Muslim employees quit manufacturing job after company changes prayer policies

Muslim employees quit manufacturing job after company changes prayer policies

Dozens of Muslim employees at a Wisconsin manufacturing company claim that they were forced to quit this week, after the company changed its prayer-on-the-job policy to one that prevents them from participating in their daily prayers to Mecca.
WBAY-TV reported that before Thursday, Somali Muslims employed by Ariens Manufacturing were allowed to leave the producing line twice a shift in order to participate in two of the five daily prayers required by the Islamic faith.

Ariens, which is based out of Brillion, WI, primarily manufactures snow blowers and riding mowers:
The new policy, as told to the station by a company spokesman, only allows the employees:

…to pray during scheduled breaks in designated prayer rooms. Our manufacturing environment does not allow for unscheduled breaks in production.”

The dozens of employees affected by the policy allege that praying only during a meal break goes against their religion. Masjid Imam Hasan Abdi, an employee from Green Bay, told the station:

“If someone tells you, ‘You pray on your break,’ and the break time is not the prayer time? It will be impossible to pray.”

Added former Ariens equipment painter, who held out his unemployment packet as he spoke to WBAY:

“We pray by the time. So they say, ‘If you don’t pray at the break time,’ they give us this [unemployment] paper to just leave.”

According to the company’s spokesman, the policy change impacts 53 of the company’s workers, with the majority of them opting to leave the company as a result of the new company.
The spokesman added that the company “put a considerable amount of effort” into finding a solution that would work for both sides, which included meeting with members of their Somalian employee group.
Dan Ariens, the company’s chairman and CEO, also wrote in an open letter posted to Twitter that reads, in part:

“We continue to be open to any of the employees returning to work under the new policy…
We respect their faith, we respect the work they have done at Ariens, and we respect their decision regardless of their choice to return to work or not.”

Per US law established by the the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission on religious tolerance in the workplace, “an employer does not have to accommodate an employee’s religious beliefs or practices if doing so would cause undue hardship to the employer.”
The Council for Islamic-American Relations (CAIR) is also calling on Ariens to reverse its policy, per a Tweet sent on Saturday.

Meek Mill 'dabs' on screen at a game with Nicki Minaj

Meek Mill 'dabs' on screen at a game with Nicki Minaj

Rapper Meek Mill who can't leave Philly yet because of his court case watched a game with Nicki Minaj when she visited him. They showed the couple on screen while the organisers of the game gave them a special welcome. In response, Meek Mill 'dabbed' for his fans, lol. More photos of the couple after the cut....

Jada Pinkett contemplates boycotting Oscars as host Chris Rock calls it thare ‘White BET Awds’

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Jada Pinkett Smith took to social media yesterday to express her frustration over the lack of diversity among this year's Oscar nominees. In a series of tweets, Jada, called out the fact that there was no black actor nominated in the top categories in this year's Oscars.. I.e her husband, Will Smith, who got a nomination for Best Actor, Drama for his new movie, Concussion at the Golden Globes. See what she tweeted after the cut

Indian boy cheats death after being impaled by four foot steel rod (graphic)

Indian boy cheats death after being impaled by four foot steel rod (graphic)

For 10-year-old Aman Vishwakarma from Uttar Pradesh, India, his terrifying brush with death could be described as nothing less than a miracle. The youngster cheated death when he fell off 12ft off a roof and got impaled by a 4ft metal rod. The rod entered his body at the thigh and exited through the back. Incredibly, it missed all vital organs and only grazed his spine. The pics might be a bit graphic for some so viewer discretion advised as you continue...

Doctors worked for four hours to remove the rod without causing permanent damage. It had torn a major blood vessel, pierced his bowel and diaphram, grazed his spine and possibly ruptured his lungs - causing two litres of blood to build up in his abdomen.

Recalling his death-defying fall, Aman told of how he was laying mud onto the roof of his family home when the structure collapsed. He screamed in agony as he fell on the exposed spike which was fixed to a concrete block – as neighbours rushed to help him to the nearby Narayan Swaroop Hospital.

