Edmonton Muslim teen says she forgives shop owner who kicked her out

[strivingobserver98]

respect to the sister .

A Muslim teenager who says she was kicked out of a northeast Edmonton shoe repair shop when wearing a burka said she forgives the store owner.

But 19-year-old Sarii Ghalab said she hopes that kind of rejection doesn't happen to others.

Ghalab said she went with a friend to Edmonton Shoe Repair in Northgate Centre Jan. 27 to fix a broken heel on one of her shoes. She had called two weeks earlier and the shop's owner cheerfully told her it would cost only a few dollars to fix, and that he could do the repair the same day, she said.

When she arrived at the store, a man she believed was the owner asked her to leave.

"He said 'It's not in my ethical beliefs to do business with you,'" Ghalab recalled. "He made it absolutely clear he didn't want me in the store at all."

"I said 'I hope you have a good day' and left. I was so shocked, this had never happened before."

Ghalab wears a burka, a full-length covering worn by some Muslim women that conceals the body with the exception of the eyes. Wearing a black burka that day, as well as a leather jacket and carrying a sparkly purse, Ghalab said she believes she was told to leave because of what she was wearing.

Ghalab's friend, Ijabo Mohamud, said she was surprised to see her friend treated this way in the mall.

"He said 'it goes against my ethics to serve someone who won't show me their face.' That's what he said to her," Mohamud said.

"People don't need to be subjected to this type of response when they're just walking into a shoe store in a mall."

Ghalab said her friend was very upset and told her to complain to the mall's management. Instead, the psychology student decided to write the owner a letter describing how wearing a burka is her way of honouring her ancestors and expressing pride in being Muslim.

"This is our identity, our self empowerment, our self expression of who we are."- Sarii Ghalab

Source: http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/canada/e...-out-1.3427399

[Asiyah3]

She handled the situation with wisdom, not emotions, and adhered to the Qur'anic teachings that order us to respond to evil in a better way.

Some of our less knowledgeable brothers and sisters would unfortunately respond to racists and islamophobics in a mean way, lowering themselves to their level. This doesn't work. In fact, now they have an excuse not to like you, whereas previously the issue was within themselves.

[Pygoscelis]

As a fellow Canadian, I am a little torn on this. I see her point, but would want to be fair about it. Should people be forced to interact with people who hide their faces? Would this shop owner have responded the same way to a man in the winter that refuses to take off a ski mask or a bandana over their face in the summer? This issue goes beyond religious freedom and persecution (though that is definitely a part of it). There is just something that feels ominous to a lot of people about people wearing masks.

[Asiyah3]

As a fellow Canadian, I am a little torn on this. I see her point, but would want to be fair about it. Should people be forced to interact with people who hide their faces? Would this shop owner have responded the same way to a man in the winter that refuses to take off a ski mask or a bandana over their face in the summer? This issue goes beyond religious freedom and persecution (though that is definitely a part of it). There is just something that feels ominous to a lot of people about people wearing masks.

Thank you for trying to be fair, but if you find the way he treated a covered woman fair, you are actually being very unfair.
1. Because -- can a conservative shop owner refuse to serve a woman who exposes parts of her chest? Who decides how people are allowed to dress? Who decided that revealing is more correct than covering?
2. Although I haven't studied the laws of Canada, didn't he break Canadian law? Citizens need to follow the local law.

[Pygoscelis]

can a conservative shop owner refuse to serve a woman who exposes parts of her chest?

I think the conservative shop owner should be allowed to do so. We do have "no shirt, no shoes, no service" signs up everywhere and they appear to be legal.

Who decides how people are allowed to dress? Who decided that revealing is more correct than covering?

Usually the community and the setting. It is legal in Canada for women to go topless in public parks (very few actually do), but nobody is allowed to wear a t-shirt or jeans in a courtroom, as it is considered disrespectful.

Was the man allowed to refuse to serve her because she was covering her face? Its a good question and not one with a clear answer. I do know that people have been required to show their faces in some places of business. It is often considered a security risk for a person to be wearing a mask.

[azc]

respect to the sister .Source: http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/canada/e...-out-1.3427399

she is a great girl

[Search]

I can understand your discomfort with this, but I don't see anything wrong with the law forcing people to interact with people who hide their faces if they do so for religious reasons. For example, in the U.S., it is well known that Amish communities are exempt from paying certain taxes that are leveled at other ordinary U.S. citizens, but the law makes that specific exemption to the Amish community in the matter of taxation for religious reasons.

Generally-speaking, we cannot as a society afford to let societal or cultural discomfort dictate how the law treats people. I understand the fact that seeing a niqabi (that is, a niqab-clad woman) is a strange phenomenon to people. I myself, having been raised in the U.S., culturally initially found things like niqab strange when I first started practicing Islam (and even before Islam), but I respect the women who do so because they are simply doing what they feel is pleasing to God. And I understand what you mean about the niqab feeling ominous, but I honestly think that has more to do with the cultural mores with which we were raised than anything objectively sinister about the clothing in itself. Also, women who wear niqab say they feel empowered and adopt the covering out of devoutness and personal commitment, and I honestly find something about that nonconformity reassuring and and inspirational. Especially in the West, I am sure this cannot be easy for the women who do so, specifically in the hostile environment that has developed since the emergence of terrorist organizations like Daesh.

As a fellow Canadian, I am a little torn on this. I see her point, but would want to be fair about it. Should people be forced to interact with people who hide their faces? Would this shop owner have responded the same way to a man in the winter that refuses to take off a ski mask or a bandana over their face in the summer? This issue goes beyond religious freedom and persecution (though that is definitely a part of it). There is just something that feels ominous to a lot of people about people wearing masks.