Rod Liddle on the case of Bushra Noah, the headscarf-wearing Muslim who has just won £4,000 from the Wedge hair salon
You might have guessed why Ms Desrosiers was appearing before an industrial tribunal — it’s down to that aforementioned Bushra Noah, of course. Bushra mistakenly believes that her Muslim faith requires her to wear a headscarf at all times and Ms Desrosiers refused to give her a job because a headscarf did not, from her point of view, constitute a funky and urban hairstyle. The tribunal ruled in favour of Ms Noah and ordered Ms Desrosiers to bung her 4,000 quid, on account of her feelings being hurt. The tribunal stated: ‘There was no evidence before us as to what would have, for sure, been the actual impact of the claimant working in her salon with her head covered.’ Well, there may have been no actual evidence, but couldn’t you have used common sense and taken a guess?
Ms Noah took her complaint to the tribunal on the grounds of religious discrimination, despite the fact that patently there was none. There are plenty of Muslim women who do not wear headscarves and there is no stipulation in the Koran for women to wear headscarves — merely that they should dress and disport themselves with modesty. Ms Desrosiers had not insisted that her employees wear a leather basque with nipple clamps — merely that their hair should be, uh, funky. There are probably one or two hardline Muslims in the country who would argue that working in a funky and urban hair salon is itself counter to the wishes of Allah, PBUH — but that, I suppose, is beside the point. There was not the remotest suggestion that Noah had been denied employment because of her religion — as indeed the tribunal agreed — so the claim should have been thrown out immediately. Noah’s feelings were hurt, and she got her money, because her hairstyle wasn’t up to scratch, so it should follow than anyone whose hair is a shocking mess and who is deprived of employment by Ms Desrosiers on those grounds might also be bunged 4,000 quid. But you know that won’t happen, don’t you? You know that if someone like me were to apply for a job at the Wedge hair salon and was refused employment on account of looking the way I do, the tribunal would laugh and kick it out of court, quite rightly. But even having agreed that there was no religious discrimination in this particular case, they nonetheless felt, in that terrible, almost Pavlovian, manner to which we have all become accustomed in the last few years, obliged to pay obeisance to Ms Noah’s feelings because of her religion — and force Ms Desrosiers to pay her lots of money. I wouldn’t wish to compromise my habitual neutrality in such matters, but I do hope that the entire tribunal panel become infested with hair lice and are thus turned away from every hairdressing establishment they approach.
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Fergus Pickering
June 19th, 2008 9:57am Report this commentRight on, Rod. And your hair style is ultimately funky.
ed hummer
June 19th, 2008 10:19am Report this comment"one or two hardline Muslims"
probably one or two hundred thousand.
The time for hard decisions is approaching.
David Short
June 19th, 2008 11:09am Report this commentThe Spectator should set up a fund to pay this unfortunate hairdresser's 'fine'. Even a pound each from 4,000 readers would be enough.
Also, I read that this silly, pudding-faced woman couldn't get a job after 20 interviews.
If she is still unemployed and receiving benefit, I wonder if her sudden possession of £4,000 will mean she won't get her DSS money for about a year and a half.
Now if both these things happened, just really would be served.
In fact, there's a possible third benefit. She may have already rendered herself unemployable because now would interview her?
The same fate awaits the gobby, aggressve, drinking, smoking, single teenage mother, gangsta-boasting, converted 'Muslim' who was kicked off Big Bro this week.
Martin
June 19th, 2008 12:16pm Report this commentSpot on Rod...Help me out on one point..If she was not an actual employee how come she had access to a tribunal...Is this something new introduced by NuLab?
Steve Harper
June 19th, 2008 1:27pm Report this commentIsn't PBUH for Mohammed, rather than Allah?
Stephen Davis
June 19th, 2008 3:58pm Report this commentStill got crap furniture!
James
June 19th, 2008 4:35pm Report this commentYou can still access a tribunal even if you were rejected even at CV stage, let alone interview.
Any public fund for Wedge, the hairdresser, should not go to paying £4,000 to Bushra Noah, but to buying the hairdresser the finest Silk and solicitor in the land and appealing this disgusting ruling as far up the ladder as they can go so that this revolting judgment cannot be slapped upon other hapless employers.
