Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Al-Haram during Hajj. Photograph: Google Images

Muslim Woman Teacher Sues U.S. School After Being Denied Three Weeks Unpaid Leave to Make Pilgrimage to Mecca

MAIL ONLINE: A school district is being sued for not allowing a Muslim teacher to take unpaid leave to make a pilgrimage to Mecca.

The Federal Government has brought the case on behalf of Safoorah Khan, claiming that it is a violation of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

It is the duty of every Muslim to join the million of pilgrims at the Hajj in Mecca at least once in their lifetime - and the middle school teacher had hoped to go in 2008.

Khan had started at Berkeley School, in the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois, in 2007 and asked for unpaid leave of three weeks to visit Saudi Arabia.

After the education district twice denied her request, Khan wrote to the board that 'based on her religious beliefs, she could not justify delaying performing Hajj'. Read on and comment >>> Mail Foreign Service | Tuesday, December 14, 2010