Muslim woman cites gym after interrupted prayer

[Karole28]

Two issues, or possibly 3 on this thread...

1 - praying woman. Interrupted, and complaining. Too bad. Hopefully gym treats all religions the same and doesn't allow Xtians, Wiccans, etc to block lockers in order to pray. Also - in this woman's defense, the other person could have had common courtesy to allow her to finish praying. But I see no reason to tattle to the gym about it. It's not a comment on the world as a whole.

Right. This inconsiderate woman (who btw, apparently is a paying member of this club and has every right to get to her locker whenever she feels like it) could have physically moved the woman from in front of her locker, which is what I may have done, had she ignored my request to get past her.

2. Islam and the right to observe it in the U.S. I think most people are going to be on the side of allowing freedom of religion, right? And that means whatever odd thing goes along with it. I wish the Xtian school near us wouldn't have an annoying dress code - girls playing Basketball in long skirts is very 1920's - but that's up to them. They aren't hurting me.

We have freedom of religion, this is true. We also have freedom FROM religion if we so choose. When those Xtian girls start playing basketball in YOUR driveway preventing you from using it, you have every right to b*tch.

3. Extremism - in any form is a problem. Frankly, I'm more concerned with the Judeo-christian religious extremism movement b/c they pose more of a threat to my freedom and rights than any extreme American-hating Muslim.

Your choice. Frankly, I'm more immediately concerned with black widow spiders than I am Muslims invading my home, but that's not what we're dicussing.

 

[luthersmama]

Right. This inconsiderate woman (who btw, apparently is a paying member of this club and has every right to get to her locker whenever she feels like it) could have physically moved the woman from in front of her locker, which is what I may have done, had she ignored my request to get past her.



We have freedom of religion, this is true. We also have freedom FROM religion if we so choose. When those Xtian girls start playing basketball in YOUR driveway preventing you from using it, you have every right to b*tch.



Your choice. Frankly, I'm more immediately concerned with black widow spiders than I am Muslims invading my home, but that's not what we're dicussing.

I agree with everything in this post. However, I still see a number of disturbing posts in this thread, not necessarily from you.

 

[Boyzmomee]

Wow. Just wow.

Apparently the ladies on The View haven't told you how to feel on this topic, and you're lost.

This has nothing to do with people who look "different". It's beyond insulting for you to infer it.

Lol.... "The View"...lol

 

[Boyzmomee]

The problem with that argument is that minorities always make the majority feel uncomfortable.)

I don't believe that I make others "uncomfortable." ????

 

[reb]

OH FOR THE LOVE OF GOD.

how long are we going to let these muslims try to take over our way of life, trying to dictate what we can and can't do, before we stand up and do something? they are obviously trying to turn the USA into a muslim country, and they could succeed at some point unless we grow a backbone.
you laugh now but wait a few generations- if this keeps up.. the U.S. of AMERICA will become the U.S. of ALLAH.

major kudos to tony blair by the way for taking a stand. multiculturalism, tolerance, 'celebreating diversity' and all that jazz is well and good, until you start to see your own culture getting steamrolled by the invaders. how far must "tolerance" go......???

 

[reb]

and in regards to the "anti-islamic" tone... guess what,, this is america and we have freedom of speech here. there is no law that says i have to like islam and all that goes with it. there is no law that says i have to be politically correct. we americans have the very american right to publically shout from the mountaintops, "I AM ANTI-ISLAM" if we choose to do so. unless that is, the politically-correct police will come along and outlaw this, and take me to jail. is that the kind of country you want to live in?? if you can't discuss things honesty, then what's the point? and do you really want to live in a world where everyone's allowed to hate us, but we aren't allowed to speak out against anyone else's behavior, or defend ourselves????? if so, feel free to go join the muslims. YES i hate the extremists-- but i don't care for the non-extremists either. why on earth would you even want to associate yourself with something so sick???
and yes freedom of speech should have limits, but in this case, IMO.. our national security, our cultural identity, our safety, and our civilization is at stake here. so i should have the FREEDOM to express my intolerance of their intolerance- of western culture and everything beyond the 4th century!!!

i still do not understand.. the ones who hate us so much and detest our way of life... what the hell are they doing here anyway?? go home, you have many countries you can live in. and now they're taking over france- and trying to take over britain, the netherlands, africa, spain and many other countries as we speak. MUST they have america too......???????

