CommentsPosted on 01/15/2008 8:36:14 PM PST by SeafoodGumbo
This children's book was branded 'unclean' by a store assistant
Sally Friday, a customer at a branch of one of the famous stores, felt publicly humiliated when she tried to pay for First Bible Stories as a gift for her young grandson.
When the grandmother put the book on the counter, the assistant refused to touch it, declared it was unclean and then summoned another member of staff to deal with the purchase.
Mrs Friday was so upset that she has now complained to the store's manager.
Politicians and religious leaders supported her in condemning the high street chain and it has reignited the debate over religious beliefs in the workplace.
Conservative MP Philip Davies said the refusal to serve Mrs Friday, 69, was "unacceptable" and "damaging" to community relations.
Inayat Bunglawala, assistant secretary-general of the Muslim Council of Britain, described the assistant's comments as "offensive" and called for Marks & Spencer to conduct an investigation.
He said: "This appears to be a very regrettable incident and the 'unclean' remark was clearly very offensive and unacceptable.
"Many Biblical stories complement the teachings of the Koran. We hope that M&S will investigate this incident."
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The incident has reignited debate over religious beliefs in the workplace
A spokesman for Marks & Spencer today said that an investigation into the alleged incident was under way.
She added: "We are surprised by this alleged incident and are investigating it thoroughly.
"It appears that there has been some misunderstanding over what was said.
"We have apologised to Mrs Friday over any distress caused."
A source close to the shop assistant claimed there had been a misunderstanding.
She said: "I think there was some confusion over what the customer heard."
Mrs Friday said that the incident had ruined her trip to the sales in Reading, Berks, with her daughter.
She said: "I went to the till and heard the girl say it was unclean and then she got someone else to serve me.
"At first I wasn't sure what was going on and then I realised she was wearing a headdress and I clicked that the title of the book had Bible in it.
"I felt very humiliated and immediately left the store."
Mrs Friday, who lives in Old Basing, Hants, went on: I have given it careful thought and still feel humiliated that because I am purchasing a children's Bible story book, a cashier is able to object and refuse to put it through the till.
"Had this been a copy of the Koran I am confident any Christian person would be happy to do her job, and for this to happen in a Marks & Spencer of all places beggars belief.
"I am not racist but I have vowed never to let a person wearing a head-dress serve me again.
"It will be a long, long time before I shop again at M&S."
The selling of drugs and the selling of eternity seem to be exclusive topics?
Give him his last paycheck and show him the door. That’s how it’s done.
Rub bacon on money and don't say a thing. Then after the check out say, "you've been porked"
We must make the Mulsims our masters?
Maybe it’s about time to begin pointing out that “human rights” are being trampled when idiots refuse to serve their customers.
Fire his ass, and then tell him that when his home is broken into, the rest of the force will likewise be "redeployed". Time to kick ass on these vermin.
Wearing a Muslim headdress is not a race-connected act. A religion is not a race. Refuse to be served by whomever you wish, but in this instance you need not raise the “I am not a racist” defense.
How about the idiot woman who felt “humiliated”? WHY would she feel humiliated? There’s NO muslim that would EVER make me feel humiliated. EVER! I wouldn’t let them.
I have a Qur’an, and have read a bit of it. I haven’t, yet, got to the part where the Bible is declared “unclean” or even is it disallowed to touch or read it.
Killing babies, on the other hand...
Can someone say, “melodramatic”? Good grief.
Actually, books and ideas kill innocents all the time, though they use humans as their agents. Sometimes the books and ideas are direct in their aims, and sometimes subtle and innocent looking. Evil people very seldom have libraries filled with Nancy Drew mysteries and CD shelves stocked with The Carpenters, Big Band and Ozark dulcimer recordings.
Touche’!
;-)
Please, elucidate!
How many tens of millions died because of three books?
1.) “Das Kapital”
2.) “The Communist Manifesto”
3.) “Mein Kampf”
Zero. They were killed by people, not books. I doubt anyone has even died being hit on the head with one of those books.
the Unabomber was killing people long before he read Al Gore Junior’s book on Global Warming but he had a copy of it.
Dr. Frederic Wertham tried to make the connection between gang members who read comics and the people they knifed. But then back in those days, most kids read comics. So saying that comics (from funny animal to crime stories) were in their bedrooms was a “unifying” statistic. Much like people who ate carrots in the 19th century died.
This also shows how much Islam is really a supremacist pagan hate cult since this rejects all claims of Islam to be based on the Judeo-Christian tradition.
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