Source: Arab News. Reprinted here with permission. Dr. Abd Al-Haleem Abu Shuqqah Note from Rafik Beekun: This article is reproduced here because of the increased interaction between men and women in the workplace, and the need for Muslims and Muslimahs to understand and abide by the Islamic etiquette of conduct among members of the opposite […]
By Marc Gunther, Fortune senior writer January 17 2007 NEW YORK (Fortune) — […] [According to] David Miller, a minister, author and former business executive. Ford, American Express and Tyson Foods are among the better-known faith-friendly firms. Minister, author and former business executive David Miller is currently executive director of the Yale Center for Faith […]
By Amy Green | Contributor to The Christian Science Monitor ORLANDO, FLA. – With her hijab and dark complexion, Catherine Garcia doesn’t look like an Orlando native or a Disney tourist. When people ask where she’s from, often they are surprised that it’s not the Middle East but Colombia. That’s because Ms. Garcia, a bookstore […]
Stuart Jeffries Monday February 26, 2007 The Guardian The American journalist HL Mencken once wrote: “We must accept the other fellow’s religion, but only in the sense and to the extent that we respect his theory that his wife is beautiful and his children smart.” In Britain today, such wry tolerance is diminishing. Today, it’s […]
BY SHANNON PRATHER Pioneer Press School bus driver Seham Nabry says her boss confiscated her prayer mats and complained that her ritual hand and feet washing messed up the office bathroom. She also says he blared Christian music and taunted Muslim workers as they prayed. Nabry said giving up her daily prayers — one of […]
Below, I have included only a sample of the hate crime incidents for which video clips are available. It is important to note that these incidents have occured over the last two years, and across several states in the USA. My intent is not to suggest that these incidents are connected; I simply aim to demonstrate that […]
VIEWS OF RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MUSLIM AND WESTERN CULTURES Can find common ground Violent conflict inevitable France 69% 23% Germany 49% 39% Great Britain 77% 15% India 35% 24% Indonesia 40% 51% Italy 78% 14% Kenya 46% 35% Lebanon 68% 26% Nigeria 53% 37% Turkey 49% 29% US 64% 31% By Roger Hardy BBC Islamic affairs […]
Source: Associated Press MACON, Ga. – Macon Mayor Jack Ellis has converted to Islam and is now working to legally change his name to Hakim Mansour Ellis. Ellis, who was raised Christian, said Thursday that he became a Sunni Muslim during a December ceremony in the west African nation of Senegal. Ellis said he has […]
by Sean Murphy Associated Press OKLAHOMA CITY — A police officer in the small eastern Oklahoma town of Webbers Falls was fired and another was demoted after a Muslim woman claimed they harassed her about her religion during a traffic stop in November, a town official confirmed Thursday. The town’s council members agreed to fire […]
Note from Rafik Beekun: I am always moved by the sight of our sisters in Hijab. They are the ever courageous and visible standard bearers of Islam. In this video test taking place in the seaside town of Southampton, U.K., a non-Muslim woman dresses up in hijab to test the reactions of non-Muslims to her […]
January 26, 2007 By Keith Oppenheim CNN MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota […] I stepped into the taxi depot that serves the Minneapolis – St. Paul International Airport, where drivers sit and wait for their next fare. In this crowded, noisy room, most of the cabbies are Muslims originally from Somalia. “We’re doing a story about the conflict […]
Source: News-Record.com On Monday, Jan 22, 2007, three Guilford College students, Michael Bates, Michael Robert Six, and Christopher Barnette, were arrested in connection with a group assault that occurred on campus, according to court documents. Police said Faris Khadar, Osama Sabbah and Omar Awartani (2 Muslim and 1 Christian Palestinian students) were victims of this attack. […]
Besides taking issue with Congressman Ellison about his use of the Qur’an for the swearing in ceremony, Senator Virgil Goode wants the diversity visa program to end. His rationale: immigration needs to be restricted so that more Muslims do not get elected to the US Congress. Way to go, Goode!!! Do you still believe in […]