The hairdresser could not possibly afford such exorbitant legal fees and of course all the fashionable pro bono 'human rights' lawyers won't be interested in a case like this because they'd be opposite a Muslim plaintiff (give them a Muslim terrorist and they'll be there in a flash - sounds great at Islington dinner parties).
Geoff Cohen
June 19th, 2008 6:04pm Report this commentCan't some journalist find the names of the wretches who constitute these tribunals so that they can be published and publicly mocked?
Hysteria
June 19th, 2008 10:19pm Report this commentRod - I think rather than
"itself counter to the wishes of Allah, PBUH"
You meant to say
"itself counter to the wishes of the prophet Mohammed, PBUH"
Goatta get it right otherwise we might offend someone!
rod liddle
June 20th, 2008 2:34am Report this commentYes, apologies for the pbuh mishap. But I don't suppose Allah would mind, would he? And if Allah didn't mind then Mohammed surely couldn't mind either?
Kevyn Bodman
June 20th, 2008 10:21am Report this commentRod is right again.
Those closing two sentences,spot on.
alan tye
June 20th, 2008 1:32pm Report this commentI couldnt agree more with Rod Liddle ! Britain has gone soft and bends over backwards in its effort to not offend muslims . To hell with it ! if they dont like the law of the land then let them go to a muslem country. Britain needs to get its backbone back and stop pandering to this kind of nonsence !
Bob Grant
June 20th, 2008 3:52pm Report this commentThis didn't tell me anything I didn't know. I was far more interested in learning of the composition of this star chamber - who sits on it, how they get their job, how much they get paid and so on.
laurie macdonell-sanchez
June 20th, 2008 6:23pm Report this commentGawd, Rod, I sure hope the nuts don't try to target you for using sacred names in vain--we NEED you! Here in the States when judges make especially egregious rulings that result in travesties of justice, they usually get their names & mugs plastered throughout the media, an updated version of pillorying. It OUGHT to be done too with the shrinks & parole board members who regularly release monsters to prey on society. So too with the moronic industrial tribunal panel who allowed that miserable loser to filch from the hard-working salon owner.
O. Ine-Aethelberht
June 20th, 2008 7:00pm Report this commentO Dear Mr. Liddle -
My hair is like yours.
And frizzed.
And yes, we have no rights.
And the Law of the Land is funky.
And I say it's 'cos the EUs
And the RCs believe in Caesar. And they want to boot Brits back 2000 years.
And the next generation'll probably get their right hands cut off if they resist.
--- Moslems understand, don't they?
Ave
And Vale King Alfred!
Andy
June 20th, 2008 8:28pm Report this commentAgree with everything said. But there is a deeper problem related to the spineless tribunals who don't apply the law so much as feel sorry for the applicant. Behind every spurious claim there is a lawyer, advice centre,CAB etc. Wheter it be employment tribunals, immigration tribunals, benefit appeals tribunals or indeed courts of law. 95% of the times these lawyers, advice agencies take a look at their clients case and think :-
"Look, a child of 5 would not believe the crap you have told me...but a tribunal just might. For that reason, and because it keeps me in a job I will take up your case even though it is nonsense. If you win, I get the publicity, I get the future work and I get a good payout....oh yeah and as a by-product you get vindicated. If you lose. don't worry, the vast amounts of money it costs to bring this rubbish to this stage will be picked up not by you, not by me but the tax payer so screw them, they are only there to keep me in a job.If it is a court of law I probably should tell you to plead guilty, saving all the tax payer expense, but that way you will lose your liberty now and I won't get paid for a longer trial. So in order that you can continue to go down the pub with your mates for a couple more weeks till they dinally put you away plead non-guilty and we shall stall them till the second before the case starts.Perhaps give you more time to lean on a few witnesses.
Please sign this undertaking that says, you realise I don't believe a word you say with relation to your case, but that since you are my cash cow you are prepared to have me represent you.If the case goes against you, you will never ever expect to see me ever again."
I doubt any advice workers are posting here but just in case, I should advise, I am both innocent and gulity of the above. As a trade union rep I am often called upon to represent people I would much rather throw to the dogs,(more often than not they can't keep their mouths shut and do the work for me) though there are also sometimes representation is a neccessary.
