Muslim woman fired from work for wearing hijab in US

August 7, 2016

Washington, Aug 7: In a case of alleged discrimination in the US, a young Muslim woman was fired from her job at a dental clinic for wearing a hijab as her employer wanted to keep a "neutral environment" in office.

hijabNajaf Khan, who was hired as a dental assistant at Fair Oaks Dental Care in Fairfax County, Virginia, said she was fired from the new job because she wore a Muslim head scarf to work.

"I was really upset. The day that it happened, I was devastated," Najaf told NBC Washington.

She did not wear the hijab for her interview or on the first two days of employment. On the third day, she chose to wear it because Najaf felt that she would stay at the job and wearing it was part of her spiritual journey.

At work that day, she said the owner of Fair Oaks Dental Care, Dr Chuck Joo, told her to take off the hijab.

Joo told her that they wanted to keep a "neutral environment" in office. The employer asked her to remove it because the Islamic head scarf would offend patients and he wanted to keep religion out of the office.

Khan said Joo gave her an ultimatum -- she could continue wearing the scarf and be fired or work without it.

"When I said that I would not compromise my religion for that, he held the door open for me and I walked out," Khan said.

Joo was quoted as saying that open displays of religion are not allowed at his business because he wants to keep it neutral. If his employees want to wear a hat, it must be a surgical hat for sanitary reasons, Joo said.

Reacting to the case, the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) said, "No employee should face termination because of his or her faith or religious practices. We call on Fair Oaks Dental Care to reinstate the Muslim employee and to offer her reasonable religious accommodation as mandated by law."

Najaf said she would likely refuse an offer to return to the dental office.

"I was astonished because he (boss) had been saying I had been doing so well. I received an email Friday morning (July 29) saying how much positive enthusiasm I was bringing into the dental office," she told Fox News.

Comments

Satyameva Jayate
 - 
Sunday, 7 Aug 2016

good move ......more and more people learning about modesty and hijab....the more they defame muslims the more learn about it and accept it..specially from the west....that is ISLAM.......God is great....

Rikaz
 - 
Sunday, 7 Aug 2016

Government should cancel his business license and degree....let him suffer for his racial attitude....

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News Network
January 23,2020

Bengaluru, Jan 23: An alleged low-intensity blast on Wednesday late evening in Shanthinagar left three-time Congress MLA NA Harris and six others with burn injuries. The blast reported at around 8:30 pm during a cultural programme gripped the central parts of Bengaluru in a panic especially after the incident of police recovering a live bomb in Mangaluru airport. 

According to sources in Shanthinagar, MLA Harris was attending the birthday celebrations of MGR organized by the locals close to his residence in Shanthinagar. Following the blast, Harris and a few others who standing close to the MLA sustained burn injuries and rushed to the nearby Philomena Hospital immediately and police officials from both the Ashok Nagar and Vivek Nagar visited the spot. The police officials are yet to confirm whether it was a bomb blast or due to the bursting of loud and powerful crackers. 

Chethan Singh Rathore, DCP (Central) visited the hospital and the blast site. A team of forensic science lab experts have also been summoned to the spot to collect samples for ascertaining the nature of the blast. MLA Harris’s son Mohammed Nalapad who rushed to the hospital along with supporters told media persons that they are completely shocked by the incident. 

“He was sitting on a chair and suddenly something that was hurled at him exploded beneath the chair. He sustained injuries to his leg and brought to the hospital. He is being treated by a team of doctors and other injured supporters are also being attended to by the doctors,” Nalapad said. 

Expressing shock over the incident, he said, “My father has been an MLA for 12-years and nothing of this sort had happened before in the constituency. We have no rivals and my father never had any gunmen. We are all shocked and have complained to the jurisdictional police.” 

Meantime, Dr Shankar Prasad, Medical Director, St Philomena’s Hospital explained that Harris and others are currently being treated for minor injuries. “None of them have any open cut injuries and they are being examined further,” Dr Prasad told DH. 

According to Dr Prasad, Harris had a minor blood clot in his left leg which was possibly due to a hard object hitting him during the blast. “We have taken X-Ray and examining further. At the look of it, it seems like a very minor injury,” he added. 

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News Network
May 8,2020

Hassan, May 8: A newly married couple accidentally fell into the Hemavathi river and drowned while clicking selfies near Henneli village in the district, police said on Friday.

The deceased were identified as Kritika (23) of the same village and Artheesh (27) of Belur taluk in the district.

They got married on March 20. Both were working in Bengaluru and were in the village due to the lockdown.

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News Network
February 9,2020

Karwar, Feb 9: It has now come to the knowledge that a Karwar youth identified as Abhishek (26) who is on board a cruise ship that was turned away at a Japan port has reached out for help. The vessel was carrying coronavirus infected tourists onboard.

On Friday, Japan had reported 41 confirmed cases in the vessel which is currently docked at Daikoku Pier Cruise Terminal in Yokohama, Tokyo. Abhishek works as a steward in Diamond Princess ship owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. The reports say that he is not infected by the virus. Around 3,700 people have been confined aboard the ship. The total number of Indian nationals is not yet confirmed.

Abhishek who hails from Canara Bank colony in Karwar in Karnataka on Saturday morning through a video call appealed to the Indian government to evacuate him from the ship and deport to India, while the company, where he works, has said the Indian Embassy in Japan is in continuous contact with the concerned authorities in Japan

Abhishek in his call to parents said “I am scared of the ship as the people are quarantined and the ship is isolated. Please contact government officials to evacuate me from the ship and deport me to India.”

Father of Abhishek, Balakrishna B talking to ToI said the Karwar district administration and the company he is working with have asked not to panic. The deputy commissioner (DC) of Karwar said Japan is performing normal procedures to contain the spread of the deadly virus which killed over 600 people across the world.

Indian embassy in Japan in its statement mailed to the parent of Abhishek said “As you are aware that the Diamond Princess cruise ship is presently under quarantine for a period of 14 days from Feb 5 due to positively tested cases of coronavirus onboard. All passengers and crew members on board have to follow the health and safety regulations put in place by the Japanese ministry of health, labour and welfare”

The embassy official, Anil K Kalra further said the office is in constant touch with the Japanese authorities who have assured that all passengers and the crew members of the ship are being taken care of and kept under health monitoring and there is no cause to worry. The official said “we are trying to reach out to all Indian nationals onboard to know about their well being and assure all possible help at this difficult juncture.

DC of Karwar, Harish Kumar K urged the parents not to panic and his office has sent a letter to state the government that will be forwarded to the ministry of external affairs. Japan is doing standard operating procedures to contain the virus and as of now, Abhishek is secure and safe.

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