France edition

Photo credit: Anthony Kelly

Actress 'banned Muslim handymen' over chihuahua worries

Published: 01 Dec 2011 10:20 GMT+1
Online: http://www.thelocal.fr/1918/20111201/

One of France's most well-known singers and actresses, Marie Laforêt, will today appear in a Paris courtroom to defend herself against charges that a job advertisement she placed discriminated against Muslims.

72-year-old Laforêt, who first found fame as an actress in the 1960s, placed an ad on an internet site looking for someone to carry out some work on her terrace in 2009, reported daily newspaper Le Parisien on Thursday.

She specified in the ad that "people with allergies or orthodox Muslims" should not apply "due to a small chihuahua."

Laforêt claimed that she made the stipulation because she believed the Muslim faith saw dogs as unclean.

The case was taken up by anti-discrimination organization Mrap, which lodged a complaint against the internet site which ran the ad.

"To think that Marie Laforêt is racist is just stupid," said her lawyer, David Koubbi, according to the newspaper. He said the words in the advertisement were only a "warning."

Koubbi added that the star "has always shown her interest and admiration for the Muslim faith."

"She knew that the presence of a religion could conflict with the religious convictions of orthodox Muslims. It was a sign of respect."

Experts in the Muslim faith were quoted as rejecting the defence.

"Dogs are not considered unclean and it's false to suggest otherwise," said one quoted by the newspaper.

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Matthew Warren (news@thelocal.fr)

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01 Dec 2011 14:39 GMT+1 by DavidtheNorseman

The lady could reasonably be thought to have believed that orthodox Islamics considered dogs unclean: http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/06/19/us-iran-islam-ayatollah-idUSTRE65I0M220100619 Shirazi's fatwa would certainly indicate so. Mme Laforet was simply trying to forstall the hiring of someone who would consequently be offended by her household. Rather like indicating "serious Amish might not consider this position as it requires being cleanshaven at all times".

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02 Dec 2011 01:17 GMT+1 by nathan45

Another example of over political corectness from left wing idiots who are so very keen on charging people in their own countrys for their personal beliefs.

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05 Dec 2011 01:04 GMT+1 by GeoffP

"Experts in the Muslim faith were quoted as rejecting the defence. "Dogs are not considered unclean and it's false to suggest otherwise," said one quoted by the newspaper. " That's a lie, and the individual who so cited it knows they're lying. "The majority of Muslim jurists consider dogs to be ritually unclean, though jurists from the Sunni Maliki school disagree.[24] However, outside their ritual uncleanness, Islamic fatāwā, or rulings, enjoin that dogs be treated kindly or else be freed.[25] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_and_animals#Dogs

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05 Dec 2011 09:32 GMT+1 by KashifM

This is clearly not a case of discrimination. As a Muslim myself, this really concerns me. There are legitimate claims of discrimination out there and incidents like this just prove to trivialize them. This poor old lady obviously had some knowledge of Islam and was trying to be considerate. Yet in return she gets all of this hassle. How does this make us look in the eyes of the average French person? I live in America so I'm probably pretty ignorant when it comes to most aspects of French culture and the way things work there. Still, I think most people would agree with me here.

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05 Dec 2011 13:35 GMT+1 by Dogmael Jones

The following things are considered unclean (najis), according to the Koran, the Sura, and Hadith: Urine, feces, semen, dead body, blood, dogs, pigs, kaffirs (non-Muslims), alcohol, and the sweat of an animal that consumes najasat (plural of najis). This is concurred by the majority of Islamic scholars or “experts.” Islam, however, is one of the filthiest religions (aka ideologies) ever concocted by man. It sanctions pedophilia, rape, murder, taqiyya (lying, or double-speak), conquest of kaffirs, and slavery. It is an intolerant creed that refuses to accommodate any other belief, and expects all others to submit to its rules (Islam). The actress clearly did not know how evil Islam is, if she merely warned potential applicants that she had a dog. And if she had had any Muslim applicants, and knowing how Islam is conquering France, would they have insisted that she get rid of the dog? Very, very likely. Or they would have killed it. Nice “religion of peace.” Think I’ll have a ham sandwich and pet the first dog I happen to see.

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