Posted on 03/15/2007 1:13:37 PM PDT by John Jorsett
Minneapolis, MN (SHNS) -- Beryl Dsouza was late and in no mood for delays when she stopped at a Target store after work two weeks ago for milk, bread and bacon.
So Dsouza was taken aback when the cashier -- who had on the traditional headscarf worn by many Muslim women -- refused to swipe the bacon through the checkout scanner.
"She made me scan the bacon. Then she opened the bag and made me put it in the bag," said Dsouza, 53, of Minneapolis. "It made me wonder why this person took a job as a cashier."
In the latest example of religious beliefs creating tension in the workplace, some Muslims in the Twin Cities are adhering to a strict interpretation of the Koran that prohibits the handling of pork products.
Instead of swiping the items themselves, they are asking non-Muslim employees or shoppers to do it for them.
Minneapolis has become a hotbed for such conflicts because of its burgeoning population of Somali immigrants, many of whom are orthodox Muslims. Last year, Somali cabdrivers at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport attracted national attention when some refused to carry passengers toting alcohol.
Shah Khan, a spokesman for the Islamic Center of Minnesota, said the Somali Muslim community is divided between those who believe it is wrong to eat pork and more orthodox Muslims who believe the prohibition extends to selling, touching or handling the meat.
He urged people to remember the extraordinary adjustments many Somalis have made in coming to the Twin Cities. "Many of these people are refugees. They may have been tortured. And they came here having never held a book in English," he said. "They're already adapting to our society. We need to adapt to them, too."
Under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, employers are required to make reasonable accommodations for a person's religious practices if it doesn't impose an undue hardship.
A customer's personal preferences is usually not a factor in deciding whether a religious practice is protected in the workplace, noted Khadija Athman, national civil rights manager for the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Washington.
In most cases, a cashier should be able to call over another cashier who can scan a product and the shopper shouldn't be inconvenienced, Athman noted. "If the employee is rude and gasps at the sight of pork, then it's a different situation," she said.
Jonathan Sigelman, a local attorney, said he wasn't bothered when a cashier called for assistance after he showed up at the checkout lane with a package of turkey bacon. He explained to the cashier that turkey bacon did not contain pork, and the cashier agreed to scan it.
"It might have delayed my purchase 15 seconds at the most," Sigelman said.
Some legal experts said cashiers who avoid pork in a checkout line are different from taxi drivers at the airport who refuse customers carrying alcohol. "I think in general we expect taxi drivers to pick up all fares," said Eric Janus, the vice dean of William Mitchell College of Law. "That's part of what it means to be a taxi driver."
Like some others have said, they're not actually touching pork, just the package. Does this mean that they also won't scan a bag of fried pork rinds from the chips aisle?
Sometimes I notice checkers wearing those purple nitrile gloves, can't they just wear those?
I find this quite crazy, as I would think checkers ought to check. Do they scan six packs of beer, or is that verboten, too?
I can do that. If this happens to me I will shop somewhere else.
Fire this cashier.
I'm curious, the Jews aren't supposed to eat pork either, but how come I never heard about Orthodox Jew cashiers refusing to scan bacon?
I think your mother is calling you -- to wash out your filthy mouth....
The INSTANT you were offended -- were to you stupid to move to another subject?
Muslims behaving badly -- should EXPECT to be treated with contempt -- NOT respect..
Semper Fi
Can only speak for myself as a jew, not orthodox however, that I don't believe in imposing my views on anyone else, so, scanning pork for me wouldn't be a problem. It seems that taking things to the limit and forcing views on Americans seems to be the "thing to do" these days by "guests" to this country. If the store sells pork and you apply for a job as a cashier, or whatever, get over it and do your job or go back from where you came. The majority of people in the U.S. are Christian, and eat pork. Live with it or leave it. Personally, I get offended by the P.C. war on Chrisians, same thing happened to us in the 1930's, been there, done that, won't make that mistake again. Proud to be an American.
"They're already adapting to our society."
an obvious lie.
They want to change this society to conform to their savage notion of a religious dictatorship.
"Bacon check on islam 1."
What a bunch of hypocrisy! ABHORRED at the sight of pig flesh, but in love with the sight of sliced infidel necks and unbelievers' heads rolling in the dirt.
My thoughts exacly..
In the end money rules the day. Organize one-hundred people to shop in the store, filling carts with bacon and any other pork products available, get in the cashier's lane, refuse to scan the pork, call for the manager, then walk out, leaving the products on the conveyor. Repeat one-hundred times. Continue as many days as necessary.
"Could there are already lots of "pork rubbed" bills out there". I Just keep my money in a "pig skin" wallet!
Here's another pearl: If you fall asleep while praying, the Devil will pee in your ear.
Wonder what they'd do if someone was eating pork rinds while checking out? Heck, how do they serve the infidels since we love our pork products so much? Bet she put the change on the counter.... but then, how can they handle money since it was handled by a pork loving infidel....Things that make you go, "hmmm".
Cut off their heads.
"People need to stop putting up with this carp!"
amen...tell it like it is...
Apparently he's never been to K-Mart. Once again, don't blame the Muslims, blame those who brought them here and continue to do so. Multicultural states aren't free states. And this crap is just beginning, wait until they make up 3 or 5 or 10% of the population. The '65 immigration act was the death of America.
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