The account of a UC Berkeley researcher who was removed from a flight after a fellow passenger heard him speak Arabic on his phone has drawn condemnation and outrage for the airline, Southwest, about a perceived pattern of barring travel.

Khairuldeen Makhzoomi, a senior at the university, was removed from the Oakland-bound flight from Los Angeles international airport on 6 April. Makhzoomi, 26, was born in Iraq, and his family fled the country in 2002 after his diplomat father was killed by Saddam Hussein’s regime.

According to Makhzoomi, he was removed from the flight and questioned by the FBI after another passenger informed airline staff about his phone conversation, which was to his uncle in Baghdad. He ended the call with the word “inshallah”, meaning “God willing”, and said the passenger thought he used the word “shahid”, meaning “martyr”, during the conversation.

Southwest confirmed that it had removed Makhzoomi from the flight late on Friday.

“She kept staring at me and I didn’t know what was wrong,” Makhzoomi told the Daily Californian. “Then I realized what was happening and I just was thinking ‘I hope she’s not reporting me.’”

As Makhzoomi was being questioned by airline staff and police officers, the student complained he was the victim of discrimination.

“I told them, ‘This is what Islamophobia looks like,’” he said in an interview with SFGate. “And that’s when they said I could not get on the plane, and they called the FBI.”

Makhzoomi said he was searched and his bag inspected. He wasn’t allowed to reboard the Oakland flight and had his ticket fare refunded.

“That is when I couldn’t handle it and my eyes began to water,” he said. “The way they searched me and the dogs, the officers, people were watching me and the humiliation made me so afraid because it brought all of these memories back to me. I escaped Iraq because of the war, because of Saddam and what he did to my father. When I got home, I just slept for a few days.”

The incident occurred a day after Makhzoomi attended a dinner with the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, at the Los Angeles World Affairs Council. Makhzoomi said he is still waiting for a proper explanation for the decision to remove him.

In a statement, Southwest Airlines said Makhzoomi was removed because of “potentially threatening comments made aboard our aircraft”, and added that it does not tolerate discrimination of any kind.

“We wouldn’t remove passengers from flights without a collaborative decision rooted in established procedures,” the company said. “We regret any less than positive experience onboard our aircraft.”

“We understand local law enforcement spoke with that passenger as the aircraft departed the gate. To respect the privacy of those involved, we will not publicly share any further specifics of the event.”

Despite the company’s reassurances, its decision to bar Makhzoomi drew outrage from many people, including those concerned about anti-Muslim sentiment stirred up by politicians such as Donald Trump and Ted Cruz.

(Would I be reported if I started speaking Arabic in an airport? Could actually do that experiment...) — Nadia Drake (@nadiamdrake) April 16, 2016

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (Cair) said it is concerned about what it sees as a trend of Muslims being profiled and having their flights disrupted in the US.

Last week, the group called for an investigation into a decision to remove a Maryland woman from a flight in Chicago. The woman, of Somali background and who wears an Islamic head scarf, was allegedly removed without explanation by police after she asked another passenger to swap seats so she could sit by the window.

Southwest also drew criticism last November, after two incidents at Chicago’s Midway airport involving passengers who said they were afraid of Americans speaking Arabic. Cair demanded an apology from the airline after six people were removed or sidelined, allegedly over their ethnicity.

Last year, a British Muslim family heading to Disneyland was barred from boarding a flight to Los Angeles by US authorities at London’s Gatwick airport.

“We are tired of Muslim-looking passengers being removed from flights for the flimsiest reasons, under a cryptic claim of ‘security’,” said Ahmed Rehab, a spokesman for Cair.