: More Protests Target Firings of Muslims at Macy’s

About 150 people held a raucous protest last week outside Macy’s at a California mall, demanding the store rehire two women whom they say were fired simply for being Muslim in a post-9/11 world. Macy’s spokeswoman Rina Neiman said the firings of sales clerks Alia Atawneh and Hiam Yassine were “completely unrelated and have nothing to do with discrimination,” claiming instead that Atawneh remarked that America “deserved” the Sept. 11th attacks (she denies saying or believing that) and that Yassine gave a customer a 10% discount without a manager’s OK. In neither case was a reprimand given, adding weight to the charges.

Zahed Amanullah is associate editor of altmuslim.com.  He is based in London, England.