Posted on 01/26/2006 8:01:36 PM PST by Proud_USA_Republican
A British airline banned its staff from taking Bibles and wearing crucifixes or St. Christopher medals on flights to Saudi Arabia to avoid offending the country's Muslims.
British Midland International also has told female flight attendants they must walk two paces behind male colleagues and cover themselves from head to foot in a headscarf and robe known as an abaya, the Mirror newspaper of London reported.
Teddy bears or other cuddly toys also are not allowed.
Airline officials, who have sparked outrage, the paper says, explain the Islamic kingdom's strict laws – enforced by religious police – prohibit public practice of Christianity and figures of animals.
BMI spokesman Phil Shepherd said: "In providing air services people want, demand and use, we have an obligation to respect the customs of the destination country."
An airline employee who asked not to be named told the Mirror: "It's outrageous that we must respect their beliefs but they're not prepared to respect ours."
The employee said his grandmother gave him a crucifix shortly before she died that he wears at all times.
"It's got massive sentimental value and I don't see why I have to remove it," he said.
The airline's staff handbook says: "Prior to disembarking the aircraft all female crew will be required to put on their company issued abaya. It will be issued with the headscarf which must be worn."
The employees' union wants staff members to be able to opt out of the flights, but the airline says the only option is to transfer from overseas staff to domestic flights, which could mean a loss of about $30,000 a year in wages.
About 40 staff members have filed complaints since the route began in September.
Some of the male members who are homosexual have called in sick, because they are afraid of traveling to Saudi Arabia, where homosexual activity is punishable by flogging, jail or death.
It doesn't get any more clearer than that statement. Just like the british banks that have banned piggybanks because it might offend muslims. Political correctness is going to be the death of the modern world.
Islamonazis must be wringing their hands. Europe is already 1/2 conquered without hardly a shot fired.
SCREW THEM !
I'm sorry, but I don't really care about the feelings of people who are offended by the EXISTANCE of people who worship differently than they do.
It's not like the employees are going to start chopping their heads off with the crucifixes, or beating them on the head with the bibles.
Unless they have to.......
"Islam: What the West Needs to Know" [documentary film, 2005 (2006?)]
(What the West Needs to Know: Islam, violence, and the fate of the non-Muslim world.)
Virtually every major Western leader has over the past several years expressed the view that Islam is a peaceful religion and that those who commit violence in its name are fanatics who misinterpret its tenets. This claim, while widely circulated, rarely attracts serious public examination. Relying primarily on Islam’s own sources, this documentary demonstrates that Islam is a violent, expansionary ideology that seeks the destruction or subjugation of other faiths, cultures, and systems of government.
The US military did the about the same when in Saudi Arabia. Whassup wit dat?
That's right. And if a McDonald's in India dares to serve Cheese(beef)burgers, it will face the fury of the Indian mob.
I would take the paycut or leave the company before submitting to the death cult and their savage 7th century customs.
The saudi and the rest of the death cult followers have shown they have no respect for our laws and cultures, and I therefore will never repsect theirs.
What I want to know is...what's with the ban on teddy bears? Seriously, what have I missed. Is it against Islam to have a teddy bear?
OK, I thought that Islam had a thing about representations of animals like in graven images, etc. But teddy bears? What kind of religion is threatened by teddy bears?
Which you should if that is your feeling. At the same time I do not fault a company in legitimate business from tailoring their product to their customer; it is a simple business practise.
If you have a mission to accomplish in that part of the world you put up with all kinds of crap to git her done.
Did you know that wooden crucifixes don't set off airport metal detectors?
The fact that this is about flights to Saudi Arabia is rather important info to leave out of the story. Saudi police do come on board planes and search them to enforce their laws (looking for alcohol mostly). Suppose they arrest an employee and have them flogged. What kind of lawsuit would the airline be open to?
The problem is not the airline, it's that the world tolerates this crap from the sand-Nazis. They should be banned from traveling to other countries until they respect other religions. But then there's that oil thing.
And muslims will still fly British planes into building if given the chance.
Stupid PC crap is going to backfire.
Never forget the Golden Rule: the people with the gold make the rules.
Perhaps you should look to a new demographic!
Google and China come to mind.
Good grief!
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