Some Muslim cashiers refuse to handle pork
Some Muslim cashiers refuse to handle pork products
By Chris Serres and Matt McKinney
Star Tribune (Minneapolis)
MINNEAPOLIS - 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, or hijab, 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 Quran 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.
It has set off a firestorm of comments - more than 400, as of Tuesday evening - on the Star Tribune's community blog, www.buzz.mn. People called the newspaper from as far as Tokyo to voice their opinion.
It remains unclear how many Muslim cashiers in the Twin Cities are declining to ring up pork sales.
The Twin Cities area 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.
Dr. Shah Khan, a spokesman for the Islamic Center of Minnesota in Fridley, said the Somali Muslim community is divided between those who believe it is wrong only 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. "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."
Target released this statement in response: "Providing guests with consistently fast checkouts is a key, fundamental part of our business and our guest service commitment. As always, we continue to explore reasonable solutions that consider the concerns of team members while ensuring that we maintain our ability to provide the highest level of guest service."
Supervalu, the nation's third largest supermarket chain and the parent company of Cub Foods, moves new employees into jobs that don't interfere with their moral beliefs, said Haley Meyer, a company spokeswoman.
Retailers have accommodated other religious groups over the years. In the Twin Cities, these include those who don't want to sell lottery tickets or work on Saturdays, said Bernie Hesse, local organizer for United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 789. Supermarkets in particular have been good about recognizing their employees' religious observances, he said.
"If we ever get to the point of selling wine in grocery stores, I imagine some folks will be excused from doing that," Hesse said.
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."
A supermarket cashier, on the other hand, is not under the same legal obligation to serve all customers, though the store may be. As long as another cashier is available to serve the customer, there should be no problem, said Janus.
The cashiers' example holds a similar legal ground to pharmacists who refuse to dispense birth control or morning-after pills, a practice that has led to differing legal opinions in some states as many legislatures decide to take on the issue.
"It gets a little more difficult in the pharmacy world if you're dealing with a 24-hour pharmacy and the only pharmacist on duty is refusing to fill prescriptions," said Stephen Befort, a professor at the University of Minnesota College of Law.
Some people see the Muslims' actions as evidence of an unwillingness to adapt to the American workplace, and to the society as a whole.
"It's about one ethnic group imposing its own beliefs on the rest of us," said Manny Laureano, 51, who plays trumpet for the Minnesota Orchestra. "It goes against the whole idea of this country as different groups of people who came together to create a single culture."
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispo/news/nation/16897385.htm
By Chris Serres and Matt McKinney
Star Tribune (Minneapolis)
MINNEAPOLIS - 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, or hijab, 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 Quran 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.
It has set off a firestorm of comments - more than 400, as of Tuesday evening - on the Star Tribune's community blog, www.buzz.mn. People called the newspaper from as far as Tokyo to voice their opinion.
It remains unclear how many Muslim cashiers in the Twin Cities are declining to ring up pork sales.
The Twin Cities area 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.
Dr. Shah Khan, a spokesman for the Islamic Center of Minnesota in Fridley, said the Somali Muslim community is divided between those who believe it is wrong only 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. "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."
Target released this statement in response: "Providing guests with consistently fast checkouts is a key, fundamental part of our business and our guest service commitment. As always, we continue to explore reasonable solutions that consider the concerns of team members while ensuring that we maintain our ability to provide the highest level of guest service."
Supervalu, the nation's third largest supermarket chain and the parent company of Cub Foods, moves new employees into jobs that don't interfere with their moral beliefs, said Haley Meyer, a company spokeswoman.
Retailers have accommodated other religious groups over the years. In the Twin Cities, these include those who don't want to sell lottery tickets or work on Saturdays, said Bernie Hesse, local organizer for United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 789. Supermarkets in particular have been good about recognizing their employees' religious observances, he said.
"If we ever get to the point of selling wine in grocery stores, I imagine some folks will be excused from doing that," Hesse said.
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."
A supermarket cashier, on the other hand, is not under the same legal obligation to serve all customers, though the store may be. As long as another cashier is available to serve the customer, there should be no problem, said Janus.
The cashiers' example holds a similar legal ground to pharmacists who refuse to dispense birth control or morning-after pills, a practice that has led to differing legal opinions in some states as many legislatures decide to take on the issue.
"It gets a little more difficult in the pharmacy world if you're dealing with a 24-hour pharmacy and the only pharmacist on duty is refusing to fill prescriptions," said Stephen Befort, a professor at the University of Minnesota College of Law.
Some people see the Muslims' actions as evidence of an unwillingness to adapt to the American workplace, and to the society as a whole.
"It's about one ethnic group imposing its own beliefs on the rest of us," said Manny Laureano, 51, who plays trumpet for the Minnesota Orchestra. "It goes against the whole idea of this country as different groups of people who came together to create a single culture."