Source: (Media-Newswire.com) – Release Date: January 17, 2007 The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced today it will launch the DHS Traveler Redress Inquiry Program (DHS TRIP), an easy to use, single point of inquiry for travel-related issues. DHS TRIP was developed to provide a central gateway to address watch list misidentification issues, situations where […]
By Paul McDougall Source: Information Week A Muslim electronics engineer who developed five patents for IBM claims the computer maker fired him because of his religion and that managers at the company mocked him for refusing to eat during the Ramadan fast and once told him to ignore Islamic law and clean a knife that […]
Keith Ellison is one of the most intensely scrutinised members of the new Democratic intake – the first Muslim member of Congress. In an exclusive BBC interview he talks to Stephen Sackur about what he wants the Democrats to do with their new found clout. Please click here to watch this excellent interview by Stephen […]
Source: Media Matters Almost on a daily basis, on Talk Radio Network’s The Savage Nation, nationally syndicated radio host Michael Savage (aka Michael A. Weiner) launches a tirade against Islam and Muslims. Such relentless attacks can only foster hate against and distrust of Muslims both in the workplace and elsewhere. Michael Savage rarely tolerates any […]
Franklin Graham has replaced his father, Billy Graham, in leading a major Christian evangelical organization. Billy Graham was one of President Bush’s most influential religious confidants. Since taking over the reins, Franklin’s organization, Samaritan’s Purse, claims that it intends only to bring relief services to impoverished non-Christians, but has–according to other Christian organizations–worked only to convert people to its version of Christianity (with […]
Barbara Boxer rescinds her award to a Muslim activist after Anti-Muslim, right-wing extremists’ complaints are voiced. Watch the vigorous response from Ibrahim Hooper of CAIR on Paula Zahn’s CNN show.
Source: The Seattle Times By James Gordon Meek, New York Daily News WASHINGTON: Jan 4, 2007 — President Bush quietly has claimed sweeping new powers to open Americans’ mail without a judge’s warrant. Bush asserted the new authority Dec. 20 after signing legislation that overhauls some postal regulations. He then issued a “signing statement” that […]
Source: The Record By Maya Kremen “Hey, what’s up,” Mayor Mohamed Khairullah says. “Assalam alaikum. I got your e-mail.” Khairullah, 31, set a precedent in November by becoming the state’s first elected Arab-American Muslim mayor. Now he’s all about proving that, like any good politician, a Muslim can serve the public without mixing religion into […]
This video highlights the strong emphasis on social and economic justice in Judaism, and the courageous work being done by Rabbis for Human Rights to safeguard the human and economic rights of all, including Palestinians, within Israel.
Source: Articles from the Deccan Times and with help from Asghar in reviewing the report. The highly-anticipated report of the Justice Rajinder Sachar Committee on the status of minorities in India was submitted to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and was tabled in Parliament during the Winter Session. According to this report tabled on November 30, 2006, […]
Source: The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of l964 prohibits employers from discriminating against individuals because of their religion in hiring, firing, and other terms and conditions of employment. Title VII covers employers with 15 or more employees, including state and local governments. It also applies to employment […]
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today filed its sixth post-9/11 backlash discrimination lawsuit under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act against Trans States Airlines, Inc., a regional commuter airline. EEOC alleges that Trans States discriminated against Mohammed Hussein, a pilot employed as a First Officer, because of his Islamic religious beliefs […]
Source: A People Under Siege by William Fisher NEW YORK, Dec 19 (IPS) – Five years after the terrorist attacks of Sep. 11, 2001, “Islamophobia” — intensified by the war in Iraq and government actions — has left millions of Muslims here and in other Western countries fearful of harassment, discrimination and questionable prosecutions, and […]
Congressman Ellison makes all of us proud to be Muslims whether we are Americans or not.
