tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-116725922024-03-14T13:50:53.979-05:00DNSI BlogUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1721125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11672592.post-64686873533624127182009-01-30T20:41:00.001-05:002009-01-30T20:43:26.682-05:00Court orders UPS to pay Jersey City man for religious discrimination30 Jan - USA:<br /><blockquote>A federal jury in Trenton ordered United Parcel Service to pay $10,000 to a Jersey City man who was denied a job because his Rastafarian religious beliefs forbid him from shaving his beard.<br /><br />The suit, filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, charged that the Atlanta-based company discriminated against Roniss Mason, 31, by failing to make an exception to its "appearance guidelines" to accommodate his religious beliefs. He had applied in 2004 for a job as a driver's assistant.<br /><br />Michael Ranis, a lawyer for the Employment Opportunity Commission, said Thursday's verdict could have broad impact for religious men, including Muslims, Sikhs and Orthadox (sic) Jews.</blockquote><a href="http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/01/court_orders_ups_to_pay_jersey.html">Link</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11672592.post-64693717854826568552009-01-28T08:57:00.000-05:002009-01-28T08:59:20.735-05:00RCMP recruit wins support27 Jan - Canada:<br /><blockquote>The Canadian Race Relations Foundation has lent its support to an ex-RCMP recruit who successfully argued before the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal that discrimination prevented him from finishing his Mountie training.<br /><br />Iranian-born Muslim Ali Tahmourpour, 36, appeared with several anti-racism leaders yesterday in a press conference at the CRRF's Yonge St. and Hwy. 401 offices.<br /><br />After starting training with the Mounties in July 1999, he was dismissed in October of that year because he failed to meet training standards, according to the Mounties. But the rights tribunal felt otherwise, and ruled "the RCMP's discriminatory conduct caused Mr. Tahmourpour to lose the opportunity to develop and demonstrate, in his full potential, the necessary skills to become an RCMP officer."<br /><br />[...]<br /><br />Tahmourpour (who declined to comment yesterday) contended at the 2007 tribunal hearing that the RCMP of subjecting him to discrimination during training, including claims he was singled out for wearing a religious pendant and ridiculed for signing his name to documents in Persian.</blockquote><a href="http://www.torontosun.com/news/canada/2009/01/28/8171216-sun.html">Link</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11672592.post-23358459574279529692009-01-26T18:30:00.001-05:002009-01-26T18:31:24.491-05:00Hard hat vs turban battle goes to hearing26 Jan - Toronto, Canada:<br /><blockquote>A Sikh security guard who was asked to trade in his turban for a hard hat at a Milton Home Depot will have his case heard before the Human Rights tribunal today.<br /><br />Deepinder Loomba has been fighting the hardware franchise for almost four years after a supervisor at a Home Depot construction site asked Loomba to wear a hard hat.</blockquote><a href="http://www.torontosun.com/news/2009/01/26/8152821.html#/news/2009/01/26/pf-8152791.html">Link</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11672592.post-11223285215393313872009-01-23T14:11:00.001-05:002009-01-23T14:14:50.752-05:00EEOC and UNITED SIKHS Settle Lawsuit Against Security Firm in Employment Discrimination Case23 Jan - Texas, USA:<br /><blockquote>The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), assisted by UNITED SIKHS, settled an employment discrimination case earlier this week against Champion National Security, a security firm that discriminated against Sukhdev Singh Brar.<br /><br />The EEOC sought compensatory and punitive damages when filing the employment discrimination action against the security company, after numerous consultations with UNITED SIKHS to understand the importance of kesh (unshorn hair) covered by a dastaar (Sikh turban) as one of the five articles of faith Sikhs are required to wear as an inherent practice of the Sikh faith. Champion National Security settled the case, acknowledging the discriminatory policy and agreeing to a written change in company policy with continued Sikh awareness training, to be provided by UNITED SIKHS. Champion National Security will also post anti-discrimination notices on all employee bulletin boards and compensate Sukhdev Singh $24,000.