Veiled Muslim woman threatens suit against Chevron for gas denial

[The Straight Story]

Veiled Muslim woman threatens suit against Chevron for gas denial

A Muslim woman is threatening to sue Chevron after a Florida gas attendant refused to sell her gas because she would not remove her veil, according to an ABC News story.

Le Fleur Mohamed said she was embarrassed by the attendant’s refusal to sell her $20 worth of gas at a Boca Raton gas station last fall. Wilfredo Ruiz, her attorney, said Chevron issued a “light apology,” but the company needs to do more to remedy the situation.

“If Chevron does not move away from the rheotoric, then we will pursue a legal action,” Ruiz told ABCNews.com. “If they admit their errors and compensate accordingly for a very oppressive way of treating her, then we don’t see a need to go trial.”

Chevron said Mohamed was asked to remove her veil, but it was protocol for people to remove masks or other head covering for security purposes.

http://fuelfix.com/blog/2012/02/03/veiled-muslim-woman-threatens-suit-against-chevron-for-gas-denial/

Wonder how things like this are handled on Halloween?

[msanthrope]

1. LaFleur Mauvette Mohammed already showed her face in her booking photo controversy,

last year.

Mohamed was in the news last year for being photographed wearing her niqab in a headshot after she was arrested for domestic battery. She was later re-photographed in accordance with jail policies, which required her to show her face.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/veiled-muslim-woman-denied-service-chevron-apology/story?id=15497923#.TywZkIHFaSp

And you can see her before and after mugshot on mugshots.com.

edited to add--in response ot the OP--this was near Halloween--from my link--

"The incident occurred within a few days of Halloween – a time when retailers are prone to increased theft from persons wearing masks and other facial coverings," said Chevron spokesman Brent Tippen. "We fully believe that our employee acted without the intent to violate Ms. Mohamed's religious principles and any suggestion that discrimination is acceptable at Chevron is completely false."

[Quantess]

11. So, possibly she didn't want to take off her veil and reveal bruises on her face...

hmmm.

[msanthrope]

15. Um, she was the one accused of abuse...she wasn't the victim. nt

[Fla_Democrat]

24. Does the 'niqab'

cover her knuckles?

[baldguy]

32. A gas station attendant isn't a police officer.

And buying gas isn't a legal proceeding.

The only reason for them to insist of her removing her veil is to humiliate & degrade her because of her faith.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

35. What if it is a uniformly enforced security policy that no one with an obsecured face is allowed in

building? That certainly the case in SoCal at many gas stations.

[baldguy]

38. How does it enhance "security"? It doesn't.

And just because they try to enforce a mere corporate policy "uniformly" doesn't make it right or even legal. They don't need to see her face to sell her gas. (Or take her fingerprints, or draw a blood sample either.) All they need her money.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

66. It is so the security cameras can get pictures of your face in case you are there to do damage

Since it is not discriminatory, the have the authority to do that, and you have the authority to take your business elsewhere.

[obamanut2012]

45. It sounds like it is, because of drive-offs and other theft

No hats, masks, sunglasses Also, it was close to Halloween, when many retailers ARE ripped off even more than usual.

I'm on the fence about this. I personally think religious face coverings have no part in a democracy. IF that station uniformly enforces this, then I don't see a problem.

The clerk that refused service was female, just as an FYI.

[riderinthestorm]

36. Sorry bub but for most retail outlets its a security issue, and applied to anyone with a mask. nt

[baldguy]

42. It's not a "mask". It's a veil - which she is prescribed by her faith to wear in public.

Like it or not, we do still have First Amendment protections for religious freedom which arbitrary corporate policies don't trump.

[obamanut2012]

47. It masks her face, it acts as a mask

And, the station has a right to do this, just as long as it is uniformly enforced, just as banks do.

[baldguy]

51. And a gas station isn't a bank either. There's no more security required than to buy a loaf of bread

They don't need to see her face to sell her gas. All they need her money.

[obamanut2012]

54. Yes, they do

Most convenience stores do this. They have in my area for at least ten years. Convenience stores and their employees are at a high-risk as crime targets. Shoplifting, robbery, drive-offs, stolen cards, rape, murder, etc. They want to see your face for THE EXACT REASON banks do.

You are just really trying to make this about anti-Muslim bigotry, when it isn't at all. It is for security purposes. And, as someone who had to work retail at night many years ago, it is a welcome security policy.

