Consider these: A British Muslim checkout operator refusing to deal with customers who buy alcohol; Muslim medical students refusing to learn about diseases related to alcohol or promiscuity; and the Muslim dentist who insisted his patient put on a headscarf before agreeing to treat her.

Sainsbury’s response, it has been reported, was to permit their Muslim staff to refuse to handle customers’ alcohol purchases on religious grounds, and is also allowing its Muslim pharmacists to refuse to sell the morning-after pill to customers.

Now let’s just state that the majority of the British Muslim public find some of these claims ridiculous; they are not supported by Islamic teachings and worse, they could jeopardise legitimate religious claims in the future. Islamically, it’s obligatory for Muslim doctors and students to learn all prescribed content and there’s a significant difference between learning about alcohol consumption and consuming it. It does our community no favours to stay ignorant about such issues. As for the Muslim checkout operators, the best solution would be to work in a shop that doesn’t sell alcohol.
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