Hey, if hurt feelings are this lucrative, I’m starting to feel a little bit picked-on myself. After all, I get death threats and assaults on my good name and character on a regular basis, just for speaking honestly about the nature of Islam and jihad. Isn’t that worth a few pounds? (But of course, in reality the only feelings that are worthy of monetary soothing are those of Britain’s poor put-upon Muslim community.) An update to this story from the Telegraph, with thanks to A Girl Scout:
The Muslim teaching assistant who sparked a political storm after she refused to remove her veil during lessons, has won her employment tribunal case for victimisation against the school which suspended her but lost her claims for discrimination and harassment.
Ms Azmi was awarded £1,000 for “injury to feelings” after she succeeded in her claim of victimisation. But her claims of direct and indirect discrimination, and her claim of harassment, were dismissed.
Kirklees Council suspended Aishah Azmi, 24, after she refused to remove her veil while teaching at Headfield Church of England Junior School in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire.
The school said face-to-face communication was essential for Ms Azmi’s job as a bilingual support worker. The case fuelled an ongoing debate about the use of the veil and the way that the Muslim community integrates into British society.
In a statement Mrs Azmi said she was considering an appeal against the decision to dismiss three of her claims. “It is clear that discrimination against me has taken place and I am disappointed that the Employment Tribunal has not been able to uphold that part of my claim,” she said.
“I am taking the advice of my legal team at Kirklees Law Centre and will be looking to appeal against that decision. However, I am pleased that the tribunal have recognised the victimising way in which the school and the local education authority have handled this matter and the distress that has caused me.”
She criticised the political involvement in the issue: “Sadly the intervention of ministers in my case (against the ministerial code) makes me fearful of the consequences for Muslim women in this country who want to work.”
Yeah, it’s tough. You might actually have to deal with people face-to-face. But look on the bright side, Aishah. You’ve got a thousand pounds, and I hear that in some countries religious minorities have it even tougher than you do in Britain. That’s right! Hard as it may be for you to believe, there are countries in the world today where religious minorities are actually threatened with death for something they had nothing to do with. Some are menaced by violent mobs for not conforming to the norms of the dominant religion. In some places, clergy of minority religions have been brutally murdered for no reason at all by murderers who get off lightly. All you’ve suffered is some hurt feelings, and now you have a lot of money to blow on new niqabs. All in all, you’ve come out ahead.