</blockquote><a href="http://www.emgonline.co.uk/news.php?news=3118">Link</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11672592.post-89273110912950352512009-01-20T08:44:00.001-05:002009-01-20T08:46:10.219-05:00'It was racial,' says attack vic20 Jan - New York:<br /><blockquote>A 21-year-old Sikh man was viciously beaten and stabbed in his left eye in Queens by three men who, he said Monday night, taunted him for his traditional beard and pulled his long hair.<br /><br />Jasmir Singh of Richmond Hill was hanging out with a friend near a Jackson Heights grocery store about 4:49 a.m. Sunday when the men began hurling insults at the pair.<br /><br />Singh, who is being treated at Elmhurst Hospital Center, claimed the attackers singled him out because of his long hair and traditional Sikh beard.</blockquote><a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2009/01/19/2009-01-19_it_was_racial_says_attack_vic.html">Link</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11672592.post-20076365843057256582009-01-15T10:11:00.001-05:002009-01-15T10:12:58.240-05:00Groups say veil ban unlawful, unfairly targets Muslims15 Jan - Australia:<br /><blockquote>SHOPKEEPERS are demanding sunglasses, baseball caps and religious face veils be banned to guard against criminals trying to hide their identities.<br /><br />The Queensland Retailers Association yesterday declared its members should have the right to ban customers from wearing any clothing that obscured faces.<br /><br />But the proposed ban has outraged civil libertarians, Islamic groups and Queensland's Anti-Discrimination Commission. They say the move would be unlawful and unfairly target Muslims and teenagers.</blockquote><a href="http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,24918450-952,00.html">Link</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11672592.post-71451555185145711552009-01-09T00:15:00.003-05:002009-01-09T00:27:02.632-05:00IRS Kirpan Case Heads to Federal Court8 Jan - USA:<br /><blockquote>The Sikh Coalition filed suit against the federal government this week to protect a Sikh employee's right to wear her kirpan to work. The lawsuit alleges that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Federal Protective Service (FPS) discriminated against Kawaljeet Kaur Tagore by prohibiting her from carrying a kirpan, a mandatory article of faith, on her job as a revenue agent at the Mickey Leland Federal Building in downtown Houston. Ms. Tagore was fired from her job in July 2006 because she refused to remove her kirpan.<br /><br />"Sikhs should be entitled to work for their government, just like other Americans. In this case, the government put Ms. Tagore in the unacceptable position of choosing between her religion and her job." said Harsimran Kaur, the Sikh Coalition's Legal Director.<br /><br />The lawsuit claims that the government's conduct violated both the<br />Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (RFRA) and Title VII of the<br />Civil Rights Act of 1964. It alleges that the FPS and IRS banned the<br />kirpan as a so-called "dangerous weapon," even though the government<br />allows hundreds of sharp knives and box cutters in the Leland<br />Building. Government officials banned Tagore's kirpan sight unseen,<br />failing to conduct any examination whatsoever of the kirpan before<br />banning it outright.<br /></blockquote><a href="http://www.sikhcoalition.org/advisories/HoustonSikhFilesKirpanLawsuitinFederalCourt.htm">Link</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11672592.post-480717562261397672009-01-09T00:12:00.002-05:002009-01-09T00:15:46.452-05:00SALDEF and Pearson VUE Join Together To Increase Diversity Awareness7 Jan - USA:<br /><blockquote>The Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF), the oldest and largest Sikh American civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States, is<br />collaborating with the international computer-based testing business of Pearson VUE, to increase diversity awareness and service to minority communities.<br /><br />In a mutual effort to increase understanding of minority communities in the United States and abroad, SALDEF is working with Pearson VUE to disseminate information about Sikhs and Sikh American cultural practices. Additionally, SALDEF will be invited to conduct Sikhism 101 trainings for Pearson VUE employees at regional seminars Pearson VUE will host across the United States.