Browsing All Posts filed under »Workforce Issues«

Contradicting Islam, Some Muslims Are Violating The Laws of the Country They Reside In

March 15, 2007

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Source: ABC Premium News (Australia) Australia: Federal Assistant Treasurer Peter Dutton has asked the Tax Commissioner to investigate reports that some hardline Muslim clerics are encouraging people to cheat the tax system. A newspaper report today suggests some extremist clerics are advocating tax avoidance because they say paying tax is contrary to Islamic law. Mr […]

For Muslim Women, Education and Economic Empowerment Are Keys to a Better Life

March 11, 2007

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By Margaret Besheer, VOA Washington 05 March 2007 International Women’s Day Thursday highlights women’s struggle for equality, justice, peace and development. For many it is a day to celebrate progress. For others, it is a reminder of just how far they still must travel. (Note from Rafik Beekun: As an example of how far our […]

Serious Considerations in Mixed Groups: Interacting with Members of the Opposite Sex At Work

March 5, 2007

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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 […]

Ranking of Flexibility of Labor Regulations in Middle Eastern and North African Countries

March 4, 2007

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The dimension of worker employment in this World Bank survey measures the flexibility of labor regulations, and is summarized in the fifth column in the table below. It examines the difficulty of hiring a new worker, rigidity of rules on expanding or contracting working hours, the non-salary costs of hiring a worker, and the difficulties […]

Faith-based versus Faith-friendly Companies in the US

March 4, 2007

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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 […]

Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Human Resource Overview: Salaries, Cost of Living and Loyalty

March 2, 2007

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February 2007 Regional economies continue to enjoy an unprecedented boom with growth in 2006 and 2007 projected at an average of 6-7%, similar to the rate of the past 3 years, and exceeding the global growth rate which is projected at slightly over 5% for the period. It is against this backdrop that Bayt.com and […]

Saudi Arabia Declares War on Corruption

March 1, 2007

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JEDDAH, 20 February 2007 — Saudi Arabia’s Council of Ministers yesterday approved a National Strategy to Protect Honesty and Combat Corruption. It also decided to facilitate administrative procedures and question dishonest officials, irrespective of their positions, as part of a major move to root out all forms of corruption from the country. The weekly Cabinet […]

Freedom of Faith at Work: A Major Issue for US Muslims

February 25, 2007

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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 […]

Woman Minister Gunned Down For Not Wearing Proper Islamic Dress

February 25, 2007

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by Azhar Masood and Agencies Arab News ISLAMABAD, 21 February 2007 — A suspected militant yesterday shot dead Punjab’s minister for social welfare while she was about to address a meeting in Gujranwala. Fayyaz Chattha, the district administrator of Gujranwala, told Arab News a serial killer shot the minister, Zille Huma Usman, wounding her seriously. […]

Listening to Music (during work breaks or for leisure): Fatwa from Sheikh Yusuf Qardawi

February 22, 2007

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From Islamonline.net [With respect to] music and why it is permissible, here is the clarification for that in the light of fatwa issued by Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi: The whole issue of singing is controversial, whether it is with musical accompaniment or not. Some issues succeeded to gain the Muslim scholars’ agreement, while others failed. All scholars […]

Important information for MBA Applicants to US Business Schools

February 21, 2007

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US Business Schools are generally recognized as being among the best in the world.  Islam encourages excellence in everything that you do.  Hence, if you wish to excel in the workplace as a businessperson, a leader or an entrepreneur, you may consider applying to some of these schools.   If you are planning to apply to […]

Saving the world with a cup of yogurt

February 21, 2007

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Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, the father of microcredit, has a new idea. It’s called social business enterprise, and the first step is a yogurt factory in Bangladesh. Fortune’s Sheridan Prasso reports. By Sheridan Prasso, Fortune January 29 2007: 1:54 PM EST (Fortune Magazine) — Along a dirt road in Bangladesh’s green, fertile heartland, […]

Careers: Average Starting Salaries for University Graduates in US for 2007

February 18, 2007

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Source: National Association of Colleges and Employers and Most Lucrative Degrees for 2007 Grads. Average salaries are per year in US$.  Employment requires being a US citizen, or the possession of a green card already.  On occasion, a company may sponsor citizens of foreign countries in areas of critical need and scarcity in the U.S.–this type of […]

New Security Threats to the Workplace: Lock Bumping

February 13, 2007

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by Rafik Beekun So you think your office is secure because you have an expensive lock or a deadbolt? Think again. The following video shows an emerging criminal trend known as “lock bumping”. The clip describes lock bumping for residences, but it applies equally well to your office, supply or storage room or anywhere else […]

