According to today's Washington Post. this is the book the flight attendant thought was in Arabic: :
"Kelli M. Evans, another of the agent's lawyers, said the book, written in English, was "The Crusades Through Arab Eyes" by Amin Maalouf.
Maalouf is Lebanese, writes often in French, and has won the Prix de Goncourt, which (the few) Francophiles on PPRune will recognize as quite an honor. The Crusades book was published in December 1999.