A Muslim flight attendant has filed a discrimination complaint against ExpressJet Airlines, claiming they violated her religious beliefs–by suspending her when she refused to serve alcohol.
“We have informed ExpressJet of its obligation under the law to reasonably accommodate Ms. Stanley’s religious accommodation request regarding service of alcohol,” said Lena Masri, staff attorney for the Michigan chapter of the Council on America-Islamic Relations, who is leading the lawsuit, in a statement.
“Instead, ExpressJet has deliberately chosen to violate Ms. Stanley’s constitutional rights.”
Stanley initially worked out an arrangement, as directed by ExpressJet’s management, where other flight attendants would accommodate passengers’ requests for alcohol.
But that system ended on August 25, when ExpressJet placed Stanley on a 12 month administrative leave, after which they would retain the option to fire her. The administrative leave was based on a complaint by a fellow employee, though it’s not clear exactly what that complaint was.
Islam forbids Muslims from drinking or, for those with a more conservative bent, even selling alcohol.
For her part, Stanley claims that, “I don’t think that I should have to choose between practicing my religion properly or earning a living… I shouldn’t have to choose between one or the other, because they’re both important.”
Of course, serving drinks and selling alcohol is a key part of a flight attendant’s job–and if Stanley had such a big problem with that, perhaps she’s in the wrong line of work. Religious accommodation doesn’t mean you can take a job and refuse to do it because of religion.
So far, liberals have been bending over backwards to carve out exemptions and protect the rights of Muslims to practice their religion however they see fit. Ludicrously, theyy using the same arguments they rejected as discriminatory when they came from Christian bakers earlier this year, over gay marriage.