Islam versus Europe

Faced with the seemingly almost infinite appeasement of Islam, it's good to ocassionally find that someone, somewhere, still has a spine. Four Muslims working at a children's summer camp have been suspended for refusing to eat or drink during Ramadan. Even more unusually, the decision was made by officialdom, the camp being run by Gennevilliers (north-west of Paris) town council. And - get ready to be amazed - the town council is run by the Communist Party of France!

They "did not respect, in the course of their stay, the obligations of their work contract, thus raising doubts about the physical safety of the children for whom they were responsible", explains the Gennevilliers town council (Communist Party) in a statement. "This lack of nourishment and hydration might have led these agents to not be in full possession of the means required to ensure the holiday activities unfold properly and in safety, as well as the physical safety of the children for whom they were responsible," according to the town council.

"For this reason the town council of Gennevilliers, which has full responsibility for proper conduct during the holidays, terminated their employment, without financial prejudice," continues the town council which hired these hosts in fixed-term work contracts for a sporting holiday at Port-d'Albret, in les Landes, starting on 5 July.

"Three years ago we had an extremely unfortunate case, a young female host who had refused to eat and had fainted," explained the director of the office of the mayor, Nicole Varet. "The problem is that she was driving a vehicle with children, and she had an accident in which people were seriously injured, in particular a child," she specified.

Source: Le Figaro Via: Salon Beige

This makes perfect sense. From the booming crime figures and accident rates during Ramadan, it's clear that the day-long fast has significant effects on Muslim behaviour and capability. I'm willing to bet that in almost any job where work performance could readily be measured, it would be found that the Muslim metrics drop dramatically during Ramadan. A powerful case could be made for employers banning day-long fasting among all of their employees, but especially, as the article makes clear, in safety-critical positions.

Predictably, the French Islamic Council is now on the case.

For its part the Conseil français du culte musulman (CFCM) [French Islamic Council] envisages a complaint for discrimination. "I condemn the arbitrary and discriminatory decision of the mayor of Gennevilliers with the greatest firmness" writes Abdallah Zekri, president of the Observatoire contre l'islamophobie [Observatory against Islamophobia], which is part of the CFCM. "Religious liberty is a fundamental liberty and we cannot under any circumstances forbid a person from practising their religion. The Observatory reserves the right to file a complaint for discrimination", continues Mr Zekri.

It seems that, technically speaking, the Muslims were suspended rather than sacked outright. They will be paid until the end of their contract term, which was only till the 26 July. Why should they be paid if they're not doing their job properly and are violating the conditions of their work contracts?

Source: BondyBlog

UPDATE: The mayor has now backed down and said he will allow employees to fast after all.

Source: Le Figaro