A group of Muslim women recently sued a California restaurant for discrimination, alleging they were kicked out of the establishment for wearing headscarves. The restaurant owners’ lawyer says the Muslim women are simply trying to cash in by crying Islamophobia.
The Laguna Beach-based Urth Caffe is being sued by a group of Muslim women who claim not only that management gave them the boot because of their head coverings, but also that the establishment has regularly allowed violence against Muslim customers in the past.
Plaintiff Sara Farsakh, 29, called the business out for being “racist and Islamophobic” via Facebook.
“I am completely appalled by the racist and Islamophobic treatment some friends and I were subjected to by staff at Urth Caffe in Laguna Beach last night,” she wrote. “What began as a night out with some friends ended as a painful and embarrassing reminder of what it is like to be visibly Muslim – even in liberal California. By visibly Muslim, I mean women who wear the hijab, or headscarf.”
The restaurant’s owners meanwhile— one of whom, Jilla Berkman, is also a Muslim—say that’s nonsense and that the women had simply violated a longstanding company policy limiting seating time to 45 minutes during peak hours.
In a statement, the company defended its actions thusly:
Urth Caffe categorically denies any and all claims of racial or religious discrimination against Sara Farsakh.
While a full investigation is still on-going, it appears that Ms. Farsakh and her friends violated company policies and that the staff at Urth Caffe in Laguna properly and justifiably applied company procedures.
Urth Caffe neither condones nor tolerates discrimination of any kind. Urth Caffe workforce’s, multicultural customer base and in fact, Urth’s entire corporate culture, are all reliable indicators that Urth appreciates, encourages and lauds peace and diversity.
Urth Caffe sincerely hopes that its customers will withhold judgment until all of the evidence in this case comes to light. Once the evidence is fully revealed, Urth believes that everyone will be satisfied that Urth Caffe continues to serve all of its guests with the same respect and admiration.
Remarkably, the women’s attorney seems to be arguing that it doesn’t matter what the restaurant’s reasons were because being inconvenienced while Muslim is tantamount to being blatantly discriminated against.
“Discrimination in 2016 can be clear even if there isn’t an outward religious slur,” attorney Mohammad Tajsar said.
The restaurant has countersued the women for trespassing. And its attorney, David Yerushalmi, says he plans to also sue the women for malicious prosecution.
Of course, calling someone out for trying to ruin your business by claiming you’re racist because they were inconvenienced by one of your policies is also, it turns out, racist. Plus, the business owners evidently picked the wrong lawyer.
Yerushalmi, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, is guilty of discriminating against Muslims in the past for warning against allowing Islamic fundamentalism to take root in American society.
The left-leaning organization describes him as an “anti-Muslim activist who is a leading proponent of the idea that the United States is threatened by the imposition of Muslim religious law, known as Shariah”.
Yerushalmi told The Guardian that he’s guilty as charged if SPLC is accusing him of trying to avoid allowing Muslim special interest groups to wage “civilizational jihad” on the U.S.
He also noted that he’s represented more than a few Muslim clients.
“I represent Muslim Americans, running from jihad and seeking asylum. If you want to say I’m an anti-jihad lawyer, you’re 100% right,” he continued. “Am I anti-Sharia? Yes, I am. Am I anti-Muslim? Not if he doesn’t have a gun in his hand shooting at me.”
The post Lawyer decries ‘civilizational jihad’ in a bid to expose the abusive side of social justice appeared first on Personal Liberty®.
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