Some refused to ring up pork products
BY STEVE KARNOWSKI
Sunday, March 18, 2007
The Minneapolis-based Star Tribune reported last week that some Muslim cashiers at local Targets had declined to scan pork products such as bacon because doing so would conflict with their religious beliefs. They would ask other cashiers to ring up such purchases, or sometimes customers would scan those items themselves.
Minneapolis-based Target Corp. has now offered its local Muslim cashiers who object to handling pork the option of wearing gloves while cashiering, shifting to other positions or transferring to other nearby stores.
"We are confident that this is a reasonable solution for our guests and team members," Target spokeswoman Paula Thornton-Greear said in a statement e-mailed to the Associated Press on Saturday.
Thornton-Greear said it was a localized problem and it would be handled on a case-by-case basis.
"It is not an issue in most of our stores in the Twin Cities," she said in separate comments via e-mail. "There is also no indication that this is an issue in the Minnesota market overall or nationwide."
Islam teaches that pigs are unclean and eating pork is a sin, and some Muslims feel selling or handling pork is also forbidden because it would make them complicit in the sins of others.
As the local Muslim population grows, fueled by immigration from East African countries such as Somalia, efforts by Muslims to live by the rules of their faith often come into conflict with the realities of the American workplace.
Disputes over how employers should accommodate prayer times surface occasionally, and there's an ongoing dispute involving cabdrivers who serve Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport — many of whom are Muslim — who refuse to take passengers who are carrying alcohol.
The Metropolitan Airports Commission is expected to vote in April on a proposal that would hand out 30-day license suspensions to cabbies who refuse service for any reason, with a second refusal leading to a two-year revocation.
Muse Dahir told the AP last week he quit his job at the Sam's Club in Bloomington after he was transferred from another position to cashiering and was ordered to ring up pork purchases.
Several times on his first day as a cashier, Dahir said, customers brought pork products to his register. He asked them to take their goods to another register, and a customer complained to management.
"They told me, 'You have to check this,' " Dahir said. "I told them, 'I can't do this. You want me to do something that's against my religion.' "
Dahir said a manager told him that was part of the job, so "I just put down my uniform and I left."
He said it doesn't matter if the pork product is packaged. "Even if you just sell it to someone, you break a promise to Allah," he said.
Jama Omar, a clerk at Otanga Grocery in Minneapolis, said his store caters mostly to East African immigrants and doesn't carry pork products, so it's not an issue for him personally. But Omar also said Muslims shouldn't expect special treatment.
"If it causes a big problem for your employer, they have to make the decision that's best for them," Omar said. "It's not something to go on strike or file a civil suit. Go somewhere else that will accept your beliefs. There's millions of jobs."
Reader feedback wanted
Recent news stories about Muslim cabdrivers refusing to transport passengers who were drunk or carrying booze elicited a lot of responses from readers. Now, a story about cashiers at Target refusing to scan or handle pork also is generating buzz — most of it angry and anonymous.
We want to hear from readers with their thoughts on these types of conflicts. We're seeking thoughtful responses from people willing to include their names, ages, genders, races and daytime phone numbers so we can contact them. Responses might be included in an upcoming story and edited for length. Send to [email protected].
Source: AP, Mar 18, 2007