Careers: How To Deal with Setbacks at Work

February 13, 2007

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Turning Work’s Lemons Into Lemonade By Sam Grobart It’s a fact of life – and of work: Bad things happen. Deals are blown, ambitions are squelched, things go to hell in a handbasket. But a bad situation doesn’t have to be all that bad – if you know how to make it work for you. […]

Naps Sunnah May Reduce Risk of Heart Attack

February 12, 2007

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Taking a nap in the afternoon was the practice recommended by the companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him). It appears that the Prophet agreed with this, because scholars of Hadith have been in support of an afternoon nap.   In fact, taking an afternoon nap carries a religious dimension. As Adil Salahi has indicated, […]

New Measures to Help Expatriate Workers in Saudi Arabia

February 9, 2007

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Source: Arab News JEDDAH, 1 February 2007 — […] Saudi Arabia Labor Minister Ghazi Al-Gosaibi has taken two important decisions in order to safeguard the rights of about seven million expatriates working in the Kingdom. According to the first decision, any company or institution that delays payment of salaries of its employees for two consecutive […]

Islamic Business Ethics: Kindness to Animals

February 8, 2007

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Treatment of Animals in the Islamic Workplace by Rafik Beekun, Islamic Business Ethics  Muslim businessmen who make use of animals must be extremely careful in how they treat them. Professional butchers, for example, must show kindness in slaughtering animals:  Two are the things which I remember Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) having said, “Verily […]

New Fatwa Forbids Qur’an Verses as Ring Tones

February 7, 2007

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Friday, 2 February, 2007, 01:10 PM Doha Time DUBAI: Dubai’s Grand Mufti Sheikh Dr Ahmad Abdul Aziz al- Haddad issued a fatwa yesterday prohibiting the use of verses from the Holy Qur’an as mobile phone ring tones. Al-Haddad said that using the Qur’an on mobile phones was “a violation to its glory and sacredness.” The […]

Dubai eGovernment to offer customized eLearning

February 7, 2007

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Dubai eGovernment has signed an agreement with Dubai Municipality to offer eLearning courses to municipality staff through the eLearn channel in order to enhance and accelerate daily transactions between Dubai Municipality and local residents. As per the agreement, Dubai eGovernment will provide eLearning and electronic training curriculum to the municipality staff via personal computers or […]

Attacks on Journalists and the Press in Muslim Countries

January 30, 2007

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Source: Committee to Protect Journalists.  Being a journalist in a Muslim country is one of the most perilous jobs at this time.  In comparison to the USA where freedom of the press is relatively untampered with (see video at the end of this article), critiquing the status quo or those in power in Muslim countries […]

Women and Career Obstacles in Saudi Media

January 29, 2007

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Source: “Empowering Women in Saudi Media.” by Maha Akeel, Arab News. Islam has guaranteed women’s right to participate in making decisions concerning her life, her money and her community and therefore she has the right to be represented in every organization and institution that affects her directly or indirectly. [A]fter […] years of working in […]

If you drink alcohol, some Muslim cab drivers won’t drive you

January 27, 2007

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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 […]

American Airlines to pay $400,000 in damages for racial profiling of passenger

January 21, 2007

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Source: Tort Deform A Boston jury recently ruled in favor of an airline passenger who had been removed from an American Airlines (AA) flight because of racial profiling. The jury awarded $400,000 total, including compensatory and punitive damages, to John Cerqueira, in the first federal civil rights case challenging post-9/11 racial profiling by an airline. Mr. […]

U.S. Dept of Homeland Security to Launch Traveler Redress Inquiry Program

January 18, 2007

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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 […]

IBM Worker Says He Was Fired For Being A Muslim

January 18, 2007

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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 […]

Sharpen the Saw: Do not Postpone or Miss Your Salah at Work

January 14, 2007

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by Rafik Beekun At work, one often gets trapped by a project or a deadline, and one may engage in postponing prayer (salah). Yet, as Steven Covey states in his book, “7 Habits of Highly Effective People‘, one needs to stop periodically to sharpen one’s saw (cognitive, physical, emotional and spiritual acuity). Prayer, in its regular rhythmic […]

Issue 1: Should I Give Salams to Sinful Muslims at Work

January 12, 2007

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Question: Where I work many of the people I say salaam to either never say wa `alaikum assalaam or just say hi in response or sometimes just smile back. Some do one thing at one time and one thing at another time (e.g. return my salaam on Monday, but don’t say anything on Wednesday). These […]

Before any major decision, pray Salat-ul-Istikhara

December 25, 2006

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Updated August 23, 2016 By Rafik Beekun at the Islamic Workplace weblog A step-by-step description of how to pray Salat-ul-Istikhara and, Insha Allah, how to interpret it. Click here to download the English only step by step description of how to pray Salat Istikhara in a one-page 12 size font handout. Click here to download the […]

Islam in the Workplace (Part 1): Religious Diversity

November 21, 2006

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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 […]