http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061205/LIFESTYLE04/612050368/1003/METRO
Muslim woman cites gym after interrupted prayer Dearborn resident says her complaint to Fitness USA manager about patron went unheeded. Gregg Krupa / The Detroit News DEARBORN -- Fitness USA, a gym chain, is investigating an alleged civil rights violation involving a local Muslim woman who says her afternoon prayer was interrupted by a fellow patron, and that her complaint to management about the situation was rejected. "The manager told me, 'You have to respect her (the patron), but she does not have to respect your God,'" said Wardeh Sultan of Dearborn. "I've had my membership for seven or eight years, and I've never had a problem with praying there. "I told that manager, 'I can't believe you said that'" Sultan said. "Honestly, I feel humiliated and I feel ashamed, right now, to go back to Fitness USA." Local representatives of Fitness USA, which operates branches throughout Metro Detroit and in two other states, referred all inquiries regarding the matter to their corporate offices. "We will, as we will with any complaint involving our staff and a member, be doing a full and thorough investigation of the matter and take any appropriate action we need to take," said Jodi Berry, executive director of Fitness USA. "We want every member to get a good exercise experience every time they come to the club." Berry said she learned of the complaint on Monday. The allegations are among a series of recent complaints by Muslims who say they are free to practice their religion in the United States, until someone tells them they cannot. Recently, the same Fitness USA facility enacted a new dress code to allow Muslim women to wear more modest clothing, in compliance with some Islamic practices. Two weeks ago, six Muslim clerics were removed from a U.S. Airways flight after three of them said their evening prayers in the St. Paul-Minneapolis International Airport. Passengers and employees of the airline said later that their suspicions were aroused when the men were overheard making comments critical of the United States, and because the men had one-way tickets and no baggage. The airline and the civil rights office of U.S. Department of Homeland Security are investigating that incident. Imad Hamad, regional director of the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, which lodged a formal complaint with Fitness USA on behalf of Sultan, said the recent spate of conflicts results from a growing intolerance of Islam and a growing restiveness among Muslims that their rights to speak freely and worship are increasingly at risk. "They (Muslims) are resenting that they are to be suppressed from expressing themselves freely, like others," Hamad said. "It's OK for a Christian fellow or a Jewish fellow to pray, and it would be regarded highly and respected. When it comes to a person of Muslim faith, especially if a woman is wearing the head cover or a man with a typical clergy outfit, yeah, it is becoming like something that is offensive to people and making them nervous." Sultan said that, like all pious Muslims, she prays five times daily. She also wears a veil and a long dress, in observance of her faith. Born in Jordan, of Palestinian descent, Sultan arrived in Detroit 17 years ago, before moving to Dearborn. She is an American citizen. Sultan said she came to the United States to secure her freedom and to avoid intolerance. "We're here in the great United States and for this happening, it truly breaks my heart," she said. "You know, things are starting to change backwards, instead of frontward. We need to keep this United States, our country, up on our shoulders. We don't want it to go down." You can reach Gregg Krupa at (313) 222-2359 or [EMAIL PROTECTED] +++ -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
