Religion Discrimination

Brief HistoryIslam originated in Arabia in the early 7th century and it derived from the Arabic word "Asalam," which means, "to accept, surrender or submit. Thus, Islam means acceptance of and submission to God "Allah". Believers of this faith called Muslims must demonstrate this by worshiping him, following his commands, and avoiding worshiping other gods. "(Wikipedia) "Islam is the second largest religion in the world with over 1 billion followers" (Religion and Ethics). In 2001, there are records shown that 1,591,000 Muslims are in the UK, around 2.7% of the population. Islam is the youngest of the world's very large religions; those with over 300 million members include Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism. Followers of Islam are called Muslims (Religious Tolerance). Within the Islamic faith there are several different groups of Muslims. In different countries or communities they all are connected and they can identify with each other by their faith of the same belief.

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English: William H. Brown, chairman of EEOC

Islam todayIn the modern times of the 20th century to present, a creation of many new Islamic "revivalist" movements was formed (Wikipedia). Groups like The Islamist see the Western cultural values as a threat, and they promote Islam as a comprehensive solution to every public and private question of importance. Transnational groups like Osama bin Ladens al-Queda engages in terrorism. The Liberal Islam group attempts to reconcile religious tradition with modern norms of secular governance and human rights (Wikipedia).

Islam in the workplaceSince the attacks of September 11, 2001, there has been an increase in number of charges alleging workplace discrimination based on religion and or national origin (EEOC). The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, state and local fair employment practices agencies have documented that many of the charges that were filed were by individuals who are or are perceived to be Muslims, Arab, South Asian, or Sikh (EEOC). These charges most commonly allege that these individuals were harassed and discharge from their jobs. In such cases Sikh, Muslims of another tradition have been discriminated against because of their religious attire. Many workplace cases have revolved around the men's turbans and untrimmed beards.

Religion discrimination is ever growing and has been a controversial issue extending in society, and in the workplaces for many years. The implementation of negative discrimination against different religion during the employment process has increased in numbers specifically after September 11, 2001.

Work Citedhttp://www.religioustolerance.org/isl_intr.htmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam