CAIR-NJ Condemns Anti-Muslim Bias Incident, Calls for Probe
(SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ, 5/12/22) – The New Jersey chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NJ) today condemned an alleged bias incident targeting a Muslim employee at Subaru in Union by a former colleague.
On May 4, 2022, it was reported to the Union Police Department that bacon strips were placed into the boots and pockets of the work uniform of a Muslim employee at Open Road Subaru Service Center.
[NOTE: Muslims are prohibited from consuming pork products and bigots often use pigs or pork to deliberately offend Muslim sensibilities. CAIR offers an “Employer’s Guide to Islamic Religious Practices.”]
The Muslim employee at the Subaru Service Center alleged that a former colleague who was terminated from the business the week prior was responsible for placing the bacon strips in his uniform and boots. The Muslim employee also accused the former colleague of prolonged verbal bias harassment. The accused would say to the Muslim employee “I’ll bring in bacon bites and feed them to you” and “you’re always blowing things up.”
The former employee accused of the bias incident was terminated from his job immediately after the Muslim employee informed Subaru management of the bias harassment on April 26, 2022. It is alleged that the bacon strip incident occurred when the former employee returned to the Subaru location on April 30 to collect his belongings from the employee locker room.
In a statement, CAIR-NJ Executive Director Selaedin Maksut said:
“This alleged bias harassment and intimidation is reprehensible and should never be tolerated. The workplace should be free of hostility and hate, especially racially motivated.
“We applaud Subaru for taking action against the bigoted employee and hope they continue to ensure their workspace upholds respect and dignity for everyone. All employers should work to foster inclusivity by shutting down any inappropriate behavior of the type we saw in this case.
“We thank the Union Police Department for launching an investigation into the incident and hope they will be able to collect enough evidence to charge the accused.”
Maksut noted that CAIR recently issued a civil rights report showing the highest-ever number of reported cases.
SEE: Complaints of Anti-Muslim Incidents, Bias on the Rise in New Jersey
CAIR says in a new report it received its highest ever number of civil rights complaints in 2021, including 104 complaints of incidents against Muslims in New Jersey.
“This is an alarming sign that Islamophobia is persistent and systemic in society and government policy,” said Nihad Awad, CAIR National’s Executive Director. “While we recognize that we’ve made progress as a society in terms of addressing social injustices, our report shows that Islamophobia continues to pose the biggest threat American Muslims are facing.”
“This points toward an ever still rising trend of Islamophobia, or alternatively, CAIR-NJ still reaching the capacity to address the greater, true amount of Islamophobia,” CAIR-New Jersey said in its report. Additionally, CAIR-New Jersey noted that the data does not comprise all incidents of Islamophobia happening in the Garden State, “but reflects a good sample data of the New Jersey population.”
Of New Jersey’s 104 reports, 41 cases, or 39.4%, involved discrimination; 22 cases, or 21.2%, involved law enforcement; and 14 cases, or 13.5%, involved hate and bias, CAIR-New Jersey said.
CAIR-NJ Report: https://cair-nj.org/2022-report/
CAIR National Report: https://www.cair.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Still-Suspect-Report-2022.pdf
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
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