Thread: Muslim cashiers won't ring up pork products

Sounds like the taxi cab driver story....

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationwo...onalnews-print

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.

I just think that if you can't or won't perform the job's duty, you shouldn't have that job.....find another one.

OH MY GOODNESS!! Just when you think you have heard it all, BAM, another one comes at ya!!

I never have understood why people from other countries can come here and then refuse to comply with the standards or practice of the USA. If we say anything about them, well then WE are being unfair. Doesn't that work both ways??? Why must WE comply with their beliefs??? If you have a problem selling pork products because of your religion thats fine, no problem. But for Heavens sake don't take a job in a grocery store or any store that might sell products pertaining to what you don't believe in!!! People its not rocket science.

Just my two cents!

My DD is Muslim (thats an entirely different story lol) and we butt heads over things that are "against her religion" all the time, but she's never refused to touch a pork product while at work. She's said and done some things I will never understand, but its nice to know that she hasn't completely lost it lol

If you can't provide the service the job requires, why take the job ? Apply for a job in soft line ( clothes ) garden center, electronics, produce, floral ...

Originally Posted by Jolie Rouge

If you can't provide the service the job requires, why take the job ? Apply for a job in soft line ( clothes ) garden center, electronics, produce, floral ...

exactly..........why do I get the feeling if I had tried this I would have been fired on day one??? I know when I worked at the WIC store I couldn't even guess how many illegals I served and we all know how I feel about that situation lol

Certain positions require that you perform certain functions. Period. What? Now we are going to have Muslim people not check in people to hotels because they aren't married, or they bring a bag of pork rinds or bottle of wine? Where do your religious rights end and my personal rights begin? Would a muslim woman become a paramedic if it means cutting the clothes off of, or touching a man? Can she refuse to work on a patient because of that? If your religious beliefs stop you from doing any requirement of a job, then get a different job.

lol a 'romantic evening'?........Checking into a hotel with someone who's not your spouse, carrying porkrinds and a bottle of wine? lol

Sign me up!

Originally Posted by pepperpot

lol a 'romantic evening'?........Checking into a hotel with someone who's not your spouse, carrying porkrinds and a bottle of wine? lol

Sign me up!

I said or....but I suppose if "and" is your cuppa tea for "romantic"

Originally Posted by LuvBigRip

I said or....but I suppose if "and" is your cuppa tea for "romantic"

"or's" would work, but the "and's" make it a 'special evening'...

Funny. These people don't seem to mind collecting the paychecks that pork sales help to provide. I'm soooo sick and tired of people picking and choosing what they will and won't do based on their religion. If they are that adamant about it, they shouldn't even be working in a place that sells pork.