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Moslem staff get alcohol opt out.


MUSLIM supermarket checkout staff who refuse to sell alcohol are being allowed to opt out of handling customers’ bottles and cans of drink.

Islamic workers at Sainsbury’s who object to alcohol on religious grounds are told to raise their hands when encountering any drink at their till so that a colleague can temporarily take their place or scan items for them.

Other staff have refused to work stacking shelves with wine, beer and spirits and have been found alternative roles in the company.

**I think that what they will find is that their faith says that they are not to drink, by handling bottles/cans they are not actually breaking any religious ruling.

Sainsbury’s said this weekend it was keen to accommodate the religious beliefs of all staff but some Islamic scholars condemned the practice, saying Muslims who refused to sell alcohol were reneging on their agreements with the store.

Islam states that Muslims should not consume alcohol, but opinion is divided on whether it is permissible to be involved in the sale of it.

Mustapha, a Muslim checkout worker at the company’s store in Swiss Cottage, northwest London, interrupts his work to ensure that he does not have to sell or handle alcohol.

Each time a bottle or can of alcohol comes along the conveyor belt in front of him, Mustapha either swaps places discreetly with a neighbouring attendant or raises his hand so that another member of staff can come over and pass the offending items in front of the scanner before he resumes work.

Some of the staff delegated to handle the drink for Mustapha are themselves obviously Muslim, including women in hijab head coverings. However, a staff member at the store told a reporter that two other employees had asked to be given alternative duties after objecting to stacking drinks shelves.

Mustapha told one customer: “I can’t sell the alcohol because of my religion. It is Ramadan at the moment.”

His customers did not appear to have any objection to his polite refusal to work with alcohol. One said: “I have no issues with it at all, it really doesn’t bother me.”

However, some senior Muslims were less approving.

Ghayasuddin Siddiqui, director of the Muslim Institute and leader of the Muslim parliament, said: “This is some kind of overenthusiasm. One expects professional behaviour from people working in a professional capacity and this shows a lack of maturity.

**Could not have put it better myself.

“Sainsbury’s is being very good, they are trying to accommodate the wishes of their employees and we commend that. The fault lies with the employee who is exploiting and misusing their goodwill. It makes no difference if it is only happening over Ramadan.”

Ibrahim Mogra, chairman of the inter-faith committee of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), said: “Muslim employees should look at the allowances within Muslim law to enable them to be better operating employees and not be seen as rather difficult to cater for.”

A spokeswoman for Sainsbury’s, confirming Mustapha’s stance, said: “At the application stage we ask the relevant questions regarding any issues about handling different products and where we can we will try and accommodate any requirements people have, but it depends on the needs of the particular store.”

**If I ever came across this in a store I would leave my shopping at the checkout and walk out, thus costing Sainsbury's or whatever store this happened in the time and cost of paying a member of staff to put back all the items I was going to purchase.

If Sainsburys wish to be dhimmi's then fine that is their problem, but when even moslem leaders state that they are not following the teachings of a religion and acting immature and of exploiting their employers then I think it is time for P45's to be issued...Inshalla

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6 people have spoken:

Fatso said...

So then, all those corner stores run by Muslims, and there are thousands of them, will be doing the same will they?

What about pork chops and sausages that also make their way along the conveyor belt, what happens to those - hands up yet again perhaps?

Why just the Muslims what about Jewish workers - how have they dealt with Pork, seafood and the like?

Hindhus handling beef and indeed meat (as veggies)? Lots of Hundhus work in the food trade.

All this is getting out of hand and ridiculous. I blame Sainsbury's for pandering to Muslims in this way. Just tell them to sod off!

I shop at a co-op super store and they have a lady who is Muslim at the tills who wears a headscarf and I have passed via her till many times with alcohol and she never bats an eye lid.

I think those who are now making this fuss should be watched as they are probably showing signs of fundamentalism - like burqua wearing women.

Shug Niggurath said...

Several years ago, when I was young and blissfully unaware of what Islam really was, my local grocers was staffed by a father and his two daughters.

One of them informed me that she was leaving as she was to be married and she could no longer work as the shop sold alcohol and cigarettes.

I was quite surprised as she wasn't what you would call particularly religious (often sharing a coarse joke that she'd heard for example). It was probably the first time I had a real life example of how women had to lose their identities in Islamic marriage, and it made enough of an impression on me to find out a little more about the traditions, beliefs and definitions within Islam.

Anonymous said...

Muslims Against Sharia condemn the decision of Sainsbury's supermarkets to provide Muslim employees with an option of not handling alcohol. First, Muslims, or anyone else for that matter, must not be allowed to force their religious practices onto general public. Second, if Muslims who work at Sainsbury's feel that handling alcohol violates their religious beliefs, they should not be working at Sainsbury's to begin with.

Source: Times Online: Muslim checkout staff get an alcohol opt-out clause

Fidothedog said...

As handling pork/beer etc is part of shop work they should resign asap.

Anonymous said...

Another example of how this fair green land is pandering to everybody and losing it's national identity.

I wonder what would happen if the silent majority refused to be served by muslim checkout staff because it offended them?

Fidothedog said...

True enough, Saisburys need to get some balls and issue p45's to them asap.

Otherwise anyone who wants to slack off stacking the bacon counter can cite religious grounds to have a tea break rather than working.