His mother Kamla Devi, 30, collapsed when she saw him lying on the ground with the spike protruding from his body.

Kamla said: 'They took me to the hospital to see my son. I had completely given up on his chances of survival. So I couldn't believe when the doctor told me he was alive.'

She added: 'It's a miracle. It's no exaggeration to compare the doctors with gods. If not gods, they are god-sent to us.' 

It took a team of six hospital staff to remove the rod from the small boy without permanently damaging major blood vessels and organs.

Dr Rajeev Singh, the 'hero' surgeon who operated on Aman, said he believed before the operation that saving him was 'practically impossible'.

'His condition was very critical,' Dr Singh said. 'His blood pressure was zero. If the patient was not operated within hours of accident, he could collapsed.'

Aman, who now uses a colostomy bag, has not been able play his beloved cricket or go to school since the accident in October.

According to a British doctor, the boy had been 'millimetres' from death – and now faces a lifetime of medical complications.

Dr Arun Ghosh said: 'I think it's pure luck that he survived. 

'Obviously the doctor's did an excellent job but most of the time, when people are impaled, they will die instantly or soon after from bleeding. It would have taken major and complex surgery to save him. You'd have needed a vascular surgeon, a respiratory surgeon, a neurosurgeon, and they would have to be at the top of their game.

'I'm not sure we would be able to get such a major trauma team together on such short notice.

'The spinal damage could mean he suffers from erectile dysfunction, pins and needles in his hands and feet, a lack of coordination and possibly even loss of bladder function.

'Spinal damage - very close to the areas to the top of his spine - could cause feeling, erectile dysfunction, again bladder function, pins and needles in the hands and feet, lack of coordination.
'Because it entered near his anus, he's definitely not going to be able to go to the toilet normally for a very long time, and he'll probably need a colostomy bag to pee.

'Walking is going to be a problem in the short term and because of his damage lungs, he never going to be able to run a marathon.

'He will have some life long problems but really, he survived something he should have died from.'

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A ongoing debate on Nigerian Twitter. Is N50k too much to spend on a first date for salary earners? What if you earn well? See more tweets after the cut and tell us what you think....

Terrorists now hide IEDS among vegetables- Nigerian Army

Terrorists now hide IEDS among vegetables- Nigerian Army

The Defence Headquarter has revealed the new tactics devised by Boko Haram terrorists to hide explosives.
 

In a statement released on Thursday, January 14, the acting Director Defence Information, Brigadier General Rabe Abubakar said this is a continuation with the sensitization of our citizens on the devilish strategy of the terrorists.

"The Nigerian Military authorities have discovered that the Boko Haram terrorists are determined to continue letting off bombs and have resorted to masquerading as fruits and vegetable vendors wheeling Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) as groceries into crowded areas,"

"The terrorists now hide IEDs under vegetable wares in carts and wheelbarrows and move to crowded places where they detonate them for maximum casualties. The recent terrorists attack in the North East is a case in point.

''Having been effectively dislodged and decimated the BH terror group has begun some systematic isolated attacks mainly on soft targets in their desperation to remain relevant''.

The statement therefore advised Nigerians to be constantly on alert.

"Defence Headquarters hereby advises the general public to constantly be alert to this latest terrorist tactics and to report promptly any suspicious persons or objects to the nearest security agency,"

"While commending the general public and the media for their continuous support so far, all citizens are once again reminded that security is everybody’s concern therefore, they should join hands with the security agencies to eliminate the remnant of the terrorists."

Photos: Christina Milian is fearless and focused on the cover of Rolling Out

Photos: Christina Milian is fearless and focused on the cover of Rolling Out

Singer and Reality tv star Christina Milian is the latest cover girl for Rolling Out magazine. In her interview with the magazine, she talked about her reality tv show, clothing line, fitness and much more. More photos after the cut...