Saturday, May 14, 2011

Casino Ejects Woman In Muslim Garb

From myfoxphilly.com we learn that Casino Ejects Woman In Muslim Garb.

"A Muslim woman says she was embarrassed when given a difficult choice at Caesars Atlantic City last weekend: take off the traditional face covering that only shows her eyes or leave the casino."

The woman,Tanya Grooms-Butler was sitting in a restaurant located inside a casino while her husband gamble. Security guards for the casino told Grooms-Butler that she could not remain in the casino while wearing the burka. In a statement later released by the casino, security is of great importance. Besides, the statement went on, no one under 21 is allowed in the casino and a burka hides the face and it cannot be determined if someone is of legal age if the entire face can't be seen.

Sounds reasonable to me.

I can't understand, however, why Grooms-Butler and her husband were in the casino in the first place. Obviously, they must be devout Muslims.....so devout that she wears a burka. I'm sure she and her husband are aware that gambling is forbidden in Islam. Perhaps she and her husband are cafeteria Muslims.

Casinos aren't in the business of enforcing the laws and tenets of any particular religion. The owners and management wouldn't - and shouldn't - ban someone from the casino because that person's religion forbids gambling. The casinos aren't interested in whether or not your religion of choice says gambling is a sin. No, they're only interested in separating you from your money.

I'd think that if Grooms-Butler and her husband were serious about Islam, they wouldn't step foot inside a casino.

It's none of my business, of course, but I wonder if the husband was drinking alcohol while he gambled. When you ignore one commandment of your faith, breaking a second one becomes relatively easy.

The article ends with this:
"Grooms-Butler says she was embarrassed and won't be going back."

Maybe she shouldn't have been there to begin with.

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