<br /><br />In follow up to discussions with SALDEF, Pearson VUE reaffirms its support of Sikh patrons choosing to maintain religious accoutrements such as the daastar (turban) and kara (steel bracelet). Additionally, Pearson VUE and SALDEF acknowledged that Sikhs may undergo further scrutiny due to their kirpan (religious sword). As a result, an understanding was developed and adopted by Pearson VUE to foster an appreciation of Sikh cultural practices.<br /><br />"The communication and equal partnership between SALDEF and Pearson VUE is unmatched by any other company in the United States." said SALDEF National Director Rajbir Singh Datta. "The more Corporate America works with members of minority communities, the better their services will be received and the more aware society will become about the issues facing these communities. We look forward to working with Pearson VUE in the future and providing ongoing training and<br />information on Sikhs and Sikhism."</blockquote><a href="http://www.saldef.org/content.aspx?a=3680&z=5&title=">Link</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11672592.post-65836182254549439492009-01-08T11:21:00.000-05:002009-01-08T11:23:28.308-05:00Bellerose man injured in hate attack7 Jan - New Tork, USA:<br /><span></span><blockquote><span>For Bellerose resident Balbir Singh, New Year’s Eve was not a time of celebration.<br /><br />After a violent attack outside his home on 248th Street in Bellerose that left blood gushing from his right eye, Balbir Singh, 40, spent nearly nine hours on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1 at the Long Island Jewish Medical Center.<br /><br />The man, whom Community Board 13 member Swaranjit Singh said was the victim of a hate crime because he is a Sikh, cannot go back to work as a taxi driver for at least a week as the result of the injuries he sustained during the attack. He suffered a fracture in his right eye socket.<br /><br />[...]<br /><br /></span><span>Swaranjit Singh, who is running for the 23rd City Council District seat, now held by Councilman David Weprin (D-Hollis), said the event was one of several attacks, verbal and physical, that Sikhs have suffered in the neighborhood. The community board member said Sikhs, some of whom wear turbans on their heads, are often mistaken for Muslims and have been especially targeted after Sept. 11, 2001.</span></blockquote><span><a href="http://www.yournabe.com/articles/2009/01/07/queens/doc4965095b8ffc8763789774.txt">Link</a><br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11672592.post-75654671604964826842009-01-06T10:38:00.001-05:002009-01-06T10:40:10.554-05:00240,000 dollars awarded to man forced to cover Arab T-shirt6 Jan - USA:<br /><p></p><blockquote><p>NEW YORK (AFP) – An airline passenger forced to cover his T-shirt because it displayed Arabic script has been awarded 240,000 dollars in compensation, campaigners said Monday.</p> <p> <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1231201442_0">Raed Jarrar</span> received the pay out on Friday from two US Transportation Security Authority officials and from <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1231201442_1">JetBlue Airways</span> following the <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1231201442_2">August 2006</span> incident at <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1231201442_3">New York's JFK Airport</span>, the <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1231201442_4">American Civil Liberties Union</span> (ACLU) announced.</p> <p> "The outcome of this case is a victory for free speech and a blow to the discriminatory practice of <span style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1231201442_5">racial profiling</span>," said Aden Fine, a lawyer with ACLU.</p></blockquote><p></p><p><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090106/ts_alt_afp/ustransportairsecuritymuslimsrights_090106002219">Link</a><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11672592.post-90223824836117271202009-01-05T12:03:00.002-05:002009-01-05T12:07:25.165-05:00Muslims find it safest in city schools4 Jan - USA:<br /><blockquote>Although more than one in three Muslim students said they had been hit with ethnic slurs in the past year, only one in six said it happened in school.