[riderinthestorm]

56. +10000. nt

[baldguy]

58. That's the same excuse they use to pull over blacks in the lily-white suburbs.

"Just making sure, you know. There have been a lot of robberies in the area lately."



If you've had any experience dealing with the public in retail, you could recognize the difference between a housewife in a burka out shopping and a robber trying to steal something.

And in the incident in the OP, the veiled woman was trying to give money to the attendant - which is odd behavior for a thief, don't you think?

[riderinthestorm]

49. This issue has been beat to death... the burqa is NOT religious, it's cultural

I'll give it one more go before I'm done. This garment is a misogynistic piece designed to erase women from society. It is NOT religious - it's cultural. It is NOT a part of any religious text and certainly not covered under the First Amendment as numerous court cases have proven. For everything from drivers licenses, TSA searches, to going into a bank, removal of the mask is required because by law it's recognized as not religious. This isn't arbitrary corporate policy. Besides, this garment is destructive to women and their equality in our society. I for one, would love to see it banned but that's my opinion. US law backs me up in other areas....




(I'm probably speaking to the wall here but thought I'd give it one more shot at trying to educate..... dammit)

[baldguy]

52. Are you really comfortable allowing a corporation to determine

what is & isn't allowable as religious dress in America? I'm not. Corporations have too much power as it is, they don't need any more.

[riderinthestorm]

55. This isn't religious. You can say it over and over but that doesn't make it so

And honestly, corporations can and do dictate what women can wear in their stores all the time. Daily in fact. Men too (no shirt, no shoes, no service. No masks in the credit union. etc. etc.) With the increasing drive offs, the violence and murder in gas stations/convenience stores, I have no problem with a private entity enforcing it's security protocol in regards to masks.

Beyond that society as well has dictated what women can and cannot wear BY LAW and violators will be hauled away to jail for breaking that law. For example, I cannot go topless and testify in court even if that's my "cultural" dress as an Aborigine. By law we have banned that form of public "dress".

The burqa ISN'T religious. That's what's hanging you up. It's cultural. And its very design is misogynistic, to erase women from society. You seem to be okay with that... FGM is also cultural, not religious but we've banned that by law. Destructive cultural practices masked as religious have no part in a civil society. They deserve conversation and when a consensus is reached, and law has been determined, then they are not allowed.

[baldguy]

59. You don't get to choose what is & isn't religious for another person. Sorry, you just don't.

My old Irish grandmother kept wearing a veil to Mass well into her 90's - long after Vatican II stopped that requirement. Nobody would have dared try to tell her to take it off.

What's cultural is the current fad of denying Muslims their religious freedoms, simply because they're Muslims.

[riderinthestorm]

61. We can and do. FGM went through the same wringer

So has wife beating, nakedness in the western public square, spousal rights in regards to custody and many, many more. Too many more to list.

I have no problem with the burqa getting the same scrutiny, conversation and legal ruling. I welcome that. It's a fact it's a cultural garment, not religious, and I'd revel in a conversation about it's misogyny and whether we condone that in our culture. It's a perfect symbol for feminists in the fight against the patriarchy and our entrenched "politically correct" notions (as we woefully MIS-understand them) of women and their place in a culture.

You've edited your post to include the anecdote about your Irish granny so I'll edit too.

This isn't about a lace doily on someone's head in church. This is about a daily full body shroud that is designed to erase women from society. I'll up you one and state up front that I'm an Irish citizen and know a thing or two about headcoverings.....

[baldguy]

64. You seem to think women only wear the veil only because

they've been abused, beaten & forced to do so.

You've never seen a Muslim family out in public, with the gentleman & kids taking orders from his wife. Just like a normal family. I've also seen fully veiled women out in public by themselves. These women don't seem to have been suffering, and if would have bothered to ask them they would most likely agree.

Did you look at the link OP and watch the video? Do you think Ms. Mohamed is some wilting violet afraid of anything?

[riderinthestorm]

68. Nope. No way do I think that. And I've already said I lived in a community FULL of women in burqas

for 25 years.

I've also been associated with Wheaton's food pantry and local community resource center as an ESL tutor and more. I'll go further and state that I've been involved in rape crisis counseling and the local women's shelters for more than 30 years, anywhere I've lived. I've worked part time as a grant writer for DECADES so I've had to study this phenomenon in depth but honestly, most of my involvement with the women's shelters has been in Wheaton with immigrant populations.

I think the women have been acculturated to accept their secondary status and adopt the shroud willingly in their home countries. I have no idea if any of them were initially beaten into submission about wearing it. When they move to the US, they don't understand OUR culture and 1. how our culture negatively views face covering and 2. how their garment prohibits them from participating fully in our society trying to find jobs etc. 3. How face covering is prohibited in many areas as a security risk.

