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DELL fires 30 Muslims over workplace prayer
Newswire ^
| 3.10.05
Posted on 03/10/2005 2:40:02 PM PST by ambrose
DELL fires 30 Muslims over workplace prayer
Muslim civil rights group calls for rehiring, offers mediation
by OfficialWire NewsDesk
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- (OfficialWire) -- 03/10/05 -- A prominent national Islamic civil rights and advocacy group today called on Dell Computers to rehire 30 Muslims workers allegedly fired from a plant in Tennessee for seeking to perform religiously-mandated prayers in the workplace. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) also offered to help the company and its employees reach a mutually-agreeable solution to the dispute.
CAIR said the workers were fired from a Dell facility in Nashville, Tenn., after they sought to perform the Islamic "Maghrib" prayer each day after sunset. (While the window of opportunity to perform the other four daily Islamic prayers, the sunset prayer is tied to a particular time of day and therefore requires greater flexibility and creativity on the part of employers and workers. Muslims pray each day after the break of dawn, at midday, in the afternoon, at sunset, and in the evening.)
"Given sufficient goodwill on the part of all those involved, both the employees' legal right to reasonable religious accommodation and the employer's right to maintain smooth operations in the workplace can be maintained," said CAIR Legal Director Arsalan Iftikhar.
In a letter sent today to Dell President and CEO Kevin B. Rollins, Iftikhar asked that the Muslim workers be rehired pending resolution of the issues involved. He said CAIR staffers who have experience dealing with workplace religious accommodation are available to act as mediators between the Muslim workers and Dell.
CAIR publishes a booklet, called "An Employer's Guide to Islamic Religious Practices," designed to prevent just such incidents. The booklet is available by emailing pubs@cair-net.org. (Include name, address and phone number when requesting the booklet.) Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 requires an employer to accommodate religious practices unless it causes an "undue hardship."
The Washington-based group has 31 offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.
Posted 3/10/2005 2:48 PM
TOPICS: News/Current Events; US: Tennessee; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: cair; dell; islamofacism; muslimamericans; religionofpeace; submitordieinfidels; trop; workplace; wot
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To: Charles Martel
To: ambrose
Hey, no sweat!
Pay is docked for the time off to pray AND the time it takes to get back up to production.
Should be good for about three or four hours in a day.
Work a 12 hour day for 8 hours pay or work a 4 hour day.
(Honey, I'll be late tonight ... very heavy prayer load ... don't wait up ... luv ya'.)
22
posted on
03/10/2005 2:47:40 PM PST
by
knarf
(A place where anyone can learn anything ... especially that which promotes clear thinking.)
To: justshutupandtakeit
Glad I just bought a new Dell. me too!!!
23
posted on
03/10/2005 2:48:08 PM PST
by
pollywog
(Psalm 121;1 I Lift my eyes to the hills from whence cometh my help.)
To: ambrose
''What you have to understand,'' said Abdishakur Ibrahim, the imam at a Nashville mosque who has intervened in similar cases, ''is that Islam is a religion where there is no separation between faith and life. For many Christians, they may go home and pray. But in Islam there are specific times when you must pray. And for Muslims, not to pray is to disobey God. And people feel that if you disobey God, you will go to the hellfire.'' I can tell them of a faith that requires no such "works" and all you need is the acceptance of a loving God who sent his only Son to die for us to cleanse us of our sins against Him. Hellfire is only for those who deny Jesus' sacrifice and Gods eternal forgiveness. No payment towards God for this eternal gift... AND you get to keep your job. Not a bad deal.
24
posted on
03/10/2005 2:48:17 PM PST
by
smith288
(Im too good for a tagline)
To: Hildy
IIRC they (the town) council voted to allow it
25
posted on
03/10/2005 2:49:02 PM PST
by
paul51
(11 September 2001 - Never forget)
To: ambrose
I thought the average wait time to pray was 43 minutes.
26
posted on
03/10/2005 2:49:12 PM PST
by
Crawdad
(The following statement is false. The preceding statement is true.)
To: Veto!
Could it have something to do with politics?Could have everything to do with the legal system lottery.
27
posted on
03/10/2005 2:49:24 PM PST
by
anonymous_user
(Excess ain't rebellion. You're drinkin' what they're sellin' -- Cake)
To: ambrose
Somehow I don't think the entire story is getting heard in this case. I couldn't see any major corporation jeapordizing any PR by doing this. I have a feeling the "prayers" were probably taking too long and other no-muslim employees were feeling uneasy about some blatant display of their religion.
For example, soon after 9-11, I was walking into Wal-Mart and was in the electronics section. A couple of Middle Eastern men put a tape into a stereo and turned up the ethnic music quite loudly. I walked over, as I have done with others, and turned the music down and told the men that not everyone likes their music and they shouldn't play it so loudly. Now, I did not turn the music off, or where they couldn't hear, just down to a tolerable level. They both became angry an hostile toward me and accused me of being racist. I laughed and told them that I would have done the same thing if the tape were AC/DC or Britney Spears, then I introduced them to my Japanese wife. They both apologized, shut up and played their music at a tolerable level. I am thinking that when you get 30 zealots like this together, it is much harder to get them to understand something like that.
28
posted on
03/10/2005 2:49:54 PM PST
by
phoenix0468
(http://www.mylocalforum.com -- Go Speak Your Mind.)
To: ambrose
I wonder if these muslims, during the hiring interview, said they could only work there if they could do their prayers?
Nah, they got hired first, banded together and then demanded prayer time.
29
posted on
03/10/2005 2:49:57 PM PST
by
Flyer
(That flight attendant is not missing playing below the bridge at this exact moment)
To: ambrose
30
posted on
03/10/2005 2:50:29 PM PST
by
LNewman
To: Flyer; RikaStrom
Dell ping! I got two! WOOHOO!
To: smith288
"What you have to understand," said Abdishakur Ibrahim....
32
posted on
03/10/2005 2:50:30 PM PST
by
traumer
To: pollywog
To: All
34
posted on
03/10/2005 2:51:09 PM PST
by
Cindy
To: Rodney King
I wish they would do that where I work. Come noon on Fridays, they get up and pray no matter whats going on.
To: knarf
36
posted on
03/10/2005 2:52:03 PM PST
by
phoenix0468
(http://www.mylocalforum.com -- Go Speak Your Mind.)
To: ambrose
for seeking to perform religiously-mandated prayers in the workplace CAIR: FOR forcing firms to protect religious activity for muslims.
CAIR: For forcing other non-Muslim religious activity out of Saudi Arabia
37
posted on
03/10/2005 2:52:27 PM PST
by
Swanks
To: Charles Martel
"The fatwa in the Dell, the fatwa in the Dell, high ho you're fired, go, the fatwa in the Dell."
To: Rodney King
If you think this is good, please don't complain when they limit Christian and Jewish prayers, too.
To: the invisib1e hand
Probably couldn't print it on FR........
40
posted on
03/10/2005 2:53:36 PM PST
by
litehaus
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