<br /><br />More than 600 students from 90 public schools participated in the three-year study conducted by Columbia University's Teachers College.<br /><br />Most of the Muslim students said that although they still face bias, it has gotten better since the first few years following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.<br /><br />Still, 36% of the students said they a faced at least one "discriminatory verbal incident" in the past year.<br /><br />The study found 28% of Muslim students said they or a relative have been stopped by police as a result of "racial profiling," 12% reported they or a relative had been turned down for a job based on discrimination, 11% had property destroyed and 7% said they or a family member had been physically assaulted.</blockquote><a href="http://www.tc.columbia.edu/news/article.htm?id=6795">Link</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11672592.post-53273430276112198952009-01-02T11:23:00.001-05:002009-01-02T11:27:04.524-05:00'Safest' seat remarks get Muslim family kicked off plane2 Jan - USA:<br /><blockquote>A Muslim family removed from an airliner Thursday after passengers became concerned about their conversation say AirTran officials refused to rebook them, even after FBI investigators cleared them of wrongdoing. <!--startclickprintexclude--> <div class="cnnStoryPhotoBox"><div id="cnnImgChngr" class="cnnImgChngr"><!----><!--===========IMAGE============--><!--===========/IMAGE===========--><div class="cnnWireBoxFooter"><img src="http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.element/img/2.0/mosaic/base_skins/baseplate/corner_wire_BL.gif" alt="" height="4" width="4" /> </div></div></div> <!--endclickprintexclude--><p> Atif Irfan said federal authorities removed eight members of his extended family and a friend after passengers heard them discussing the safest place to sit and misconstrued the nature of the conversation.</p><p> Irfan, a U.S. citizen and tax attorney, said he was "impressed with the professionalism" of the FBI agents who questioned him, but said he felt mistreated when the airline refused to book the family for a later flight.</p></blockquote><p></p><p><a href="http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/01/01/family.grounded/">Link</a><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11672592.post-52015464431568766032008-12-31T14:08:00.002-05:002008-12-31T14:12:13.112-05:00Merrill Lynch To Pay $1.6 Million To Settle Job-Bias Suit31 Dec - USA:<br /><blockquote>Merrill Lynch & Co. (MER) has agreed to pay $1.6 million to settle a discrimination lawsuit that alleged an employee was let go from the company because he is Muslim and Iranian, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said Wednesday.<br /><br />The lawsuit filed by the EEOC alleged that the investment bank failed to promote Majid Borumand, a quantitative analyst in its Model Development Group, in August 2005 and ultimately terminated him because of his national origin and religion.<br /><br />[...]<br /><br />The lawsuit alleged that while working at Merrill, Borumand was subjected to a number of hostile remarks, including being told that "the reason that you are not allowed on the trading floor is because you are from a country which has a high risk factor and (is) a threat."</blockquote><a href="http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200812311338DOWJONESDJONLINE000496_FORTUNE5.htm">Link</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11672592.post-37947295991198188322008-12-24T09:16:00.004-05:002008-12-24T09:21:40.681-05:00UPS apologizes for 'terrorist' remark23 Dec - California, USA:<br /><blockquote>A Bakersfield family says they were discriminated against by a UPS driver. Their neighbor e-mailed 17 News after he says the driver wrote a derogatory term on a tracking slip while dropping off a package.<br /><br />Anant Singh says his father is a member of the Sikh religion and wears a turban. When his father signed for a UPS package last week, the driver asked for his signature as usual, the younger Singh said.<br /><br />But the family calls what they found on the tracking slip days later both hurtful and upsetting.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHHFk79GOxmP96hstVGTv3MRgnuLXTT-2HvPQyGr-3zGZeM5N1rQbZyzMEWeXQNwGAiTQXx0phBuqmJdT4IV_Zu4OYzVbat1lSq__p9G1HIIRvgJBI7twxmOZ-SmzpqwMjsOXTFA/s1600-h/thumb_1230088146720_0p7632484211621966.