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispo/news/nation/16897385.htm
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Absolutely ridiculous. Get a different flipping job!!! 0 -
Actually I think they are on to something there. If a muslim got a job as say, a dog catcher he would never have to work at all. (dogs being unclean) Hmmm... does'nt have to work but still gets paid by the PC types. 0 -
Easy remedy. Bring up and place on the counter a full cart of things
with the bacon in the middle. If she/he wont pack it just leave everything and walk off. Have a few friends do the same thing. This will get someones attention very quickly.0 -
Great idea joeaf1911a1 !! I'm wondering when Somalia will be fixed and no more from there have to come here. Same goes for every other country on the globe that's had centuries to copy us (or England, Germany, or other free nation). How may more years are we gonna take immigrants? Or, how many more increments of a million in population are we gonna wait before we say "We can take no more-stay home and fix your countries, you've had enough time to do it."
When are we going to hold 3rd world leaders responsible to fix their countries. They're educated here or Great Britain or France and witness how to live better but go home and drive their Mercedes aor march their armies right by millions of poor. The current leader in Somalia was a U.S. Marine who fought there and who's dad was a warlord and now he's doing the same thing.
Watching Bush the other day say to the Mexican president "You're our neighbor and I'm going to push for this or that to benefit Mexico, blah, blah, blah" was nauseating. It'll be just like every other deal we strike with a foreign country-our leaders sell us down the river. How many of OUR auto plants are in Toyota's homeland! I pray for my grand children and the suck world they're gonna have to face. Sadam Hussein missed a golden opportunity to be on coins minted centuries from now if he'd given his people a decent life.
Bush missed a golden opportunity to tighten our borders in the days/weeks after 9-11. World criticism would have been short lived.
Bush shoulda been jacking the Mexican president up and saying "You've been in close proximety to us for centuries and look where you are-get your act together!" Where's our leaders that are looking at 40-50 years from now instead of right now?
It's the same with city leaders/developers/planners. When is enough growth enough?! When do we stop using new housing starts as a measure of economic health? How much more rural land has to be lost? When do we endeavor for a static situation where cities stop growing and just be clean and healthy and sustained. But business schools and the Chambers of Commerce hear that and you'd think you were talking Chinese to them. FWIW I think we're on an irreversible spiralling down..............0 -
quote:Originally posted by joeaf1911a1
Easy remedy. Bring up and place on the counter a full cart of things
with the bacon in the middle. If she/he wont pack it just leave everything and walk off. Have a few friends do the same thing. This will get someones attention very quickly.
Very good solution. [:)]0 -
If the Islamic system was working so fantastic for them where they were; then why did they come here? Since they are here, it can be concluded the place they came from sucked old gym sox. The way of life they had was a failure. Islamic traditions were a failure.
So they better get used to BLT's, triple whoppers with bacon and cheese, pork roast and sauerkraut on St. Paddys day because we Americans are just about ready to play cowboys and rag-heads. Ask the Indians how we play......
Assimilate or die either way problem solved.0 -
So they better get used to BLT's, triple whoppers with bacon and cheese, pork roast...
Does this also include Jews living in the United States?0 -
I just thought of a great reason to lube my gun with bacon fat and carry my money in a pigskin wallet.[:D] 0 -
can't do cashier work that's fine, grab the mop and bucket lady. 0 -
I have no issue with this... as long as...
1) This isn't new behavior. If they were scanning and bagging pork, etc. when they were first hired, and are just now deciding not to handle it to send a message, then they need a firin'.
2) They were hired, and in the hiring process it was made clear that the employee had strong wishes and while wanted the job, there was one facet about it they couldn't do for whatever reason. Assuming a compromise was reached on how it would be settled/handled then no problem, see #1
To apply for a job where certain behaviors or physical characteristics are required and then get sue happy because you aren't hired due to those considerations is just plain ol' stupid, but I think that is becoming the American way...0 -
I going to get a small stamp made and stamp each and every piece of paper currency with the word "This bill has a tiny bit of pig fat smeared on it! Muslims do not touch!" and put those bills into circulation and see what happens. 0 -
They're working an honest job and probably can't be too picky about what job they take given their qualifications and unfamiliarity with English and American culture. An orthodox Jew would likely act in a similar fashion, but they have been in America long enough to build their own businesses.
They aren't hurting anybody and heck, I help bag my groceries at the store, anyway - I'm not too good to put my own food up.
So get your panties out of a bunch and try to be a little understanding - these are the Muslims who want to work, not blow stuff up. Marginalize them and assimilation will NEVER happen. Take a look at the crap storm that happened over in France.0 -
How did we ever get along without Muslims before?? VERY WELL I THINK.
They dont seem to fit into a Christian/Judo/Atheist country very well.
