In August 2008, nine months into her job as a math teacher in Berkeley, Ill., Safoorah Khan made an extraordinary request: three weeks off in December for a pilgrimage to Mecca, known as the hajj in her Muslim faith.
The school board said no ”” not an unreasonable reply to a relatively new employee whose leave would occur at a critical time, the end of a semester. Khan quit, went on the pilgrimage and lodged a religious discrimination complaint. The Justice Department has now intervened on Khan’s behalf against the school board.
So what could have been a teachable moment has instead turned into yet another federal lawsuit.
I am sick and tired of this constant complaining of religious discrimination on the part of Muslims! This woman is no different than any other teacher who signs a contract with the local school board. Do Catholic teachers get preferential treatment because of their beliefs? No! Do Jewish teachers? No! So why should Muslim teachers get preferential treatment?
What make anyone think that this wasn’t planned?
Muslims are supposed to make a pilgrimage once in their life IF it is possible. This teacher had been teaching for just a couple of months and asked for leave. She could have gone the following year or five years from now. Really outrageous that the Obama administration would take up the Dhimmi position.