One US Congressman nd one US Senator have come to the aid of the first Muslim elected to Congress, Keith Ellison. Here are their letters defending Congressman Ellison and American Muslims in general: Rep. Honda’s Letter to Rep. Goode – 12/21/06 Dear Congressman Goode: I was surprised and offended to hear about a constituent letter […]
Rep. Virgil Goode (R-VA) displayed blatant intolerance with the anti-Muslim remarks he made in a recent letter to a constituent. Goode’s letter to the head of the local Sierra Club chapter criticized the planned use of a Quran for the ceremonial swearing-in of Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress. “I do not subscribe […]
FROM HEAD SCARF TO ARMY CAP, MAKING A NEW LIFE – Andrea Elliott, New York Times, 12/15/06 LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Tex. Stomping her boots and swinging her bony arms, Fadwa Hamdan led a column of troops through this bleak Texas base. Only six months earlier, she wore the head scarf of a pious […]
Whle traveling for business or pleasure or going to pilgrimage, Muslims must often pray in public even if they are combining prayers. However, six Muslim imams (clerics) were recently ejected from a US Airways jet after a series of misunderstandings. Commentator Robin Washington is editorial page editor of The Duluth News Tribune. Please click here to […]
Source: Arab Human Development Report Launch, December 06, 2006 According to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Arab Human Development Report 2005 due to be released in 2006, women in the Arab world are not realizing their full potential and are not being provided with equal opportunity. The report states that this situation poses difficulties […]
Waiting until the elections were over, Florida Congresswoman Brown-Waite says all terrorists are Muslim. However, some good Samaritans defended Muslims. Specifically, we should congratulate Governor Jeb Bush for disassociating himself from another islamophobe, and we should thank TV channel FOX 13 for challenging the congresswoman during the interview. She cut the interview short when she […]
LONDON, Dec. 4 (UPI) — A report by a British think tank has found that the country’s policies have bred “resentment and alienation” in Muslims. The report, written by the think tank Demos and funded in part by the country’s Department for Communities and Local Government, said ministers failed to discuss “reasonable” grievances raised by […]
Advocacy groups in California claim workplace bias against Muslims, Arabs and those perceived as Muslims has increased. Some of the non-Muslims have joined others in filing lawsuits through the California offices of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, alleging increasing discrimination against people of Middle Eastern and South Asian descent, the Los Angeles Times reported. Source: […]
Michael Savage: To “save the United States,” Lawmakers should institute “outright ban on Muslim immigration” and on”the construction of mosques” – Media Matters for America, 11/29/06 http://mediamatters.org/items/200611290005 On the November 27 edition of his nationally syndicated radio show, Michael Savage declared that in order to “save the United States,” lawmakers should institute “an outright ban on Muslim […]
Keith Ellison, first US Muslim Congressman, to take his oath of office on the Qur’an In the article below by columnist Dennis Prager, the latter decries the fact that Congressman Ellison is refusing to take his oath of office on the Bible, and is determined to do so on the Qur’an. It is amazing that […]
Overview of empirical research article by A. E. Rippy and E. Newman, Journal of Muslim Mental Health, vol 1, Issue 1, 2006, pp. 5-20. Discrimination is defined as “beliefs, attitudes, institutional arrangements and acts that tend to denigrate or deny equal treatment to individuals or groups based on racial characteristics or group affiliation.” (Clark, Anderson, […]
Glenn Beck from CNN asks Keith Ellison, first Muslim to be elected to the US Congress, to prove he is not part of the ‘enemy’. To how many other congresspersons of other faith-based communities did Glenn Beck ask this same question?
If you ever wondered why Muslims are facing such challenges in their workplace and elsewhere in North America, watch Evangelist Pat Robertson talks about “What the Qur’an says”. Pat Roberson’s lack of knowledge starts with his misunderstanding of the word “Islam” which also means peace. The Qur’an specifically states that there is no compulsion in […]
Source: Religious Diversity and the Workplace by Grove Harris (2004) Note: This is an excerpt with respect to Muslims only from Grove Harris’s report. For the full article, please visit The Pluralism Project at Harvard University. […] According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in Washington, D.C., there has been a substantial rise […]
American Airlines is working hard at encouraging diversity and at accommodating Muslims.
Note from Rafik Beekun: At times, some Muslims may be excessive in their practice of deen in the workplace, their personal life and elswhere. The current rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan and their extreme viewpoints (with respect to the rights of women in Islam and their lack of tolerance for any other Islamic interpretation […]
Debate on Fox News about whether Muslims should be profiled or not in the United States.
A heart-to-heart audio conversation about the life experience of a Muslim as he seeks to enhance his Islam both at work and at home.
Source: The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Since the attacks of September 11, 2001, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and state and local fair employment practices agencies have documented a significant increase in the number of charges alleging workplace discrimination based on religion and/or national origin. Many of the charges have been filed by […]
Asma Afsaruddin […] Contrary to certain popular caricatures, Muslims are not somehow genetically predisposed to accept tyranny and religious absolutism. There is a healthy respect for honest, reasoned dissensus within the Islamic tradition; this attitude finds reflection in the saying atributed to the Prophet, “There is mercy in the differences of my community.” […] Long […]
"Let there be no compulsion in religion. Truth stands out clear from error; whoever rejects evil and believes in God has grasped the most trustworthy hand-hold that never breaks. And God hears and knows all things." - (The Qur’an, Al-Baqarah, 2: 256)
The Islamic Workplace 
March 5, 2007
5