Muslim sues Tesco over having to handle alcohol

[Saddle Bronc 124]

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/art...ohol/article.do

Muslim sues Tesco over alcohol

2008.09.28

A Muslim said he is suing Tesco for religious discrimination because he was asked to handle crates of alcohol in a warehouse.

Mohammed Ahmed, 32, was employed at the supermarket giant's Lichfield depot in September last year for a job that included transporting various goods on fork-lift trucks.

The Saudi Arabia national told a tribunal he had not been told when he started the job that he would be handling alcoholic drinks - a task he said was against his Islamic beliefs.

The situation came to a head in the run-up to Christmas last year, when more alcohol was ferried to the warehouse in preparation for the festive season.

Mr Ahmed, who moved to Derby in 2006, complained to Tesco in February, but claims he was treated unfairly as a result. After eight months working for the company, he left in protest.

The decision on his legal action, after a three-day employment tribunal held in Birmingham, is expected next week.

He said: "It's in our religion that we are not allowed to handle alcohol. In the UK there's equal opportunities that should protect me and my beliefs.

"I was asking for my rights. I am not saying I am a perfect person but there was a conflict with my beliefs."

Tesco claimed Mr Ahmed was made aware at his induction that he would be handling alcohol, and that every effort was made to find him an alternative role in the warehouse. But the claimant, of Upper Dale Road, Normanton, claims he was victimised by managers because of his stance.

A Tesco spokesman said: "Cases like this are very rare as managers are trained to be culturally sensitive and have an 'open door policy' to staff for issues like this as everyone is welcome to work at Tesco."

Eh, I worked for a time (through Diversified) in 1993, when I had not yet become Christian, loading grocery shipments (including cases of beef and pork products) from Loblaws' and Safeway's Calgary warehouses onto lorries--hence my opinion that Mr. Ahmed is a chopf--k!

[thetreble 19]

Very similar to the case of a Muslim woman working at Toronto Pearson Airport who sued the transit authority over the objection to her work uniform. When you take a job, you have responsibilities, dress codes, etc. If you don't like it, leave. Tesco, nor YYZ, is at fault in any human rights type violations here.

[rocks 494]

who would have thought tesco, the only company that has the 24 hour alcohol license, had alcohol in its warehouse?! what an idiot.

Edited September 29, 2008 by rocks

[thetreble 19]

who would have thought tesco, the only company that has the 24 hour alcohol license, had alcohol in its warehouse?! what an idiot.

exactly my point.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

i think we should ban alcohol worldwide to protect the fragile religious sensibilities of our muslim neighbors........

[SteveLaura 0]

Does moving crates of alcohol on a forklift constitute 'handling'? Or was he OK with that aspect but refused to actually touch the bottles? I'm confused.

[rclouse 0]

FWIU the prohibition is the personal consumption of anything intoxicating. So basically this guy is trying to force his moral/religious beliefs on others.

[almaty 19]

FWIU the prohibition is the personal consumption of anything intoxicating. So basically this guy is trying to force his moral/religious beliefs on others.

yeap..he is a chopf##k

[Saddle Bronc 124]

FWIU the prohibition is the personal consumption of anything intoxicating. So basically this guy is trying to force his moral/religious beliefs on others.

yeap..he is a chopf##k

as I stated in my OP.

(btw, I also worked as a dishwasher during grad school; this involved cleaning dishes on which dishes consuming beef and pork had been comsumed--scrubbing these is a much more involved "handling" than that Saudi chopf--k's moving crates of alcohol around with a forklift)

[SpiritAlight 1]

The only sensible thing to is this:

I declare:

(ahem)

Alcohol should have a global ban and pot can be legalized.

That way there is no more violent nor aggressive behaviour, no more drunk driving (killing).

Pot well, it helps the economy, as people get the munchies!

And pot gets people perpetually laughing/giggling and wanting to make nice.

Plus, and here's the bonus, ingesting pot helps cure many ailments.

Not a bad proposition is you ask me.

I cannot comprehend the U.S.'s stance on a weed that is actually good for you if responsible with it.

It feels like I'm talking with children whenever pot comes up here.

[Jenn! 918]

FWIU the prohibition is the personal consumption of anything intoxicating.

I'm not sure that's true, or at least I don't think it's the majority interpretation.