If you were brainwashed from a young age that having your genitals cut off was dictated by Gawd in order to gain heaven, you'd probably acquiesce to the torment. That doesn't make it right. That doesn't mean we in the West have to accept that as religious and instead protest against it as a barbaric cultural relic. It's the same with shrouding women so they are disappeared.

[mactime]

2. Makes sense

I have seen some gas stations that have signs that shoppers should remove hoodies and face coverings.
Sounds like this person is just out to grab some attention.

[MH1]

3. "When in Rome" ....

I don't understand why people want to live here but not follow our customs.

I don't want a masked person asking me for something. And I wouldn't go into a store with a mask on and expect to be served anything except an arrest warrant.

A veil = a mask. It may be for a different reason but it serves the same function.

[uponit7771]

6. Yes, we should all be running around bucket naked let the natives did no?

[crazyjoe]

10. who said that? kind of a stretch going from wearing a mask to running around naked, doncha think?

[Zalatix]

62. "But the European settlers killed off the natives, now it's their rules"

you just know that's going to be the standard bullshit response.

Still, though, you are 100% right.

[hifiguy]

8. Exactly.

When I have traveled overseas - admittedly to places with similar cultures - I have tried to be a courteous guest and not act like the stereotypical "ugly American." If I moved to another country, I would damned well do my best to fit in with the prevailing cultural mores.

[Blue_Tires]

12. +1

[Quantess]

13. I have a problem with face-covering veils myself.

I can't remember the names for the drapes muslim women wear, but the ones that cover the hair and neck can look really nice, very elegant. But the face-covering veils have no place in western society. Those really should be banned, in my opinion.

[obamanut2012]

48. I agree

As unpopular as that may be here.

[SomethingFishy]

14. LMFAO.. so you can't tell the difference between someone

who is wearing a mask to rob you and a woman in a burka? Then you should probably stay out of retail

"I don't understand why people want to live here but not follow our customs"

Our customs? Which ones? The Christian ones? The Muslim ones? THe Hindu ones? THe "American" ones?

This country was founded as a place for people to come where they didn't have to hide their "customs". We were supposed to be accepting of all customs and all people. The great melting pot.

Your comment, at least to me, is no different than someone screaming about English being our only language.

[msanthrope]

16. We should not be accepting of all people and all customs. That's shortsighted.

There's plenty of people, and customs that are undesirable to the American body politic.

[SomethingFishy]

18. A burka being one of them?

Sorry I don't see it. Sure stoning is probably not a good custom but that's illegal here. As are any customs that might be dangerous.

If no one is getting hurt I don't see how this veil is a problem. Frankly this thread and the responses in it look racist to me. But that's just my opinion, obviously I'm in the minority and if everyone feels the need to force Muslim women to remove their veils I won't stand in their way.

Nor will I sit here and say it's a good idea.

[Quantess]

19. DUers have already exhausted this topic, and there is no consensus among progressives.

Burqas represent oppression of women, and that's why everyone doesn't embrace them.

I have heard the other side's arguments. However, muslim is not a race, so I disagree that wanting to ban burqas is "racist".

[ProgressiveProfessor]

34. Don't think there is an oppression of women issue here, it security policy

If they did it to her because she was a Muslim woman wearing a veil, they need to pay.

If they do it uniformly to everyone with an obscured face (as in a full face motorcycle helmet), she is just whining and should pay at the pump.

Your religion does not give you the right to override the proprietors security arrangements for their employees. That may include no guns allowed and no obscuring of your face for any reason.

[msanthrope]

20. Chevron isn't required to make an exception in their security policy for her customs.

If you think that's racist, so be it.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

26. I have been told it is anyone with an obsecured face, including full motorcycle helmets

The issue is blocking the security cameras from getting pictures. Its a PITA for me too sometimes, but I take the helmet and balaclava off.

If the station just picked on her, fuck'em and make them pay. If they are uniform in their policy, she needs to pay at the pump.

[SomethingFishy]

71. Yes I am in order to head off the comment

from someone else and make light of the expected response to me comment about foreign customs. Too bad the point went flying right past you.


What I find funny is you are asking me if I am speaking out against stoning in a thread that amounts to nothing more than racism and it seems that DU is all for it.

Hey whatever floats your boat. If you people are so scared of a woman in a fucking veil that you have to have a thread about it I can't help you. Live in fear.