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHHFk79GOxmP96hstVGTv3MRgnuLXTT-2HvPQyGr-3zGZeM5N1rQbZyzMEWeXQNwGAiTQXx0phBuqmJdT4IV_Zu4OYzVbat1lSq__p9G1HIIRvgJBI7twxmOZ-SmzpqwMjsOXTFA/s200/thumb_1230088146720_0p7632484211621966.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5283361218633111410" border="0" /></a><br />“I just happened to see it said signed by the word "terrorist." So I was amazed. I printed the paper and read it again, and it said signed by a "terrorist," Singh explained. </blockquote><br /><a href="http://www.kget.com/news/local/story/UPS-apologizes-for-terrorist-remark/R1sJ9hAglEy-yVkHueJbIw.cspx">Link</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11672592.post-36448220571944914642008-12-19T11:10:00.001-05:002008-12-19T11:15:20.927-05:00Turkish trainer protests religious discrimination19 Dec - Romania:<br /><blockquote>The Turkish physical trainer of Steaua Bucharest has protested to FIFA after he was fired because he's a Muslim.<br /><br />Steaua owner Gigi Becali fired Yuksel Yesilova on Saturday saying he brought back luck to Steaua because of his religion.<br /><br />Becali said: "Steaua is a Christian team and we had bad luck because of him. I don't want to see him here. We can't keep a Muslim in a team that has a cross on its team bus and shirts."<br /><br />Yesilova said Friday he had been called by FIFA officials about his firing. His contract expired in 2010.</blockquote><a href="http://msn.foxsports.com/soccer/story/8964034/Turkish-trainer-protests-religious-discrimination">Link</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11672592.post-20980572989650276812008-12-16T22:17:00.000-05:002008-12-16T22:21:48.900-05:00Sikh footballer told to remove turban16 Dec - Ireland:<br /><blockquote>AN under-age football club is expected to lodge an official complaint with the FAI after a 12-year-old Sikh boy was ordered to remove his turban during a game.<br /><br />Karpreet Singh had worn his turban during matches without incident for four years before a problem arose during a recent schoolboy game in Co Meath. The youngster was told by the referee to remove the 'headgear' during the first half, and didn't return to the pitch for the second.<br /><br />[...]<br /><br />"The referee told him to remove the 'headgear'. The boy said that he couldn't expose his hair, and his teammates rallied around him."</blockquote><a href="http://www.independent.ie/national-news/sikh-footballer-told--to-remove-turban-1576252.html">Link</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11672592.post-60152818770230535622008-12-16T22:13:00.000-05:002008-12-16T22:16:59.199-05:00Muslim’s scarf leads to arrest at courthouse17 Dec - Atlanta, USA:<br /><blockquote>A Douglasville woman was jailed Tuesday after a judge found her in contempt of court for refusing to remove her hijab, the head covering worn by Muslim women.<br /><br />Lisa Valentine, also known by her Islamic name, Miedah, 40, was arrested at the Douglasville Municipal Court for violating a court policy of no headgear, said Chris Womack, deputy chief of operations for the Douglasville Police Department.<br /><br />She was taken before Judge Keith Rollins, who ordered her held in jail for 10 days. However, her husband said she was released Tuesday evening. The reason for her release wasn’t immediately clear.<br /><br />Last week, the same judge apparently threw out another Muslim woman from his courtroom.<br /><br />Sabreen Abdul Rahman, 55, said she had gone to court with her son when she was asked to take off her scarf. “I can’t. I’m Muslim,” she mouthed silently to the bailiff, who then removed her from the courtroom, Rahman said.<br /><br />“This is a religious right,” she said. “This is unconstitutional. And humiliating.”</blockquote><a href="http://www.ajc.com/living/content/metro/stories/2008/12/17/muslim_scarf_hijab_arrest.html">Link</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11672592.post-25860218210879191722008-12-16T15:55:00.000-05:002008-12-16T16:01:03.743-05:00Sikhs take turban rights case to United Nations16 Dec - Europe:<br /><blockquote>A Sikh rights group asked a U.N. human rights committee on Monday to declare that France violated a student's rights by expelling him for wearing a turban and to recommend repealing the law that led to it.