Muslimah Teacher Quits Job Over Pressure To Shake Hands With Men

Helsinborg, 21 Dzulhijjah 1437/23 September 2016 (MINA) – A female Muslim teacher would not want to shake hands with a male colleague and chose to quit job.

Shaking hands (and touching) members of the opposite sex (beside the allowed ones known as Mahram) when not related, is not permissible for Muslims according to the teachings of Islam.

20-year-old Fardous El-Sakka had been working as a substitute teacher at Kunskapsskolan in Helsingborg, southern Sweden, since August. As her religious beliefs, she did not shake hands with her male colleagues, putting her hand on her heart and bowing instead. Yet one of the male staff members was offended by her refusing him a handshake, Swedish newspaper Expressen states, and reported the incident to the school authorities.

“The man felt extremely offended,” school principal Lidija Münchmeyer told the newspaper.

Fardous was called in for a talk with the principal, who told her that staff members are required to respect the school’s values if they want to work there.

“She stood up and said, ‘Then I go now,’” Münchmeyer said.

The young woman quit, but reported the incident to Sweden’s Equality Ombudsman. As the woman is a member of the Swedish trade union confederation, her case is likely to be dealt with by it. She says she has not received a reply to her complaint yet, and therefore does not want to share much with the press.

The 20-year-old aspiring teacher says it was the first time someone had felt wronged by her refusal to shake hands with them. She believes the school authorities have not been just to her and treated her unfairly.

Fardous’s case is yet another in the growing line of similar incidents both in Sweden and in Europe in general. In June, a male Muslim passport inspector at the Swedish border was reported by female colleagues for refusing to shake hands with them. In July, a Muslim municipality worker in southern Sweden was sacked after refusing to shake hands with female co-workers. Like Fardous, he was told his actions breached equality policies.

Similar cases have also been reported in recent months in Germany and Switzerland.(T/R04/R03)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)