Stolen from another discussion I read:

From Muslim (from Abi Said): The Prophet said: "Allah has forbidden

alcoholic drinks. Whoever this verse reaches while they still possess

any of it, they are not to drink nor to sell."

eminent Muslim scholar, Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, states:

"Just as the sale of alcohol or receiving the price of it is haram

(unlawful) for the Muslim, likewise giving it as a gift to anyone,

such as a Christian or Jewish friend, is haram. Alcoholic beverages

cannot be received or given by a Muslim as gifts because a Muslim is

pure and neither gives nor receives anything except what is pure.

It is reported that a man brought a cask of wine to the Prophet

(peace and blessings be on him) as a gift. The Prophet (peace and

blessings be on him) informed him that Allah had prohibited

it. 'Shall I not sell it?' asked the man. 'The One Who prohibited

drinking it has also prohibited selling it,' replied the Prophet

(peace and blessings be on him). 'Shall I not give it to a Jew as a

gift?' asked the man. 'The One Who has prohibited it has also

prohibited that it be given as a gift to the Jew,' said the

Prophet. 'Then what shall I do with it?' asked the man. 'Pour it on

the ground,' the Prophet replied. (Reported by al-Hamidi in his

Musnad)"

"The Prophet -peace be upon him- said that Allah's curse comes on the

person who drinks it and the one who serves it to others. "

[Saddle Bronc 124]

The only sensible thing to is this:

I declare:

(ahem)

Alcohol should have a global ban and pot can be legalized.

That way there is no more violent nor aggressive behaviour, no more drunk driving (killing).

Pot well, it helps the economy, as people get the munchies!

And pot gets people perpetually laughing/giggling and wanting to make nice.

Plus, and here's the bonus, ingesting pot helps cure many ailments.

Not a bad proposition is you ask me.

I cannot comprehend the U.S.'s stance on a weed that is actually good for you if responsible with it.

It feels like I'm talking with children whenever pot comes up here.

As to whether it's GOOD for you,...Actually, charas was not illegal (in US) until at least 1900:

• 1925 Indian-hemp regulation, a convention on export/import of charas
• Marijuana Tax Act (1935) banned posession or sale except for commercial (paper, rope) or pharma use (both severely regulated)--passed partly due to heavy lobbying from W.H. Hearst (due to his stakes in timber companies which made his newsprint, for which he wanted effective monopoly/oligopoly)
• Mandatory sentencing was put in in 1952

Trivia:

• Declaration Of Independence was drafted on.....Indian Hemp paper!
• USDA Bulletin 404 stated "one acre of hemp, in annual rotation over a 20-year period, would produce as much pulp for paper as 4.1 acres (17,000 m²) of trees being cut down over the same 20-year period. This process would use only 1/4 to 1/7 as much polluting sulfur-based acid chemicals to break down the glue-like lignin that binds the fibers of the pulp, or even none at all using soda ash. The problem of dioxin contamination of rivers is avoided in the hemp paper making process, which does not need to use chlorine bleach (as the wood pulp paper making process requires) but instead safely substitutes hydrogen peroxide in the bleaching process"

Wiki Source

So, we can say charas actually better for environment.

[rclouse 0]

OK, your citation has to do with selling or giving as a gift. If he believes transporting it with a forklift is equivalent to selling, then just working for a business that sells alcohol should be the same thing.

Dude should work somewhere else or go back to the KSA.

FWIU the prohibition is the personal consumption of anything intoxicating.

I'm not sure that's true, or at least I don't think it's the majority interpretation.

Stolen from another discussion I read:

<snip>

[SpiritAlight 1]

Hemp is the most sustainable and mutli-purpose plant on this planet.

A bold statement and maybe even true!

You get paper, material, food (extremely healthy supplements, like protein powder, seeds, oil, etc) rope, awesome face cream, and body cream too, what else...I am drawing a blank at the moment.

And hemp is not marijuana!

[Jenn! 918]

OK, your citation has to do with selling or giving as a gift. If he believes transporting it with a forklift is equivalent to selling, then just working for a business that sells alcohol should be the same thing.

Dude should work somewhere else or go back to the KSA.

Yes, I think this is how a lot of people feel about it. Agreed he should work somewhere else.

Off the subject, but it just came to mind. How do corporations in Muslim countries function with the whole usury being haram thing?