Daily Show Jon Stewart United Airlines H 2015
Comedy Central/ScreenshotOn Wednesday’s Daily Show, Jon Stewart took down United Airlines after a flight attendant refused to serve an unopened can of soda to a Muslim passenger, in fear that it could be used as a weapon.
“Sounds bad, but you take that soda, add Alka-Seltzer and a seagull, and you’ve got yourself a bomb on an airplane!” Stewart joked. The passenger in question was Tahera Ahmad, director of interfaith engagement at Northwestern University. After refusing Ahmad a full soda can, the flight attendant then gave another flyer an unopened can of beer without hesitation, and did not say anything when a man told Ahmad, “You Muslim, you need to shut the f— up.”
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Stewart then brought in senior religious correspondent Hasan Minhaj, who joked that the can of Diet Coke was in fact a “carbonated grenade — you throw that at someone, bam! They are out like a trout! Then you ask the flight attendant for another can of soda — 198 soda cans later, the plane is yours! … We are crafty. Anything on a plane is a weapon to a Muslim. The corner of a Dorito chip can slice a neck.”
“Scarf around the head is way scarier than scarf around the neck,” Minhaj continued. “There is a hierarchy of faith in this country: up top, we got evangelical [Christianity], then Catholic, Jew-y but not too Jew-y, miscellaneous non-Muslim, Scientology, devil worship — then right here is Muslim.”
The segment continued with how Muslims can effectively hide their faith. “If you’re Muhammad, go by Mo,” said Minhaj, who’s name then became Cody. “Covered in fabric means covered in secrets!”
Watch the story in the videos below.
Later on in the show, guest Melissa McCarthy stopped by — in a Stewart-covered kimono — and noted her nervousness with real guns on the Spy set.
