The London Telegraph and London Mail yesterday both reported on a lawsuit brought by a saleswoman-- a Lebanese born Christian-- who worked at Britain's Heathrow Airport World Duty Free shop. She was fired after Muslim co-workers filed a complaint against her. They thought they heard her insult a Muslim co-worker by saying he was a member of the Alawi sect. The woman, Nohad Halawi says that she called the co-worker "allawhi"-- "a man of God" in Arabic. Halawi, says that far from insulting Muslims, she has been the victim, having been subjected to bullying by Muslim co-workers. She says one employee brought a Qur'an to work and insisted she read it, and another handed out Islamic leaflets. A Christian co-worker of hers was driven to tears after a Muslim bullied her for wearing a cross. Halawi says that there is a growing atmosphere of fear among Christian employees at Heathrow as the number of employees who embrace fundamentalist Islam grows. Halawi says: "This is supposed to be a Christian country, but the law seems to be on the side of the Muslims." Halawi's situation is complicated by the fact that she works on a freelance basis, placed by a cosmetic staff agency. Since she is not an employee of World Duty Free, the religious anti-discrimination protections in Britain's employment law do not apply to her. Meanwhile elsewhere at Heathrow, a Jewish businessman is threatening to sue because of his treatment by Muslim security staff at the airport. He says they have repeatedly singled him out for full body scans.
