Minneapolis Star Tribune
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March 18, 2007
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - 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. "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.
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 those who believe the prohibition extends to selling, touching or handling the meat.
Under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, employers must accommodate a person's religious practice if it doesn't impose a hardship.
A customer's personal preference is usually not a factor in deciding whether a practice is protected, noted Khadija Athma of the
Council on American-Islamic
Relations in Washington.
A cashier should call over another cashier to scan a product and the shopper shouldn't be inconvenienced, she said. "If the employee is rude and gasps at the sight of pork, then it's a different situation," she said.
But after the situation was publicized on the front page of the Minneapolis Star Tribune last week, Target received angry mail and boycott threats. Target managers asked Muslim cashiers who refuse to handle pork to wear gloves or transfer to other areas of the stores.
Mrs Pepperpot is a lady who always copes with the tricky situations that she finds herself in....
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