<span id="midArticle_1"></span> <p> France passed a law in 2004 banning children in state primary and secondary schools from wearing conspicuous religious symbols, including Muslim headscarves, Jewish yarmulkes, large Christian crosses and Sikh turbans.</p><span id="midArticle_2"></span> <p> Bikramjit Singh was 18 when he was expelled from school in France in 2004 for refusing to remove his turban, according to a group called United Sikhs, which held a civil rights Conference in New York near the United Nations on Monday.</p></blockquote><p></p><p><a href="http://in.reuters.com/article/topNews/idINIndia-37045320081215?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews">Link</a><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11672592.post-79113253706707495462008-12-11T13:58:00.000-05:002008-12-11T14:02:11.686-05:00SJC rules in favor of Rastafarian who alleged discrimination02 Dec - Boston:<br /><blockquote>The right of a business to control its public image doesn’t trump workers’<br />right to dress or groom themselves differently if they are required to do so by<br />their religious beliefs, the state’s highest court ruled today.<br /><br />The Supreme Judicial Court ruled in the case of Bobby T. Brown, a<br />Rastafarian who worked as technician at a Hadley Jiffy Lube owned by F.L.<br />Roberts & Co. Inc.<br /><br />Brown’s religion doesn’t permit him to shave or cut his hair. When the<br />company instituted a new policy that required employees who worked with<br />customers to be clean-shaven, Brown was only allowed to work out of sight from<br />customers in the lower bay of the oil change shop, the court said in an opinion<br />written by Justice Roderick Ireland.<br /><br />[...]<br /><br />The court warned that if employers are allowed to cite their “public image”<br />in determining who deals with customers, they might lean toward tolerating the<br />religious practices of majority groups, while forbidding practices that are less<br />widespread.<br /></blockquote><br /><a href="http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2008/12/sjc_win_for_ras.html?p1=Well_MostPop_Emailed7">Link</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11672592.post-80244813303051572932008-12-09T22:45:00.000-05:002008-12-09T22:48:02.387-05:00France: Graves of Muslim War Veterans Defaced08 Dec - France:<br /><blockquote>For the third time in two years, the tombs of hundreds of Muslim war veterans<br />were desecrated at a cemetery in northern France on Sunday night, the eve of the<br />Id al-Adha holiday. Swastikas and anti-Muslim slogans were spray-painted on<br />nearly all the 576 Muslim graves at the Notre Dame de Lorette military cemetery,<br />near Arras, which holds the remains of about 40,000 dead from World War I. The<br />last such desecration was in April. In a statement, President Nicolas Sarkozy<br />condemned the act as “revolting” and “an expression of repugnant racism against<br />France’s Muslim community.” </blockquote><br /><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/09/world/europe/09briefs-GRAVESOFMUSL_BRF.html">Link</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11672592.post-80753351804830316192008-12-05T10:31:00.000-05:002008-12-05T10:33:17.142-05:00French Headscarf Ban Not Discrimination, Says European Court05 Dec - Europe:<br /><blockquote>The European Court of Human Rights has dismissed a complaint by two French Muslim girls that their school violated their freedom of religion and their right to an education. The girls were expelled after repeatedly refusing to remove their headscarves for physical education classes.<br /><br />The teacher had said that wearing a headscarf was incompatible with physical education classes. The girls, Belgin Dogru and Esma-Nur Kervanci, are French nationals and were 11 and 12 respectively when they were expelled from the school in the north-western town of Flers in 1999.<br /><br />Based in Strasbourg, the European Court of Human Rights ruled on Thursday, Dec. 4 that the school's move to expel the girls was not out of line, emphasizing that the girls had been able to continue their education via correspondence classes.</blockquote><a href="http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,3850797,00.html">Link</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11672592.post-57531999272294418292008-12-05T10:26:00.001-05:002008-12-05T10:34:32.097-05:00Victims Claim They Got Criminal Treatment05 Dec - Houston, TX, USA:<br /><blockquote>A northwest Harris County family said they were treated like criminals after their home was burglarized, KPRC Local 2 reported Thursday.