Christmas trees & Easter Eggs are un-Islamic in Belgium

[Nemesis6]

ANTWERP ? ?If headscarves are banned for employees who work at the desk at city services in order to guarantee neutrality of services, then we demand that no Christmas trees be set up in city buildings and that no Easter eggs be given out.? Antwerp trade union representative Badia Miri said this on Wednesday in the Gazet van Antwerpen.

Miri is one of the seven Muslim women who were forced to remove their headscarves if they wanted to continue working at the desk. Three of the seven staff members of the city of Antwerp who wore headscarves agreed to stop wearing one. Different positions - not involving contact with the public - were found for the others. No one was dismissed. There is still opposition to the dress code however, which came into effect in March. The seven Muslim women are now urging that ?neutrality of service provision be actually enforced.?

?The Antwerp city government says that neutrality is endangered if staff wear a cross or headscarf,? says Miri. ?But in our experience action has only been taken against the Muslim women. If the city government is really concerned about neutrality, then Christmas trees and Easter eggs should no longer be allowed at work. We are asking that a contact point be set up to report all violations of the dress code.?

Belgium is, of course, the place where the mayor of Brussels banned a protest commemorating the victims of 9/11 because it was "racist", etc, and that it would "offend Muslims". Of course, one protest that WAS permitted, was a truther nutjob rally spitting in the faces of the dead. Nah, that doesn't anger the Muslims, and it's not "racist" so it's ok I guess.

This is my way of stopping this: Every time something like this happens, the instigators are jailed. Jailed or deported.

 

[kirovman]

We're not allowed to celebrate Christmas?

It's political correctness gone mad.

 

[Nemesis6]

No, it's a little more complicated: If they cannot impose their religion on us, we are not allowed to keep our own.

 

[staticprimer]

I really fail to see how them wearing hijabs at work is imposing their religion on others. I think they are trying to point out how banning hijabs but keeping Christmas, etc is a double standard.

 

[Nemesis6]

Sorry, but most European countries have Christian origins. You cannot come into a country as a walking, talking, black bag and imagine that you have the right to change any part of their religion when they actually want to see the person they work with.

 

[CptStern]

this thread makes no sense whatsoever ...oh it's Nemesis' thread ...right :upstare:

please explain what exactly is wrong with this? if they cant celebrate their faith why can you? it's discriminatory ..that's so painfully obvious yet for some retarded reason Nemesis uses this as an example on how they're trying to convert others to their religion? that's crazy talk

 

[Jintor]

Perfectly valid.

 

[Nemesis6]

The Burqa, Turban, all that good stuff, a lot of places here, it's a policy for them to take it off. Same goes with caps, headpieces, etc. Making people unable to look at you inveniences both the customer and the salesperson. It's not discrimination, it's just something called dress-code. That's the basic point of it. We can take it further by saying that it's not exactly easy communicating or reading the body language of someone who's only physical attribute you can "see" is the person's eyes, face, and hands. It's especially bad if you have a job at a desk.

And please, take your standard "oh my God it's a thread by Nemesis" crap elsewhere. Especially if you don't have a conclusive argument to dismiss anything mentioned.

 

[Jintor]

The turban?

That's just ridiculous.

 

[Asknoone]

Especially if you don't have a conclusive argument to dismiss anything mentioned.

Begging your pardon, but he just ****ing did.

 

[Nemesis6]

And as I said: Dress-code needs to be maintained. Especially if you're going to represent city services.

 

[Absinthe]

I think you lot are far too quick to label this as discrimination.

It's a dress code. Everybody needs to adhere to it. They're not forcing the removal of headscarves out of some hatred for Islam. They're doing it because that's been the standard policy for all headwear. If that makes it difficult for Muslim women, then I guess that's tough shit. I reckon you better adopt a different religion if it's going to be that big of an inconvenience. Just like Muslim cabbies that refuse to service the blind with seeing eye dogs on religious grounds, the alternative here would be another double standard where personal faith trumps the rules everybody else is expected to follow.

 

[Solaris]

Absithe, the report says however that staff may not wear ay religious clothing or jewelry such as crosses or head scarves to ensure neutrality of service. So it is more than just a "no hats" dress code; it's about keeping religion out of the office, which I'm all for, but it's discriminatory if they still allow christmas trees and such.

 

[DEATH eVADER]

I don't understand the problem, Christmas trees and Easter Eggs are not exactly a christian thing neither but you don't see a atheist, agnostic or a Buddist complain

But that is a predicament isn't it, headscarves. Couldn't you have a transparent headscarve to compromise both parties

 

[Nemesis6]

That would be most haram, and certainly worth a fatwa against anyone wearing a transparent veil from the country's Islamist front groups. Besides, if you voluntarily walk around looking like a walking sack and complain about non-Islamic symbols in your vicinity, chances are you're an extremist. eVADER is right in saying that easter eggs and Christmas trees aren't religious symbols anymore.