 

[BirdieBoo]

In America, we have freedom of speech and freedom of religion. Freedom of speech allows us to state our views, freedom of religion allows us to practice our religion. BUT other people also have freedoms too, and when my freedoms start to infringe on other people's rights, well, I expect something to happen. For example, the gym I go to (not often enough LOL) is PRIVATE PROPERTY, and I am allowed to attend there because I signed certain agreements.

Did the Muslim woman in this case sign agreements? I don't know but I am betting she did sign agreements, to follow the rules of the gym. Most gyms I've been to, the rules include something about not interfering with other folks' abilities to use the facilities. So , if she signed such an agreement, and she violated it, she is in the wrong 100%.

There IS a rule at my gym about grunting, BTW, and there is also a women's area to work out. However, if I started passing out pamphlets regarding my religion amongst the women at the gym, I am fairly sure I would not just be stopped, but also be asked NOT to return as I would be in violation of my part of the agreement. As far as I read on this story, the woman was too embarrased or something to return, she wasn't asked to forfeit her membership.

I don't think it's so much an issue of religion as an issue of psychology and following contractual agreements. Some people get along within the rules of society, others are troublemakers. If this is pursued, I am sure we will hear more about the rights of private property owners in enforcing contracts.

 

[JBean]

Absolutely nothing I've read says she asked anyone else to stop for prayer, or make any kind of sacrafice. It sounds to me like she was just praying by herself. Many Christian people will stop and say a prayer before certain activities, whats wrong with that?

This is how i read it and I fault the complaining patron. Good Gravy, who cares if the lady was praying ? Sounds like she was trying to be discreet. Some people just whine about any and all praying. Nonsense issue IMO.


ETA: Ok I have read more and see that she was blocking a locker. Yes, she should have moved. But I still don't see what's wrong with praying in the gym.Who cares? sheesh. I pray at sporting events, hospitals, dinner table, restaurants..if it moved me I would pray in the gym.
Would praying for tighter glutes count?

 

[hallowedbe]

and in regards to the "anti-islamic" tone... guess what,, this is america and we have freedom of speech here. there is no law that says i have to like islam and all that goes with it. there is no law that says i have to be politically correct. we americans have the very american right to publically shout from the mountaintops, "I AM ANTI-ISLAM" if we choose to do so. unless that is, the politically-correct police will come along and outlaw this, and take me to jail. is that the kind of country you want to live in?? if you can't discuss things honesty, then what's the point? and do you really want to live in a world where everyone's allowed to hate us, but we aren't allowed to speak out against anyone else's behavior, or defend ourselves????? if so, feel free to go join the muslims. YES i hate the extremists-- but i don't care for the non-extremists either. why on earth would you even want to associate yourself with something so sick???
and yes freedom of speech should have limits, but in this case, IMO.. our national security, our cultural identity, our safety, and our civilization is at stake here. so i should have the FREEDOM to express my intolerance of their intolerance- of western culture and everything beyond the 4th century!!!

i still do not understand.. the ones who hate us so much and detest our way of life... what the hell are they doing here anyway?? go home, you have many countries you can live in. and now they're taking over france- and trying to take over britain, the netherlands, africa, spain and many other countries as we speak. MUST they have america too......???????

APPLAUSE!

 

[Floh]

This is how i read it and I fault the complaining patron. Good Gravy, who cares if the lady was praying ? Sounds like she was trying to be discreet. Some people just whine about any and all praying. Nonsense issue IMO.