Too damn much uproar and special priveliges given to them for such a small minority. Either they should "melt in" or go back home. Preferably, go back home. This is carrying P.C. and diversity a bit too far.0 -
When are these people going to realize how tasty pork, ham, and bacon are. 0 -
quote:Originally posted by joeaf1911a1
How did we ever get along without Muslims before?? VERY WELL I THINK.
They dont seem to fit into a Christian/Judo/Atheist country very well.
Too damn much uproar and special priveliges given to them for such a small minority. Either they should "melt in" or go back home. Preferably, go back home. This is carrying P.C. and diversity a bit too far.
Orthodox Jews are the same way - they don't touch pork or shellfish. Heck, they won't even enter a building that doesn't advertise Kosher foods. But they stay in their own neighborhoods, speak their own language, marry into their own race. Not much for "melting in" is it?0 -
But do you see them getting jobs at Target and refusing to touch certain things?
No.
And then getting some ambulance chaser to sue Target?
No.
Do you see the problem?0 -
quote:Originally posted by Alpine
But do you see them getting jobs at Target and refusing to touch certain things?
No.
And then getting some ambulance chaser to sue Target?
No.
Do you see the problem?
Um, in case you missed it...
quote:Originally posted by Ba SardoOriginally posted by joeaf1911a1
But they stay in their own neighborhoods, speak their own language, marry into their own race. Not much for "melting in" is it?
And where in the article does it say they are suing Target?
I'm only saying to give these folks a little leeway because they are new here and they're working - not gobbling up welfare dollars.
Now if they sue, screw 'em - ship them back to where they came from in a cardboard box.
If they've been here for more than a generation, screw 'em as well.0 -
quote: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.She's lucky this ain't the Cold War anymore or she'd be the bad guy of this article!
My oh my, how easily we find an enemy to hate so that we don't turn on each other...0 -
How did we ever get along without Muslims before?? VERY WELL I THINK.
Oh brother! This is from the man who once suggested reading the book Roots backwards so that it has a happy ending and considered the Emancipation Proclamation the start of America's decline. I have a feeling there are a few other groups besides Muslims that Joe thinks that this country could also do without!0 -
Ummmm- OK- I must be missing something. I do not want ANYONE "handling" my bacon. Or ham or sausage, ground beef, steaks, etc. Last time I bought meat at the grocer it was in a SEALED package. ???? Sorry- this makes as much sense to me as applying for a job as a sniper, and then claiming that my position as conscientous objector will not allow me to handle firearms. Not trying to troll, really- just do not understand. 0 -
Hmm I wonder if they care that I am offended by people that won't do the job they are paid to do....
Fire them!!!! To easy!!!0 -
jewish doctors handle gentiles and theyre unclean.
a smart jew would just put a glove on.
but....
watch out america, muslims dont come to america to be americans, they come to make you muslims.
[:0]0 -
quote:Originally posted by Alpine
But do you see them getting jobs at Target and refusing to touch certain things?
No.
And then getting some ambulance chaser to sue Target?
No.
Do you see the problem?no.
I helped him out by answering for him.0 -
quote:Originally posted by bobski
jewish doctors handle gentiles and theyre unclean.
a smart jew would just put a glove on.
but....
watch out america, muslims dont come to america to be americans, they come to make you muslims.
[:0]
Well said. If medical personnal can put on rubber gloves and handle HIV infected blood, why the he!! can't those oh-so-special Muslims put on rubber gloves and handle bacon. Like another poster said, the bacon is sealed in a clear plastic wrap and then inside a cardboard box. Add rubber gloves to the mix and there is not very much "handling" bacon at all.
Some people just like to get attention and look special and have something to complain about. I wonder what would happen to me if I moved to a Muslim country and loudly complained that I wanted my right to eat bacon? Would I get gentle, caring, PC and special treatment?
I doubt it.0 -
The simple solution is to reach across the counter, rip the rag from their head, and shove the bacon inside. Drop it on the counter and ask the manager if he understands how to handle this situation in the future as you walk out the door and promise never to return. 0 -
quote:"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."
I cant stand the idea of our country "needing" to adapt to one more group of America hating immigrants![:(!]0 -
They came here to get away from a life in their own country, so this new country doesn't have to change for them. Hell if they want it like the old country go home. Cab drivers don't want to give rides to people drinking just let the drunks drive.They want to be able to swear to Allah in the Airports and scare the other passengers, get a life and adapt or go home if you don't like it here.[:o)][8)][?] 0 -
quote:Originally posted by jcook01
The simple solution is to reach across the counter, rip the rag from their head, and shove the bacon inside. Drop it on the counter and ask the manager if he understands how to handle this situation in the future as you walk out the door and promise never to return.
I like it!0 -
Easy remedy. Sounds like a lot of free pork products. I would just put it in the bag and not ring it up. I will not do their job for them. 0 -
Be Sardo: Hate to tell you but that is not MY quote. Please have the courtesy of not using my name on YOUR own quote. Looks like you are smoking something a bit strong. 0
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