Author: Janet Levy
Publication: FrontPageMagazine.com
Date: December 7, 2006
URL: http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/Printable.asp?ID=25874
A Muslim woman in Dearborn, Mich., lodged
a complaint Tuesday against Fitness USA for an alleged civil rights violation
involving a fellow gym patron. According to Jodi Berry, executive director
of Fitness USA, Wardeh Sultan was praying in front of another member's locker
when the member wanted access to her belongings inside the locker. The inconvenienced
patron tried to interrupt Ms. Sultan, but she remained prostrate in front
of the locker and an altercation ensued. A manager was called into the locker
room to intervene.
Ms. Sultan later complained that the Fitness
USA management was unconcerned about the humiliation she suffered when her
prayers were interrupted. She stated that the gym personnel were insensitive,
rejected her complaints and did not satisfactorily intervene on her behalf.
Ms. Sultan further reported that the manager told her, "You have to respect
her (the other patron), but she does not have to respect your god."
The incident is yet another example of special
treatment Muslims are increasingly demanding nationwide. Last April, at the
Lincoln Park, Mich. Fitness USA location, 200 Muslim women signed a petition
demanding separate workout times for men and women, or, at minimum, installation
of a divider between the men's and women's gym sections. A screen was eventually
erected to obstruct the view of the women's facilities. Another Fitness USA
facility recently revised a dress code to allow Muslim women to wear more
modest dress while exercising.
Other examples abound. Last week, six imams
demonstrated against U.S. Airways for alleged discrimination against Muslims
and their religious practices after they were detained and questioned because
they had been praying in the Minneapolis airport, loudly invoking Allah's
name and uttering anti-American statements. Recently, Muslim cabdrivers refused
to carry passengers possessing alcoholic beverages or accompanied by seeing-eye
dogs. Last year, city public swimming pools in Seattle, responding to pressure
from Muslims, instituted regularly scheduled hours for exclusive use by Muslims,
including a "Muslim Sister Swim." In June in a Chicago suburb, a
Muslim girls basketball team, whose players compete wearing long, blue gowns
and hijabs, requested that in competitions with non-Muslims schools, no men
or boys be allowed to watch the games.
What is behind this rash of demands for tolerance
and accompanying allegations of discrimination by Muslims? Could this be part
of an agenda contrived to intimidate non-Muslims into enacting special concessions
and privileges for Muslims that subtlety alter American society step by step?
Is this the beginning of a militant movement or a cultural jihad toward incremental
demands with the ultimate goal of Islamicizing the U.S. and imposing Sharia
law?
At the same time, Muslims are alleging with
greater frequency and vitriol that a growing intolerance of Islam exists and
that the rights of Muslims to speak and worship freely are under attack by
Americans. Muslim leaders such as Salam Al-Marayati, executive director of
the Muslim Public Affairs Council, insist that Muslims have a right to petition
for special accommodation based on their religious beliefs as mandated by
the First Amendment. In truth, no requirement exists, either in state or federal
statutes, requiring that such petitions be addressed or behavior adjusted
accordingly. Further, the locations in question are publicly owned businesses
providing services to the general public under behavioral and societal norms
accepted by the majority of Americans. These are not private clubs exclusive
to Muslim patrons and nothing prevents Muslims from creating their own private
clubs to accommodate their needs. If a religion prohibits males and females
from swimming together, its practitioners shouldn't swim in public pools.
If devout Muslim girls must play basketball in burkas away from the gaze of
boys and men, competitions may be arranged exclusively with Muslims schools.
In the case of gym patrons, how far will the
requests go before non-Muslim women are subservient to the whims and demands
of Muslims? If a Muslim woman decides to spontaneously pray between the bench
press and the treadmill are non-Muslims expected to alter their circuit in
order not to disturb her? What if Muslims decide that they are uncomfortable
with the immodest attire of non-Muslims exercising around them? Will they
eventually demand that all gym participants dress according to a standard
that they establish as appropriate? Once a Muslim-approved standard of dress
is observed in the gym, would it be extended to cover shopping malls, post
offices, other community locations and eventually an entire region?
As for praying in public places, such as fitness
centers and airport terminals, to what extent should this be accommodated
by American society? Do Muslims really believe that a gym locker room is a
desirable and appropriate place for prayer? Can't they schedule their day
to attend the gym between calls to prayer or pray silently or in their cars?
Most airports have non-denominational chapels for all religions. Aren't these
spaces more appropriate for vocal and physical attitudes of prayer than a
busy terminal filled with passengers? In a post 9-11 world, it is unrealistic
to expect that loud proclamations of Islamic faithfulness mixed with condemnations
of U.S. policy will not raise suspicion and cause alarm. The tragedy of 9-11
has forever changed the air travel experience and certain behaviors are already
constrained in the interest of American security. Is vocal and extreme religious
behavior exempt?
Countless others have immigrated to the United
States without demanding that we change our society to meet their religious
requirements. It's unfathomable that an orthodox Jewish taxi driver would
deny passage to a person eating a ham sandwich or a Jehovah's Witness would
deny service to a passenger carrying a bottle of wine. We have already re-engineered
assembly lines (Tyson Foods and Dell Computer) and overturned a city noise
ordinance to allow for Muslim calls to prayer. Squiggle graphics on Burger
King ice cream cones were discontinued as they allegedly resembled the Arabic
spelling of Allah. Under threat of a lawsuit, Nike recalled a sneaker with
a heel design that was also similar to the Arabic configuration for Allah
and built three playgrounds in U.S. Islamic communities designated by the
Council on American-Islamic Relations.
Where will this intimidation and shakedown of Americans and American institutions
end? Will racism and bigotry accusations shame us into capitulating and abandoning
our vigilance and security precautions? Will we be lured into curtailing our
surveillance procedures, weakening the Patriot Act and enacting religious
intolerance legislation focusing on Muslims? Muslim charges of victimization
and discrimination have already paved the way for a variety of special treatment
and dispensations. How many changes must we see on the American landscape
and how far must Americans be pushed for concessions before we collectively
say, "Enough?"