<< In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful ----- AMERICAN MUSLIM MEDIA WATCH - 11/13/99 ----- MUSLIMS QUIT JOBS IN PRAYER DISPUTE By: Elizabeth Kurylo, The Atlanta Journal - The Atlanta Constitution, 11/13/1999, Page A; 1 Excerpts: "Anab Aden is a devout Muslim from Somalia who prays five times a day, a religious obligation that she never misses. "So when her boss told her she couldn't pray at work, she was stunned. When the boss suggested that she pray in the bathroom, she was so offended she quit... "...Aden is one of 33 Somalis from Clarkston who quit their jobs at Solectron in Suwanee, where they worked in assembly-line jobs making cellular phones. They had worked at Solectron from one to six months, and in the beginning they were allowed to take two five-minute prayer breaks each day... "...The Muslim workers would leave the assembly line individually and cover for each other so the work got done. But when a new boss started, 'everything changed,' Aden said... "...For three weeks, the Somalis tried to negotiate a settlement that would allow them to pray during work. They offered to subtract the prayer time, about 10 minutes, from their 30-minute lunch break. They told the company that it could deduct the prayer time from their paychecks. The company rejected both proposals, Aden said. "The Somalis said management never complained about their work. 'Each line has to make 500 phones every day and we made more than that, not less,' said Deqa Mohamed, 21. 'They said our work was good...' "...In a statement from corporate headquarters in Milpitas, Ca., Solectron acknowledges it was asked to address 'unique religious needs of one particular group of associates.' The company denied it told the Somalis to pray in the bathroom... "...In a letter to the head of Solectron in California, S. Eric Shakir, civil rights coordinator for the Council of American - Islamic Relations in Washington, said the Somalis are prepared to file a charge of religious discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. "In an interview, Shakir said CAIR handled 600 workplace discrimination complaints last year, 100 of which had to do with prayer breaks. "'It's generally a misunderstanding or ignorance' when it happens, he said. 'In one case in Minnesota, we had Muslims who were being told to go outside to pray in the cold. When we wrote a letter to them, the CEO immediately provided a space for them to pray inside...' "...Aden and most of the other Somalis have not yet found new jobs. And they worry about how to pay rent and meet other financial obligations. "'We're willing to do anything we have to to pray,' Aden said." ON THE WEB: Are the Somali workers being discriminated against? Talk about it: www.accessatlanta.com/community/forums/ ----- ACTION REQUESTED: (As always, be firm, but POLITE. Hostile comments can and will be used to harm the image of the American Muslim community.) Contact Solectron to ask that the workers be re-hired and allowed to prayer. Solectron Corporation Michael E. Donner Corporate Director, Communications TEL: 408-956-6688 FAX: 408-957-2855 E-MAIL: [log in to unmask] COPY TO: [log in to unmask] URL: http://www.Solectron.com/ ----- Council on American-Islamic Relations 1050 17th Street N.W., Suite 490 Washington, D.C. 20036 Tel: (202) 659-CAIR (2247) Fax: (202) 659-2254 E-mail: [log in to unmask] URL: http://www.cair-net.org >> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------------