Federal Court Gives $20,000 To Muslim Woman Who Says Abercrombie & Fitch Didn't Hire Her Because She Was Wearing Hijab

Robert over at Jihad Watch makes an excellent point. Why are devout Muslim women applying to work at stores that are opposed to their views on morality? Consider the kinds of ads this woman would have been surrounded by had she worked at Abercrombie:

Unmarried people, posing together and nearly nude? Surely that would affect her sensibilities? The above is one of Abercrombie's more tame ads.

Most of us have experienced rejection from potential jobs, but have not resorted to ligation because a company wasn't interested. Notice no Jewish or Hindu women have sued Abercrombie over work garb issues. Gee, why is that?

You will, however, note that there have been several cases of Muslims who have sued businesses, from department stores to pubs, for some of the silliest reasons. Take, for example, the Muslim employee at Disneyland who suddenly sued the company because she decided she wanted to wear the hijab. Despite Disneyland's attempts to accommodate her, she still took the company to court. Or take the Muslim waitress in the UK who won compensation for having to wear a dress to work (at a pub) that she said was indecent (months after accepting the position)-- though her Facebook pictures were hardly decent!

Hollister, a company that is similar to Abercrombie & Fitch, is involved in a similar court case right now. A devout Muslim female is suing the company because she says she wore a headdress to work (despite the company's clear policies on hats and veils at work) and was fired.

Notice the double standards. There is an attempt to force Islamic cultural and religious norms on private businesses in the West. But that doesn't work both ways. It was less than a year ago that a story broke about a woman, a non-practicing Muslim, who was fired in the UK for NOT wearing a hijab at a business owned by Muslims. And, in Islamic countries, a platonic kiss to greet a co-worker could land a woman in jail.

From Jihad Watch:

Again, the essential question in cases like this is, Why would a Muslima want to work at Abercrombie & Fitch in the first place? Wouldn't she find the clothing line, the advertising, and the whole atmosphere objectionable on moral grounds? Shouldn't she prefer to shun such an environment rather than want to work there at all, especially if she is pious and observant enough to want to wear the hijab? Unless, of course, the real point of her getting hired in the first place was to compel an American business to change its practices in order to accommodate Islamic norms, and thereby to assert once again that Islam must dominate and not be dominated. And now Samantha Elauf has succeeded.

An update on this story.

"US Muslim Woman Gets $20,000 in Lawsuit Against Discrimination," from the Ahlul Bayt News Agency, July 21 (thanks to Twostellas):

A federal jury has awarded $20,000 in compensatory damages to a Muslim woman who alleged that Abercrombie & Fitch discriminated against her because she wore a head scarf.

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - The six-member panel deliberated more than four hours Wednesday before deciding on damages against the clothing retailer.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued on behalf of Samantha Elauf, who alleged she was denied a job at an Abercrombie & Fitch store in Tulsa's Woodland Hills Mall because she wore a hijab. The hijab is part of her religious beliefs.

U.S. District Judge Gregory Frizzell ruled last week the store violated Elauf's civil rights when it didn't hire her.

Store officials denied any discrimination but acknowledged having a policy that bars headwear....