DELAWARE: HAMAS-LINKED “CAIR” SUES STATE DETENTION CENTER OVER SAFETY RELATED ISLAMIC HIJAB PROHIBITION
BY ROBERT SPENCER
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:
The Hamas-linked Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) filed suit on behalf of these women. CAIR attorney Zanah Ghalawanji said: “No one should have to pick between their livelihood and their faith. By standing up for their rights and fighting back, Tia, Shakeya and Madinah hope that this agency will be prohibited from imposing this terrible predicament on other women in the future.”
However, the facility where the women worked say it was a safety issue, not one of discrimination against Muslims. “In a written statement at the time, officials in charge of the facility where the women worked said they were not trying to ‘stifle religious freedoms’ and that allowing exceptions to policy is complicated when the safety of staff and youth is impacted. ‘We must carefully balance our strong support of religious freedom with the need to keep youth and staff safe,’ the statement said. ‘In some instances, a person’s job may require them to do certain actions, such as the physical restraint of a youth, that makes wearing some religious clothing unsafe.'”
Safety concerns are of no interest to Hamas-linked CAIR. The idea behind all these suits is to establish and reinforce the principle that where Islamic law and American law conflict, it is American law that must give way. Also, many companies and institutions, wanting to avoid the hassle and negative publicity of a court battle, have settled for large sums just to make the thing go away. This kind of lawsuit is a reliable cash cow for Hamas-linked CAIR and its clients.
“Women sue state over workplace hijab prohibition; federal lawsuit claims discrimination,” by Xerxes Wilson, Delaware News Journal, August 14, 2020:
Three Muslim women who used to work at a state detention center for juveniles have filed a federal discrimination lawsuit against Delaware officials claiming they were barred from wearing religious head coverings at work.
The women, Tia Mays, Madinah Brown and Shakeya Thomas, claim nobody told them it was against policy to wear a hijab to work at the New Castle County Detention Center and Ferris School for adjudicated juveniles.
Once they began working for the state Department of Services of Children, Youth and their Families, which oversees the facilities, they were prohibited by supervisors from working at the center unless they removed their head coverings….
The lawsuit names the department as well as officials working in the department as defendants. A spokesperson for the department declined to comment on the litigation and said “we are dedicated to maintaining an inclusive environment for all.”
In Thomas’s case, she was told by a supervisor that she “had a few days to think about what she wanted to do — keep wearing her hijab or continue to be employed,” the lawsuit states. She was later told if “she ever wanted to work for the State of Delaware in the future, it would be in her best interest to resign,” according to the complaint.
In Brown’s case, she continued to wear the hijab and was forced to clock out on some days. She continued to try to work, but was forced to go home on multiple occasions and ultimately was issued an ultimatum: stop wearing the head covering or resign.
One supervisor yelled, “Now you’re looking like a terrorist,” according to the her report filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, a federal agency that administers and enforces civil rights laws against workplace discrimination….
In a written statement at the time, officials in charge of the facility where the women worked said they were not trying to “stifle religious freedoms” and that allowing exceptions to policy is complicated when the safety of staff and youth is impacted.
“We must carefully balance our strong support of religious freedom with the need to keep youth and staff safe,” the statement said. “In some instances, a person’s job may require them to do certain actions, such as the physical restraint of a youth, that makes wearing some religious clothing unsafe.”…
They seek back pay, financial damages and a court to order the state to institute a religious accommodation for Muslim workers to wear religious head coverings.