[obamanut2012]

50. Yes, a burka being one of them

It is not a point of religious doctrine, like the headcovering, it is cultural.

I think it has no place in a democratic society, and does nothing but degrade women, just as FGM has no place here. That is also cultural. not religious. We either have to embrace all cultural aspects (NOT RELIGIOUS) of Islam or none.

Do you think the US should allow FGM?

[SomethingFishy]

72. No I don't which was the point in my mentioning stoning..

Trying to head off really stupid pointless questions like "do you support FGM".

But hey, live in fear of a woman in a veil, I don't give a shit.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

4. oh the irony...

“If they admit their errors and compensate accordingly for a very oppressive way of treating her, then we don’t see a need to go trial.”

sP

[msongs]

5. her personal choices, the world does not need to kowtow to her nt

[ProgressiveProfessor]

7. More than one attendant has freaked when I come in wearing a full face motorcycle helmet

For some the flip front is not enough, they want it off. I also wear a balaclava style helmet liner that makes it worse for some. The local place I normally fill up at now recognizes me, but for all the rest, I need to take it off.

If its uniformly enforced, there is no religious discrimination or she can pay at the pump.

[crazyjoe]

9. I wonder what kind of "compensation" she's looking for? I hope like hell they don't pay her off.

Stories like this are really irritating to me. But i guess if she follows the rules like everyone else has to do, she won't be able to sue.

[MadHound]

17. No, there's no bigotry against Muslims in this country, none at all.

Let the woman pay, keep her veil on, and move on. But sadly, she is one of those eeeevil Muslims, and the bigots feel that they've got to degrade her. Sad to see they've got so many supporters here.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

23. If its only against veiled Muslim women, you are right. If its for anyone with an obscured face

and uniformly enforced, you are wrong.

I get told to take my full face helmet off (and the balaclava underneath it) regularly. Some places they have customers drop their hoods. As long as its uniform its legal.

In this case it sounds like someone wants to take a spin on the legal lottery wheel...or should pay at the pump.

[MadHound]

25. Do you know whether it is uniformly enforced at this station?

Somehow I doubt it.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

27. No clue about that particular station. It is pretty much standard in SoCal to uncover your face

if you go inside. No one cares if you pay at the pump.

[MadHound]

29. Not standard procedure if you're here in the Midwest

I walk in, pay, walk out with a full face on all the time

Given the national hostility we see against Muslims, I wouldn't be surprised if it didn't play a role in this encounter as well. That's why I think it is more than a spin on the legal lottery.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

37. I may try that the next time I ride though the MidWest because it sure is not that way here

[riderinthestorm]

41. Don't try it in Cook, Dupage or Kane County IL Professor! nt

[riderinthestorm]

40. Madhound, I spent 25 years in Wheaton IL, deep in the heart of the Midwest and fundyland to boot

There are more churches there per person than anywhere else in the US. Consequently there are many, many Christian relocation centers as well. There are a LOT of fully veiled Muslims deep in the Christian heartland and virtually EVERY retail shop/bank/gas station/convenience store etc. etc. does not allow any kind of face masking in the store.

Its very, very common in the communities I travel around in my part of the Midwest.... face masking isn't allowed, especially if the store has a security cam which most gas stations/convenience stores do in my area.... lots of "Drive offs will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law" signage at the pump along with "we're watching you...."

In these desperate times, robberies are at an all time high and most stores aren't doing this for religious reasons

[MadHound]

43. Well, that doesn't surprise me in the fundy parts of the region

Try coming to Columbia Mo. We actually make an effort to get along with our Muslim neighbors.

[riderinthestorm]

46. Well, since the Christian groups are actually the ones in Somalia, the Sudan

and other massacres, trying to get the refugees out safely and re-homed, you tell me how much they are trying to alienate them?

These are brave groups actually doing good. I'm an atheist and have watched them step up and save hundreds of thousands - Vietnamese, Laotians, Somalies, Serbs... you name it, these are people actually doing the work.

I'm sorry, but they aren't trying to piss anyone off, they're trying to keep their businesses secure from theft. '

Bottom line is that its a security issue, not religious.

[Yo_Mama]

60. Ya know

In Saudia Arabia they have bank customers remove their face coverings. A lot of them have separate areas where women can do this unobserved by men, and there are even women-only branches.

You seem obsessed with the Muslim angle. I think you're off-base, but I can understand it if you never ran into it in your area. Regardless, it really is a security issue and the policy is not aimed at veiled Muslim women.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

67. I was asked to take my helmet off in both Columbia and Springfield a couple of years back

If they ask it of me but not Muslim women, is that discrimination?

