Are anti-Muslim comments acceptable?
Anti-Muslim comments are becoming increasingly common all over the world. We have a great deal of anti-Muslim rhetoric from the US President, Donald Trump, who portrays all Muslims as terrorists; there is similar rhetoric emanating from the UK.
In New Zealand, we have a professor from Waikato University who, on Facebook, suggested that hiring Muslims was a poor move because of their prayer schedule. They pray five times a day, three of which are generally early in the morning and late at night.
While this comment from an academic might be shocking, it is not surprising. It illustrates how confused most people are about religion. This comment was made with a photo of a Sikh next to it.
At the moment I’m carrying out research on refugees in Christchurch, most of whom are Muslim. Are they discriminated against because of their religion? Probably, but the research should explain how, and if women are more discriminated against than men.
Professor's anti-Muslim comments 'dangerous' - Islamic
Women's Council
The Islamic Women's Council says remarks from a Waikato University professor discouraging employers from hiring Muslims are both "disappointing" and "dangerous".
Dr Raymond Richards, an American history and religion professor, came under fire after making a comment on Facebook suggesting hiring of Muslims was a poor move because of their prayer schedule.
Anjum Rahman, spokeswoman for the council, told The AM Show that assertion is totally wrong.
"We're living in a world where it's hard for Muslim women to get employment - we know they face high levels of discrimination," she said on Tuesday.
"It's putting out misleading information; they're not stopping five times a day at work to pray. It's unlikely that they'll be stopping more than two times."
The defence of Muslim prayer in the workplace comes after Dr Richards was spotted taking aim at it on social media last week.
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