By Douglas J. Hagmann, Director
20 July 2009: “CAIR Good News Alert #583″ announced that the management of the Wal-Mart store in St. Paul, Minnesota has recognized “a Muslim employee’s right to pray in the workplace.” The store management has agreed to accommodate any Muslim employee who feels the need to pray to Allah while at work.
The management decision was due to pressure exerted by the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MN). In 2007, the Council on Islamic Relations was named as an “unindicted co-conspirator” by federal prosecutors due to their funding the terrorist group Hamas. The Islamic Society of North America and the North American Islamic Trust were also designated as “unindicted co-conspirators” along with CAIR.
The Wal-Mart case centers on an employee who was reportedly fired for violating a new supervisor’s ban on prayer during work breaks, according to the “Good News Alert.” The employee was re-hired and given full authority to pray at work “following discussions between CAIR-MN and local and national representatives of Wal-Mart.” The decision was made after CAIR’s attorneys reportedly threatened legal action against the store and the store management, citing provisions under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Minnesota Human Rights Act.
To insure future compliance, CAIR-MN will offer a workshop in St. Paul, MN called “Positive Interactions: Working Effectively with Muslim Employees,” which will outline the religious practices of Muslims and how they can be accommodated in the workplace. That re-education workshop will be held August 4, 2009 for those in need of Islamic indoctrination.