<br /><br />On the night before Thanksgiving, Raman Deep Sinth said thieves broke into his family's bathroom window and ransacked his home. He said about $15,000 worth of stuff was stolen.<br /><br />Sinth said he called the Harris County Sheriff's Office for help.<br />"That night we were actually robbed twice," Sinth said. "Once by the actual burglars, who we don't know who they were, and secondly by the sheriff's department, who we knew who they were."<br /><br />He said he believes the deputies were troubled by his turban. He wears it as a member of the Sikh faith. He said he also believes the deputies were also afraid of his sister's kirpan, another religious symbol.<br /><br />[...]<br /><br />Sinth said soon, he, his sister, mother and another relative were in handcuffs. He said he was locked up in the back of a sheriff's cruiser.</blockquote><a href="http://www.click2houston.com/news/18210062/detail.html">Link</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11672592.post-67737053995917907502008-12-04T10:34:00.000-05:002008-12-04T10:40:06.329-05:00Muslim barrister wins £75,000 over 'Mother Teresa' and 'tent head' jibes03 Dec - UK:<br /><blockquote>Saleca Faisal-Parkar, 31, was harassed, overlooked for jobs and training and was even branded "lazy" after she became seriously ill while pregnant.<br /><br />The abuse was led by Stephen Jones, then head of litigation at the leading law firm Shakespeares, who also referred to her as a "flipping nun".<br /><br />He was also a deputy district judge and a member of the Solicitors Disciplinary Panel, but has resigned both positions in the light of the scandal.<br /><br />Mrs Faisal-Parkar, who has a young daughter, joined Shakespeares in 2002 as a legal assistant.<br />Not long after she started, she found out from a fellow worker that she had been nicknamed "Mother Teresa" because she wore a hijab, which covers her head.<br /><br />Over the course of the following months, she said Mr Jones - who made the derogatory comments in emails - harassed her, refused her training requests and potentially reduced her annual salary increase by the type of work he gave her.</blockquote><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/3546009/Muslim-barrister-wins-75000-over-Mother-Teresa-and-tent-head-jibes.html">Link </a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11672592.post-91207872781926733892008-12-03T11:12:00.000-05:002008-12-03T11:22:10.006-05:00N.C. Mission Rejects Charity Over TurbanFrom November 21:<br /><br /><blockquote>A Halifax County man was turned away from a local mission when he refused to remove his turban while trying to make a donation.<br /></blockquote><blockquote>Gary Khera, who is a Sikh with U.S. and Indian citizenship, went to the Union Mission this week to donate cash or food, The Daily Herald of Roanoke Rapids reported Thursday. Khera said he had previously mailed in his donations but wanted to visit the site in person.<br /><br />The mission has a rule - explained in large lettering on the mission's door - asking all males to removed headcoverings inside the facility, and mission directors asked him to remove the turban. Khera refused to do so because he wears it all day as part of his religion.</blockquote><a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/11/21/national/main4623056.shtml">Link</a><br /><blockquote></blockquote>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11672592.post-31820976212138056202008-12-01T10:32:00.000-05:002008-12-05T10:35:39.248-05:00DNSI Welcomes Morgan HargraveWe are pleased to announce that Morgan Hargrave has joined DNSI as a research intern. A native Texan, Morgan has lived, worked, and conducted research in Argentina, Washington DC, and Jerusalem over the past few years. His work has been largely focused on inequality, public policy, and international affairs. Morgan currently lives in Austin, Texas, where he helps coordinate disaster recovery operations in the wake of Hurricane Ike. Morgan graduated from Texas Tech University with a major in International Business and a minor in Spanish. He has been continuously involved in community service projects and is interested in how societies react during times of conflict and social change.<br /><br />We are lucky to have him on board!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0