to the passenger and the passenger's travel companion. we sincerely apologize for any inconvenience that this may have caused." meanwhile, the two imams flew back to memphis on sunday afternoon without incident. their attorney says he wants both delta and atlantic southeast airlines to institute training programs for p