Shariah-Compliant Hotels (with zakat payments to Islamic charities and EEOC violations)

The hospitality industry has generally been haram under Shariah-Compliant Finance, but that is changing. Now we’re seeing a movement to expand Shariah-Compliant hotels into the West.

A close examination of the mechanisms and practices surrounding Shariah-Compliant hotels illustrates just exactly why the the barbaric Shariah code is almost completely incompatible with Western values and laws. In fact that entire system of Shariah-Compliant hotels is a microcosm of this problem, as illustrated by this organizational chart which maps out how one goes about making a hotel Shariah-Compliant:

(Click image to enlarge.)

The first thing that stands out about the organizational chart is that it reveals the similarities between Shariah-Compliance and the Jim Crow laws of the American south in the first 60 years or so of the 20th century and the South African apartheid regime as well.

No accommodations whatsoever are made for non-Muslims in this organizational chart. These hotels are designed for Muslims and Muslims only. If a non-Muslim wants to stay in a Shariah-Compliant hotel, that’s fine, but he or she will have to observe the Shariah rules and abide by them during their stay.

The organizational chart is divided into three sections:

1. Operations
2. Design & Interiors
3. Financial

Hotel operations start, of course, with a complete prohibition of alcohol. This in and of itself is not terribly unusual. There are, after all, entire counties in parts of America which are still “dry.” But Shariah-Compliance also dictates that food be “halal,” or in compliance with Shariah. Non-Muslims in the hotels have no recourse or alternative. They must abide by Shariah if they want to stay in the hotel.

Still, dietary restrictions are not that unusual or unique to Islam. Catholics don’t eat meat on Fridays during Lent and Kosher Jewish diets have been accepted in America for a long time. Still, as a Catholic, if I go to lunch on a Friday during Lent with a buddy who is Southern Baptist, I don’t insist that he not order a roast beef po-boy. And, as far as I know,  hotels owned by Catholics don’t completely delete meat from the menu at such times. (Maybe I am wrong about this; I invite your reply if I am.)

Continuing along the organizational chart, we come to the requirement that states “Majority of staff of Muslim faith.”

This obviously is discriminatory and illustrates the built-in bigotry native to Shariah. There is just no way that this provision could ever pass EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) regulations in the United States–unless of course an appeasing, sympathetic presidential administration chose to look the other way, which is not impossible. 

This raises some serious questions about Shariah-Compliance for other business enterprises. If Shariah-Compliant hotels require that a majority of the staff be Muslim, are there similar requirements for other businesses to be Shariah-Compliant? Just because we have not run across this requirement before does not mean that it does not exist, even “below radar.” The promoters of Shariah aren’t stupid. They could certainly require such a policy in the US without stating it specifically, so as to avoid scrutiny. After all, didn’t Mohammed say that war is dissimulation? 

We already know that there is a great lack of transparency and disclosure inherent in Shariah-Compliant Finance. It would not be surprising at all if discriminatory practices were shrouded inside Shariah-Compliance.

One thing seems certain. Given the track record of Jihadi Shariah scholars like Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi and Mufti Mohammed Taqi Usmani, it is highly unlikely that Shariah scholars will waive the requirement for majority Muslim staffs just because there are man-made laws which prohibit employment discrimination based upon religion…

Analyzing the organizational chart further, we come to the requirement that the hotel staff for floors for single female guests be female and the staff for floors with single male guests be male. I am not an attorney, but that sure quacks like an employment discrimination duck. After all, if our courts insist that female reporters be allowed inside locker rooms after NFL football games, I don’t see how the Shariah-Compliant policy is going to hold up!

Then we come to the requirement for a “Conservative television service.” I have a hunch they aren’t talking about Fox News. All the same, it certainly does not appear to be anything in violation of any laws or afoul of Western customs.

The TV requirement is followed by the requirement for prayer mats and Korans in each room. Nothing wrong here I suppose. After all, most hotels I stay in these days have both a Bible and a Book of Mormon in the drawer between the beds. But I do wonder how Shariah-Compliance treats non-Muslims in this case. During Muslim prayer time, what are non-Muslims allowed to do? And what if a non-Muslim wants to bring a Bible into the hotel? How is that viewed? What would the reaction be if a Catholic at the hotel makes a sign of the Cross when he or she sits down to eat?

Next we move to the Design & Interiors requirements for Shariah-Compliance.

It all starts with gender apartheid. Of the 7 requirements for Shariah-Compliance relative to Design & Interiors, three are devoted to keeping the sexes separated. These are not merely benign requirements. Like the “separate but equal” policies of Dixie in 20th century America, there is in fact nothing equal about “separate but equal.” The fact is, under Shariah, women are second-class citizens in every way, shape or form. Islamist women may deny it, but it’s the truth, and those who promote Shariah in the West want to see that it stays that way. And non-Muslim women who have the misfortune of finding themselves in such a hotel will soon find that they too are required to obey Shariah.

The remaining items in the Design & Interior sections illustrate the all-encompassing nature of Shariah, with which most in the West, and the USA in particular are not familiar. There must be arrows in the rooms pointing out the direction to Mecca for prayer time. Beds and toilets must not face Mecca. These may seem rather odd to Americans, but these requirements are pretty pedestrian in places like Saudi Arabia.

But the final two clearly demonstrate the all-controlling nature of Shariah: no entertainment venues are permitted at all (Or as Dean Wormser of Animal House said: “No more fun of any kind!”) and art should not depict the human form. This last requirement is especially oppressive because if art that depicts the human form is not allowed to be displayed according to Shariah, then there is simply no reason for it to be created. The Mona Lisa would be completely unwelcome in the lobby of a Shariah-Compliant Motel 6.

Last, but certainly not least, there is the Finance aspect of a Shariah-Compliant hotel. The hotel must be financed through Shariah-Compliant financing mechanisms. 

All of this creates a self-licking ice cream cone. The promoters of Shariah want it to encompass all aspects of life, so each aspect must feed off of the other. If you want to run a Shariah-Compliant hotel, you can do everything right, but if the hotel’s checking account earns interest, you’re out, so you must bank at a Shariah-Compliant bank. (Oh, and if you want paintings on the wall, it’s best to buy them from an artist who is Shariah-observant so you won’t have to guess on that one either…)

At the end, we get to the really sinister aspect of the whole Shariah-Finance movement: “The hotel should follow the zakat principles.” This is euphemistically defined as “giving back to the community.”

Giving back to the community? Guess what? “Giving back to the community” means supporting Jihad. In fact, no fewer than 4 accepted uses of zakat can be interpreted as supporting Jihad. Almost exclusively, zakat payments go to Islamic charities selected by Shariah scholars, like Mufti Taqi Usmani and Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi. In fact, Qaradawi himself heads up a kind of Islamic “United Way” based in Saudi Arabia called the Union of Good. The Union of Good is an umbrella group of 53 charities and it has been designated a terrorist entity by the US government and the British as well. In addition to the 53 charities of the Union of Good, there are an additional 27 Islamic charities which have been tied to terrorist organizations as well.

The fact is, the zakat system funds Jihad as the rule rather than the exception and there is almost no sentiment in the Muslim world to stop, or even curtail, the practice of zakat going to charities that support groups like Al Qaeda, HAMAS and Al Qaeda. The very last requirement of a Shariah-Compliant hotel is that it fund Jihadist terrorism– which is reason enough in itself to stop it.

Originally published at Shariah Finance Watch