Neville Parker
June 20th, 2008 10:39pm Report this commentWhat is to stop this person making a career of moving from one hairdresser to another and then suing each in turn for their refusal to employ her?
Harry O
June 21st, 2008 1:04am Report this commentPersonal beliefs,whether based on religion or not,are surely just that. They are separate from how we live on a daily basis and provide an opportunity for spiritual and not material gain.Time to clear the ridiculous and totally unnecessary religious discrimination legislation that chokes our democracy and let the light of common sense throw such vexatious litigation into the dustbin it belongs.
polly ester
June 21st, 2008 11:23am Report this commentI got terned down fer a job as an english teecher should I sew the scool an how much dooyer think a can get a grand maybee?
Roger Inkpen
June 22nd, 2008 8:47am Report this commentIn my local paper job section:
Lap/pole dancers wanted! No experience necessary! Earn £££s a day!
Do you think Ms Noah should ask for a job there? No mention of looking ‘funky’ or even behaving immodestly. Presumably they can’t even discriminate on sex, so maybe Rod or I would have a chance there!
PeteS
June 22nd, 2008 6:07pm Report this commentThe tribunal's decision must be challenged. I am sure it is wrong. The fact that the judge agreed that there was no direct religious discrimination. So it is illogical and bizarre when they then found here indirect discrimination on the same religious grounds. Crazy!
Robert
June 22nd, 2008 8:31pm Report this commentMuslims are always saying that whatever-happens is God's will... God willing... But when God's will doesn't go their way, they're off to court to take someone else's money (God willing).
An Answer For Robert
June 23rd, 2008 6:33am Report this commentRobert: God wanted her to have 4000 pounds, so He led her to apply at a beauty salon where He knew she would be turned down for the "wrong reasons."
I must say that here in the USA, just about anybody running a small business would have KNOWN not to let this woman come in for an interview in the first place. If the beauty salon owner had been polite on the phone, while saying that she had TONS of applicants, and that it would be a long time before she got around to interviewing all of the ones who had already contacted her, this incident would NOT have occurred.
Minorities have a lot of trouble getting hired by small businesses because they are seen as troublemakers, and this incident will cement that belief in the minds of many small business owners who will want to avoid the fate of the lady running the salon.
I must say, where is the Islamic woman's family? Why would any self-respecting Muslim family allow one of their females to work unchaperoned in a non-Muslim beauty parlor? Think of the gossip, the risque stories, etc. inherent in that environment. Of course, if the Muslim woman had been offered the job, and had been exposed to this sort of impurity, surely 4000 pounds wouldn't have been enough to cover that sort of outrage.
Hugh Wain
June 23rd, 2008 7:48am Report this commentRod - I notice that the Americans are trying to poach you (laurie macdonell-sanchez's posting). They're taking over our football teams (poor Arsenal: team of my youthful dreams)and now they're trying to nick one of our few straight-shooting (God! [pbuh] You just can't get away from America[nisms]!) social commentators. Don't go! Don't buy the Yankee dollar!
Stephen Rothbart
June 23rd, 2008 11:30am Report this commentI am Jew. I am going to apply for a job in my local Mosque. As an Imam.
Can you tell me the names of the idiots - sorry people -on that tribunal.
Might be handy if I get turned down.
Yasmin Khan
June 24th, 2008 9:28am Report this commentQuite right! The Governemtn, the courts and the police have got it all wrong, they bend over backwards from fear of the political correctness towards Islam and against the religion of this country. We are losing ALL our hard earned freedoms because of this twisted logic. A frightening situation. What next?
kay
June 28th, 2008 6:16pm Report this commentYet more ludicrous decisions from a lunatic judgement panel.Next they'll be banning wimple wearing nuns from working in beauty parlours or lapdancing establishments. They should sue!!
Tarek Arab
July 10th, 2008 4:20am Report this commentAssuming that we have all the facts, I am sorry to say that the so-called " Special Relationship " with the US has now extended to the UK aping everything that the US does out of a false sense of entitlement and hysteria. The tribunal should have have THROWN the case out as a waste of public time and resources.
And yes, I am a muslim.
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