[obamanut2012]

77. Yes, it would be

imo

[Yo_Mama]

28. It's a security measure not religious discrimination

If you go inside, you remove any face covering. In the north, ski masks, etc. They will ask you to remove it or leave.

You know how virtually every convenience store has cameras? That's because they are robbed a lot. Anyway, robbers might use masks to hide their faces from a camera, so they ask everyone to remove any face covering. Those cameras can also be used to track down those who are using stolen cards, etc.

They do have to enforce that uniformly, and it has nothing to do with religious discrimination. Convenience store clerking used to be one of the most dangerous occupations in the US.
http://consumer.healthday.com/encyclopedia/article.asp?AID=646417

A lot of banks have the same policy for security purposes.

[MadHound]

30. Perhaps at the stores where you live,

Certainly not the stores where I live. Hell, this only became SOP at banks around here about a year ago.

[Yo_Mama]

39. In Florida it is definitely normally done.

I used to travel a lot for business, and they did it. No problem with ski masks in Florida, though, so unless you normally wear a helmet or something like that you'd never notice.

[obamanut2012]

53. They've been doing it at banks in my area for 15 years

Convenience stores, about ten. I'm in the South and not in a high-crime area.

[MH1]

65. Ok, why would it be 'degrading' to show one's face?

[obamanut2012]

69. It's degrading to have cultural rules that make her hide her face

NOTHING in the Koran about that. Only that men and women must cover their hair.

[Bodhi BloodWave]

70. would it still be degrading if she wanted to wear them rather then required?

There is a growing segment of the younger generation here in Norway that actually want to wear the coverings, and they argue they should have the right to chose to follow their cultural norm if they wish to.

[riderinthestorm]

73. IMHO, then Norway as a society has to have a conversation and a vote on what THEY want

Western cultures have had that kind of cultural conversation on other cultural artifacts like FGM, wife beating, spousal inheritance etc.

Female oppression by patriarchal cultures is ancient. Many women buy into it for various reasons but that doesn't mean a culture or society has to allow it. With enough brutality and legal force, cultural baggage can be coerced into submission. I'm not saying it's right but Australian Aboriginal cultural nakedness is probably not allowed in Norway is it? A woman can't go and testify in court in her "native Aboriginal dress" of near nakedness can she? I'd guess not. And that's because Norway has had a conversation about what a woman can and cannot wear in public, made laws about it, and then brutally (?) enforced that. Regardless, your society has accepted those rules on that "type" of dress.

I predict Norway will follow other western cultures and ban it as a misogynistic garment designed to erase women. But that conversation MUST happen in Norway and Norwegians MUST make that decision on their own.

[obamanut2012]

76. Should we -- and Norway -- also allow FGM?

That is is not a strawman, it is a legit question. There is no difference.

[treestar]

21. What does gas have to do with it?

Why does she need to remove it to buy gas?

[ProgressiveProfessor]

22. Security policy if you go inside.

They always get after me for my full face helmet. Some tell customers to drop their hoodies too. They want to get a good look at you with the security cameras. Given the threat rate, it may well be justified.

[treestar]

74. Thanks!

I really did not see that!

[cthulu2016]

31. re: Halloween

7-11s have signs on Halloween saying, "happy Halloween. NO MASKS INSIDE STORE!"

[LuckyTheDog]

57. Really?

In these parts, it seems as though most of the gas station owners and employees ARE Muslims. They'd never do that here.

[limpyhobbler]

63. the only reason it's a question is because there are so few people wearing veils or burqas.

If they had 75 people per day coming into the store with muslim veils or burqas, then the store would probably just get used to it and adjust its policies.

My neighborhood is literally full of muslims. At first it startled me to see people walking around in burqas. But now I got used to it and it's not a big deal anymore. Same thing when I lived in a rural area out near my family. Whenever I would see an Amish I would jump. But then I got used to them and realized they are just people with funny hats.

I hate having to take off my hat when I go in the bank. I don't think I should have to. It's not religious I'm just very attached to it.

[Quantess]

78. Do many of the women actually cover their faces?

The hair coverings can look really nice, but... If I ever see a muslim woman wearing a full burqa with face covered, I think I'll tell her to "get back in the house!" "What are you doing out in public!?"

[limpyhobbler]

79. Some of them do. You get used to it. It's odd at first until you realize that it doesn't matter.