Muslim refugees could not continue after refusing to shake hands on female colleagues

Oslo.City council leader Raymond Johansen.Photo: Terje Pedersen / NTB scanpix

A Muslim crew at a primary school in Oslo was disallowed to continue after refusing to greet women.City council leader Raymond Johansen supports the decision.

 

A religious man in his 40’s had complained to the school and Nav to the Discrimination Board after he could not continue as expected in a vacancy as a teacher and assistant at the activity school, wrote Dagsavisen newspaper. Former Rector, Bente Alfheim,at Ekeberg Primary School, remembers the matter and says the subject was raised several times.

“We always said it was a problem, we never said we accepted it. However, we were open to inclusion and would give him an opportunity, she explained.

She said there were complaints from female teachers who felt that he would not shake them by the hand. The former Rector can not see how she could defend an employee at school not greeting women.

Support

City council leader Raymond Johansen of Arbeiderpartiet (AP) supports the school’s
decision not to extend the temporary work. He believes that not greeting for religious reasons should not be practiced in Oslo Municipality.

“One should not be able to avoid greeting another person because for religious reasons it is unacceptable,” said the city council leader to NRK news.

Appeal procedure

The Discrimination Board informed Dagsavisen newspaper that the complaints would be dealt with in October and that a decision can be expected in November.

The case is not unique. In April, the Supreme Court of Appeal in France ruled that a Muslim woman should nevertheless be granted French citizenship after refusing the hand of two distinguished representatives of France publicly during a national ceremony.

The authorities believe this was evidence that she “had not been assimilated into the French community”. This is a reason that the authorities may use in the legislation to reject citizenship of the spouse of a French citizen.

 

© NTB scanpix / #Norway Today

2 Comments on "Muslim refugees could not continue after refusing to shake hands on female colleagues"

  1. Absolutely important. While accepting refugees, it MUST be made clear to them…what is acceptable and expected under Norwegian values. If he/she has a problem with that, they are free to go back and must not be accepted within country.

  2. Sad. Very sad. Don’t alienate people like that. If I greet you with a namaste is that rude? I am greeting you with love and respect. How is such a discrimination possible. People have a right to practice religion and hold on to their beliefs. Be a little tolerant. You have your beliefs he has his. Also making an issue of such a small problem and taking away someone’s livelihood due to that is not nice. Be tolerant. We are different lets embrace it rather than fight against it.

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