Our website hopes to show the discrimination that Muslims face in the workplace in the United States and Western countries. We will provide an overview of this ongoing issue, lay down key facts and statistics, and highlight and analyze important discrimination cases in the United States.
Overview
Islamophobia in the workplace is a growing and unfortunately, very prominent reality in the United States and Western countries. While discrimination against Muslims has existed for many years, it has greatly increased within the last two decades. Events such as 9/11, the War on Iraq, and Muslim revolutions worldwide have sparked fear and animosity toward Muslims living in the western world.
Muslims in the workplace are targeted for many reasons, such as prayers in the workplace, clothing (traditional head scarf or hijab), or facial appearance (beards). Harassment takes place in many forms, such as racial slurs and comments about terrorism and al-Qaeda, as well as unequal opportunities regarding promotions (Muslims are often passed for positions of high importance or impact), firings, and even hirings. Furthermore, with the political or government sector in Western nations, it is extremely difficult for a Muslim to hold any position. Even people who are not Muslim, but have the so-call "appearance" of a Muslim, face similar discrimination.
This crucial issue can be linked to some our readings from class. Salman Sayyid in “Mirror, Mirror: Western Democrats, Oriental Despots?” makes an argument that is unfortunately very pertinent to the discussion of Islamophobia and discrimination in the workplace. If these same incidents occurred to Jews or Christians in a Muslim country, there would be outrage and protest worldwide. It would simply be another example of Oriental totalitarianism. On the other hand, the U.S.’s place as a symbol for democracy means that this issue is simply swept under the rug.
Albert Memmi, in "The Colonizer and the Colonized," brings up another unfortunate issue that relates to Muslims working in the West - the mark of the plural. The actions of a few extremists (namely, terrorists) have been erroneously tied to the billion people worldwide who just happen to share the same religion. This is the sad reasoning behind the racial remarks and insults towards Muslim people and Islam in the workforce.
Federal Laws that Combat Discrimination
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employers from discriminating against their workers based on religious grounds. "Under both federal and state law, an employer must offer a reasonable accommodation to resolve a conflict between an employee’s sincerely held religious belief and a condition of employment, unless such accommodation would create and undue hardship for the employee’s business." Furthermore, "federal law requires employers to accommodate headscarves, prayer breaks, and other religious practices based again on sincere religious beliefs unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on the employer."
While these guidelines clearly outline the rights of Muslims to practice their religion accordingly, these policies are frequently violated by U.S. employers. Many Muslims have successfully won settlements against their respective employers, but this continues to be an issue, as we will cover on the other pages of this site.
Overview
Islamophobia in the workplace is a growing and unfortunately, very prominent reality in the United States and Western countries. While discrimination against Muslims has existed for many years, it has greatly increased within the last two decades. Events such as 9/11, the War on Iraq, and Muslim revolutions worldwide have sparked fear and animosity toward Muslims living in the western world.
Muslims in the workplace are targeted for many reasons, such as prayers in the workplace, clothing (traditional head scarf or hijab), or facial appearance (beards). Harassment takes place in many forms, such as racial slurs and comments about terrorism and al-Qaeda, as well as unequal opportunities regarding promotions (Muslims are often passed for positions of high importance or impact), firings, and even hirings. Furthermore, with the political or government sector in Western nations, it is extremely difficult for a Muslim to hold any position. Even people who are not Muslim, but have the so-call "appearance" of a Muslim, face similar discrimination.
This crucial issue can be linked to some our readings from class. Salman Sayyid in “Mirror, Mirror: Western Democrats, Oriental Despots?” makes an argument that is unfortunately very pertinent to the discussion of Islamophobia and discrimination in the workplace. If these same incidents occurred to Jews or Christians in a Muslim country, there would be outrage and protest worldwide. It would simply be another example of Oriental totalitarianism. On the other hand, the U.S.’s place as a symbol for democracy means that this issue is simply swept under the rug.
Albert Memmi, in "The Colonizer and the Colonized," brings up another unfortunate issue that relates to Muslims working in the West - the mark of the plural. The actions of a few extremists (namely, terrorists) have been erroneously tied to the billion people worldwide who just happen to share the same religion. This is the sad reasoning behind the racial remarks and insults towards Muslim people and Islam in the workforce.
Federal Laws that Combat Discrimination
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employers from discriminating against their workers based on religious grounds. "Under both federal and state law, an employer must offer a reasonable accommodation to resolve a conflict between an employee’s sincerely held religious belief and a condition of employment, unless such accommodation would create and undue hardship for the employee’s business." Furthermore, "federal law requires employers to accommodate headscarves, prayer breaks, and other religious practices based again on sincere religious beliefs unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on the employer."
While these guidelines clearly outline the rights of Muslims to practice their religion accordingly, these policies are frequently violated by U.S. employers. Many Muslims have successfully won settlements against their respective employers, but this continues to be an issue, as we will cover on the other pages of this site.
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