Why Would A Muslim Criticize Islam? The Lesson On Obama

Obama laments 'distorted impression' of Muslims

By Ben Kamisar

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President Obama stressed religious tolerance during an Iftar dinner to celebrate the Muslim holiday of Ramadan, linking the murders of nine black Christians in South Carolina with the killings of three Muslims in North Carolina earlier this year.

"Our prayers remain with Charleston and Mother Emanuel church," Obama said Monday night, using the nickname of the historically black church in Charleston where nine people were killed Wednesday night after a gunman opened fire in a Bible study.

"As Americans, we insist that nobody should be targeted because of who they are, or what they look like, who they love, how they worship. We stand united against these hateful acts."

Obama lamented the "distorted impression" that many Americans have of Muslims.

"Here in America, many people personally don’t know someone who is Muslim. They mostly hear about Muslims in the news -- and that can obviously lead to a very distorted impression," Obama said.

He shared the story of protesters outside of an Arizona mosque who held up "offensive signs against Islam and Muslims. But when the congregants invited the protesters in to pray, some completely changed their minds.

"One demonstrator, who accepted the invitation later, described how the experience changed him; how he finally saw the Muslim American community for what it is -- peaceful and welcoming," Obama said.

"That’s what can happen when we stop yelling and start listening. That’s why it’s so important always to lift up the stories and voices of proud Americans who are contributing to our country every day."

Samantha Elauf, the woman at the center of the recent Supreme Court case about whether she could where a hijab as an Abercrombie & Fitch employee, attended the White House dinner. Elauf
won her case in early June by an 8-1 vote.

One Must Be Careful When Granting Muslims Special Rights. Do You Agree With The Supreme Court? Or Does This Send Shivers Down Your Spine?

Supreme Court Rules for Muslim Woman Denied Job at Clothing Store

Samantha Elauf. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Monday, 01 Jun 2015 11:38 AM

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The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ruled in favor of a Muslim woman who sued after being denied a job at an Abercrombie & Fitch Co clothing store in Oklahoma because she wore a head scarf for religious reasons.On a 8-1 vote, the court handed a victory to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), a federal agency that sued the company on behalf of Samantha Elauf. She was denied a sales job in 2008 at an Abercrombie Kids store in Tulsa when she was 17.
The legal question before the court was whether Elauf was required to ask for a religious accommodation in order for the company to be sued under the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which, among other things, bans employment discrimination based on religious beliefs and practices.
The court, in an opinion by Justice Antonin Scalia, ruled that Elauf needed only to show that her need for an accommodation was a motivating factor in the employer's decision.

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"A request for accommodation ... may make it easier to infer motive, but it is not a necessary condition of liability," Scalia wrote.
Justice Clarence Thomas was the sole dissenter. He said that "mere application of a neutral policy" should not be viewed as discrimination.
Elauf was wearing a head scarf, or hijab, at the job interview but did not specifically say that, as a Muslim, she wanted the company to give her a religious accommodation.
The company denied Elauf the job on the grounds that wearing the scarf violated its "look policy" for members of the sales staff, a policy intended to promote the brand's East Coast collegiate image.
Muslim groups said in a friend-of-the-court brief in support of Elauf that employment discrimination against Muslims is widespread in the United States. Often, the act of a woman wearing a head scarf is what triggers the discrimination, according to the brief. The EEOC has reported that Muslims file more employment claims about discrimination and the failure to provide religious accommodations than any other religious group.

Groups representing Christians, Jews and Sikhs also filed court papers backing Elauf.
The case involving a young Muslim woman alleging workplace discrimination in the American heartland was decided by the top U.S. court at a time when some Western nations are struggling with culture clashes relating to accommodating local Islamic populations. The United States has not, however, faced the same tensions as some European countries including France.

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