A Christian airport worker is suing her former employers for unfair dismissal after speaking out against what she claimed was a campaign of “race hate” by Muslim colleagues.
According to the Telegraph, Nohad Halawi, who worked at Terminal three in Heathrow Airport, attested that she and other Christian colleagues were subjected to bullying and intimidation because of their religion.
Halawi, who was born in the Lebanon, was employed as a perfume saleswoman on a freelance basis by fragrance and cosmetics agency Caroline South Associates, which provides staff to World Duty Free, for 13 years before she was dismissed in July.
Her case is being backed by the Christian Legal Centre, which said it raised important legal issues as well as questions over whether Muslims and Christians were treated differently by employers.
The Centre has instructed Paul Diamond, a leading human rights barrister, to take up her case, which it hopes will set a precedent for workers like Halawi who appear to be employees for all intents and purposes because of their working relationship, but have no rights due to their self-employed status.
But the law suit also follows calls by the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Carey, earlier this year for Christians to be given greater legal protection following a series of cases in which they were disciplined or dismissed for practising their faith or wearing symbols of it such as crucifixes.
Halawi’s case centres on whether she was unfairly treated when she lost her job after blowing the whistle on what she described as systematic harassment. She claimed that Muslim colleagues described Jesus as “shitty”, told her and other Christian workers that they would go to Hell if they did not convert to Islam and attested that Jewish people were responsible for the September 11 terror attacks.
Halawi attested that an Islamic colleague made a complaint against her that was specious after she protected a friend whom the group made cry for wearing a crucifix. But when she raised her own concerns as a Christian, she was dismissed.
‘Unacceptable behaviour’
“I have been sacked on the basis of unsubstantiated complaints so there is now great fear amongst my former colleagues that the same could happen to them if one of the Muslims turns on them. This is supposed to be a Christian country, but the law seems to be on the side of the Muslims,” she said.
In May, five of her Muslim colleagues complained to World Duty Free’s trading manager, David Tunnicliffe, accusing her of being anti-Islamic, following a heated conversation in the store.
The row stemmed from her description of a Muslim colleague as an “allawhi” or ‘man of God’ in Arabic. Someone overhearing the conversation thought she said ‘Alawi’, which was his branch of Islam, however.
Halawi was suspended immediately, but not informed of the reasons before having a meeting with Tunnicliffe in July. Two days later, she received a letter, telling her that her security pass was being revoked as her behaviour was deemed to be unacceptable.
“I believe that the breakdown in the relationship between yourself and some of your colleagues has contributed to this situation and has led to a number of inappropriate conversations taking place,” the letter said. “Whilst I do not believe that you may have meant to be offensive, I believe that it was not unreasonable for the individuals who either heard these comments, or who they were directed at to find them offensive, and they are extremely inappropriate.”
The offensive comments in question related to her accusing a Muslim colleague of having “extremist leaflets” and asking why Jesus was being described as “shitty”.
A petition signed by 28 colleagues, including some Muslims, argued that she had been dismissed on the basis of “malicious lies”, but it made no difference.
Lawyers for Caroline South Associates and World Duty Free said they were unable to comment on ongoing legal proceedings.