ETA: Ok I have read more and see that she was blocking a locker. Yes, she should have moved. But I still don't see what's wrong with praying in the gym.Who cares? sheesh. I pray at sporting events, hospitals, dinner table, restaurants..if it moved me I would pray in the gym.
Would praying for tighter glutes count?

I don't think anyone cares one jot about her praying.

her obstruction of another member was the issue.

i couldn't care less about people praying if that's what floats their boat.

 

[JBean]

I don't think anyone cares one jot about her praying.

her obstruction of another member was the issue.

i couldn't care less about people praying if that's what floats their boat.

agreed.

 

[txsvicki]

In actuality, this situation isn't about religion at all. It's about a self-centered woman who is using her religion as an excuse to infringe upon the rights of another. It's BS; and anyone who falls for this excuse is an idiot. That's just my humble opinion.

I think it shouldn't be treated like a religious issue but the Muslim woman was showing how little she thinks of the other woman, the infidel who didn't matter and was supposed to stand there and wait for her to finish but probably had no idea of how long this woman would be doing her religious ritual. Something caused this woman to feel this way towards non muslims. I'm not politically correct but don't care. I'm anti every religion, people or government that says that I am a dog or infidel, going to hell, or need to be obliterated off the earth.

 

[beakiebean]

and in regards to the "anti-islamic" tone... guess what,, this is america and we have freedom of speech here. there is no law that says i have to like islam and all that goes with it. there is no law that says i have to be politically correct. we americans have the very american right to publically shout from the mountaintops, "I AM ANTI-ISLAM" if we choose to do so..............do you really want to live in a world where everyone's allowed to hate us, but we aren't allowed to speak out against anyone else's behavior, or defend ourselves????? if so, feel free to go join the muslims. YES i hate the extremists-- but i don't care for the non-extremists either. why on earth would you even want to associate yourself with something so sick???

Why on earth would we ask all Muslims to cease their association with Islam just because a fraction of people who profess to be Muslim are using the religion as a weapon of terror. Should we ask Christians to disavow their religion because Fred Phelps is using it to spread hate? Should we ask them to throw down their Bibles because those bibles have been quoted by people who are spreading a message of intolerance? Of course not-for every person who uses Christianity to promote extremism there are thousands who use their faith to spread a message of love, forgiveness, and tolerance. It's the same thing with Islam-why on earth should they allow a group of crazy terrorists to hijack their religion?

I know lots of Muslims-I served in the US Army with lots of Muslims. They who were just as committed as the Christians, Jews, and atheists to defending the right that Americans hold dear. If Muslims make you uncomfortable or you don't know much about their faith then by all means I encourage you to go to find a Muslim, introduce yourself and ask them to tell you about their life and their beliefts. 99.9999999% of the Muslim population is just as normal and everyday as the rest of us.

The Bible and the Qur'an are extremely similar documents-they have more in common than not. The same with Islam and Christianity-they are not two entirely different religions-again-they have more in common than not.

 

[nanandjim]

I think it shouldn't be treated like a religious issue but the Muslim woman was showing how little she thinks of the other woman...

I hope that you realize that I think the person who was being inconsiderate was the Muslim who was blocking the other member's locker. As I said in my previous post, I do not feel that this issue has anything to do with religion. I don't think the complaining member cared one iota about what the Muslim was doing, other than blocking her locker. The Muslim tried to turn it into a religious persecution to garner support for "her side." The manager didn't fall for it; and neither did I.

 

[narlacat]

I hope that you realize that I think the person who was being inconsiderate was the Muslim who was blocking the other member's locker. As I said in my previous post, I do not feel that this issue has anything to do with religion. I don't think the complaining member cared one iota about what the Muslim was doing, other than blocking her locker. The Muslim tried to turn it into a religious persecution to garner support for "her side." The manager didn't fall for it; and neither did I.

