Muslim Workers Walk Off Job Over Prayers

[Gregasauraus Rex]

news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050311/ap_on_bi_ge/prayer_dispute

[taxed]

I find it hard to believe there are actually companies that let them pray at sunset. IMO, that is equivalent to letting smokers take extra smoke breaks.

[granny2young]

I am big on prayer in my life, but I can't ever remember ONE TIME that I have had to have time off work or had to have special treatment to accomodate me. I thought it was a ridiculous request. I couldn't beleive that these companies are accomodating it. Granted, I am all for spending time in prayer and giving to God, but this one was a stretch. The sad thing is they will probably win because of who they are.

[BillyBob]

"Muslims are required by their faith to pray five times a day. Most of the prayer times are flexible, but the sunset prayers must be said at dusk.


Byrne Mulrooney, a spokesman for labor agency Spherion Corp., said the company was still trying to determine what happened. He said the Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based company has a good record of accommodating its Muslim workers. "

I wonder if they are as accomodating to their Christian workers? For example, these days you hear of many companies and/or schools forbidding the wearing of crosses or having a Bible on your desk, or in your desk. For you see, this display of your beliefs might offend someone. But apparently allowing Muslims time off every day to pray on what I imagine is company property, will not offend anyone. I wonder what Dell's policy is on that sort of thing when it concerns things that a Christian's belief might require them to do?

But, then again, maybe Dell had better be careful not to anger them.

[granny2young]

My daughter just told me about a professor at a college who was fired because he required a christian book to be read for his class as an assignment, yet another professor taught in his class that the people who died on 9/11 deserved what they got because they were greedy and in the WTC to promote greed and he was seen as a hero.

[BillyBob]

granny2young said:

My daughter just told me about a professor at a college who was fired because he required a christian book to be read for his class as an assignment, yet another professor taught in his class that the people who died on 9/11 deserved what they got because they were greedy and in the WTC to promote greed and he was seen as a hero.

What college was this, Granny? Was it Colorado and this Ward Churchill guy?

Wherever, this sounds about right. About like NC at Chapel Hill. They are currently being sued by the Christian fraternity. NC would not let them have their group unless they agreed to let non-Christians in and gays into leadership, and sign the non-discrimination pact, which included no sexual orientation. This same UNC got in a mess just before this by REQUIREING incoming freshman to take a course in Islam. Incredible, no?

[wittzo]

It sounds like the Muslim workers have an unofficial union. I would rather them having a strike for their religious accomodations than to get an extra holiday off of work altogether like a union would.

Most of Dell's customer support is also in India, a lot of Muslims and and lot of Hindus. I reckon if they irritate the Muslims here, it might mean some trouble over there..

If you have a lot of one ethnic group working at a place, accomodations should be made. We had impromptu prayers at some of our meetings at Walmart. When we had steak dinners, a couple of the guys couldn't eat beef for religious reasons but they were provided for.

When I was in school, there were so many Catholics, we had fish on Fridays to accomodate them. I'm sure where there are a lot of Jews working, they let them have Jewish holidays off. I think we need to respect other people's differences, especially when we expect them to respect ours.

[Gregasauraus Rex]

wittzo said:

It sounds like the Muslim workers have an unofficial union. I would rather them having a strike for their religious accomodations than to get an extra holiday off of work altogether like a union would.

Most of Dell's customer support is also in India, a lot of Muslims and and lot of Hindus. I reckon if they irritate the Muslims here, it might mean some trouble over there..

If you have a lot of one ethnic group working at a place, accomodations should be made. We had impromptu prayers at some of our meetings at Walmart. When we had steak dinners, a couple of the guys couldn't eat beef for religious reasons but they were provided for.

When I was in school, there were so many Catholics, we had fish on Fridays to accomodate them. I'm sure where there are a lot of Jews working, they let them have Jewish holidays off. I think we need to respect other people's differences, especially when we expect them to respect ours.

amen!!!!!!

[granny2young]

that's just it wittzo, the Christians are not getting the same respect for their faith. We get prayer taken out of schools, our children cannot be taught about God, we can't pray in public, etc., and the list goes on.

Sunset is usually about dinner time, why not let them take their supper break at that time and do whatever they wish on their time? I can just see me telling Mr. Wages I need time off every evening to pray. I wouldn't have a job long. As far as that goes I couldn't even get every Sunday off. In the job capacity I had, they would let us be flexible on Sundays and come in to work early and leave for church and come back and work late when we had to work Sundays, but only because of our dept. and our supervisor was like that, which was a rarity.

My husband works for a company that is very respectful of other faiths. His boss is a Seventh Day Adventus (sp) He does not allow any work on Saturdays, but because he has so many christians working for him he imposes the same rule on Sundays for them because they respect his holy day, so no one works on Sat. or Sun.

I get agitated when I read stories like this, not because I do not feel they don't deserve it, or because they are different, but because Christians are not given the same due respect. We are losing more and more rights as beleivers every day.

[wittzo]

The thing about it, most Christians won't stand up for their rights. If the Christians that want a special prayer time at Dell walked out, Dell would do it for them, too or the ACLU would get a call. There's a lot more Christians or people that can classify as Christians than anyone else in the US but they let themselves get rolled over. They're "closet Christians" because they would be ashamed or embarassed or afraid of being talked about by admitting their faith. I don't know why they do that, they are in the majority here and a pretty big number around the world.Of course I'm saying "they" when I'm also a closet Christian...

When BSIGrimreaper and crew get together, he leads us in prayer no matter where we are. You can pray in public. Christian prayer doesn't have any requirements for what direction to face, what time of the day it is, or anything. God will hearyou. I used to stop and pray at work all the time as long as it didn't hamper my production. God wouldn't want me to get written up on his behalf?

If Allah needs to put his people through all that I don't see how it's become so popular, other than the seventeen virgins in the garden of Muslim heaven. ;D

The government doesn't get Rammadan or Hannukah or any of those other religion's holiday's off, so the gov't does recognise Christianity, it's just all those bleeding heart liberal lawyer types that have made the government so PC and uber-sensitive. Hey! Isn't G2Y a bleeding heart liberal lawyer type? Knock it off! ;D Love ya G2Y!

[granny2young]

you are too funny wittzo...maybe I am a closet christian or a bleeding heart liberal type or maybe you are right that we just don't make enough noise. By being silent we are slowing losing our rights and our freedom of religion. When my girls got big enough to go to school, I sat them each down and we talked about the power of prayer and that they may have taken prayer out of school, but they could never take the prayer out of them.

Even on these forums (Tupeloforums.com) you mention "God" and there is always one that is going to label you a bible thumper or trying to shove something down someones throat for your beliefs, so most people just don't profess it to keep down a confrontation. We should be screaming our faith to the roof tops but we don't because of these few who would rather us shut up and not talk about it because they don't believe and criticize us because we do believe.

[Sky]

Gotta love the propaganda being spewed here.

g2y, give me the exact date prayer was removed from the public school system please.

BB wrote:

these days you hear of many companies and/or schools forbidding the wearing of crosses or having a Bible on your desk, or in your desk.

Please name those schools and or companies please.

[granny2young]

I understand that christianity and Jesus is propaganda to you, but to some of us its reality and salvation.

[Sky]

granny2young said:

I understand that christianity and Jesus is propaganda to you, but to some of us its reality and salvation.

I knew you would not answer the question g2y. The propaganda I'm referring to are the lies you and your religious right wing cohorts spew in an attempt to defy the real meaning of Christianity. You seem to think it's perfectly acceptable to tell the biggest lie in the known world because you are under the false impression (obviously from your bigoted religious pastor/minister/leader) that it's ok to lie if you're doing it in the name of God.

The reality is, a lie is a lie...a fiction, a fable, a falsehood uttered in an attempt to deceive. You do this while calling yourself "Christian". The fact is, it's a lie and anyone who tells it is a liar. Lying is a SIN! God despises a liar and loves an honest heart!

This is the exact reason I despise your brand of religious zealotry. It is built and based on lies and perpetuated by those who want to keep your fearful. They hold the "Pearly Gates" over your head and tell you that you won't enter the Kingdom of God if the lie isn't told their way. When someone disagrees with your lies, you attack their beliefs with a sanctimonious
"better than thou" "more religious than you", "more Christain then you", "I'm going to heaven , you're going to hell" attitude. The fact is, your lies will get you to hell quicker than my belief in truth.

The truth is, PRAYER was NEVER removed from the public school system but the ability for the Government to indoctrinate the masses and lead Christian prayer is unconstitutional and has been upheld by the Supreme Court of the United States. Students can pray anytime they choose in the classroom, the lunchroom or the playground. They can pray orally in a group, as long as it is not disruptive. Religious clubs under the Equal Access Act abound and provide a constitutionally permissible opportunity for devotional Bible reading as well as prayer. True moments of silence, neutrally administered, provide another occasion for prayer.


Our schools belong to everyone, not just those who profess a particular creed, yours included.

[granny2young]

Sky, you should already have figured out by now I am not going to respond and play the good vs. evil game with you. I chose to live for God and will not waiver. We all know which side you are on, you have made that pefectly clear many times. We do not harass you and post on every thread about your disbelief, so why must you try to torture us with our belief? I will leave you and every other nonbeliever out there with this thought: Just because YOU don't believe it, don't make it not true.