Exactly.

 

[reb]

beakie-- i do think that the 'good' muslims should cease to have any association with islam because of the extremists/terrorists, due to the fact that the extremists have really ruined their name. plus i strongly disagree with the whole religion in the first place... the question is, are there really any 'good' muslims?? or- are some just good people who are following a misguided set of beliefs...?
then again, i think the same of christianity. then double-again, i think that of ALL religions which is why it's just better to have NO associations with any of them-- they're all corrupt, they're all fractioned and splintered, they're all a mess- they spend more time arguing and debating about who are the "right" ones and who are the "wrong" ones, who's saved and who's not, who are the real ones and who are the fakes ones. the real question here is.. WHO GIVES A DAMN! much safer to just stay out of ALL of it, leave all the doctrines and dogmas and rituals behind-- and just try to be a decent person. you don't need a religion to tell you how to be that. that's the most purest form (of being) of all... unencumbered by all the other stuff.

 

[reb]

and this begs the question,, why the he!! is the fool kneeling and praying in front of a GYM LOCKER at "fitness USA" anyway?? that just cracks me up. i mean if your religion dictactes that you must drop down wherever you are and praise allah for half an hour 5 times a day, then you might as well just stay home! no wonder they never made it out of the dark ages.... no time to evolve, too busy praying...LOL

 

[hallowedbe]

[The Bible and the Qur'an are extremely similar documents-they have more in common than not. The same with Islam and Christianity-they are not two entirely different religions-again-they have more in common than not.[/QUOTE]


This begs the question, with all due respect. Have you read both these religious books? If you think they have common beliefs...you need to sit down and read them both. Have I? Yes.

Jesus loves - not kills infidels, nor treats women like dirt. Doesn't believe in genital mutilation, either. Have you ever read Leon Uris's historical novel about Arab history? It's his companion to Exodus about the Jews. It was one of the most educational, gripping books I have ever read. Read The Haj.

I do not speak from prejudice in any way towards the Arab people. It is their religion which binds them together. In the end, the Koran has commited them to act against infidels. If they have to choose between moderation and American citizenship, they have no choice according to their beliefs. Read it for yourself.

Please educate yourselves about Islam. Our future may depend on it.

 

[beakiebean]

This begs the question, with all due respect. Have you read both these religious books? If you think they have common beliefs...you need to sit down and read them both. Have I? Yes....

Please educate yourselves about Islam. Our future may depend on it.

Hallowed be-why on earth would be comparing them unless I've read them. I've read the Bible and Qur'an both.

There are tons of passages in the Bible that advocate violence or killing-supposedly at God's behest. There's a passage in Deuteronomy where God instructs Israel to kill anyone who worships a different god or worships in a different way. Both the Qur'an and the Bible have passages that advocate or allow violence. Both of them also have passages that speak glowingly of love, forgivness, and mercy.

I have educated myself on Islam-when I served in the Army I served with many Muslims who were more than happy to share their beliefs and teachings. Oddly enough they had the capacity to be stong believers in their faith and be great Americans (some of whom are serving our county in Iraq right now) Because the conversation I had with my Muslim friends I continued to be interested in Islam and read the Qur'an and other Islamic texts. I absolutely stand by my statement that Christianity and Islam have more in common than not.

Reb-I think I'm just going to have to agree to disagree with you on Muslims renouncing there religion but I do agree with you about being a god person no matter what. I think if everyone would try to do that no matter what their faith this world would be a better place.

Beak

 

[narlacat]

and this begs the question,, why the he!! is the fool kneeling and praying in front of a GYM LOCKER at "fitness USA" anyway?? that just cracks ne up. i mean if your religion dictactes that you must drop down wherever you are and praise allah for half an hour 5 times a day, then you might as well just stay home! no wonder they never made it out of the dark ages.... no time to evolve, too busy praying...LOL

Chuckle :laugh: