How Global Events Like 9/11 and 7/7 Impact Hiring Practices for Muslims in Multinational Companies

Dear all,

In view of Human Resource practices, the events on 9/11 and also 7/7 will surely have an impact on HR practices. For example, in the Airlines business, air marshals were recruited by Airlines to combat the rise of terrorism, which is very sophisticated in this era. Flight Attendants will need to undergo special training, and a different perspective is given towards the safety of businesses. Rather than sabotage being because of the business, the sabotage is more likely the outcome of a terrorist act, meaning to say, there is no specific reason for the attack; it could be political, business, or related to race and religion. A factory may be blown up not because the product is inferior, or the management is cruel, but simply due to a statement that a certain terrorist group exists.

In my organization, being a multinational one, the recruitment of people from Arab countries is handled very carefully, thus making the recruitment process longer, which upsets certain KRA of key employees. While my country, being a Muslim country, is not very much affected by the new stigma of Arabs in particular and Muslims in general, recently, during a Seminar in Singapore, I met a few people from Europe who were taken aback when I was introduced as a Muslim. They were quite reserved in their comments. Perhaps, out of goodwill, they did not intend to hurt my feelings. It would help if I could understand the following:

1. How do non-Muslims feel about Muslim people in general?

2. Will these global events affect your selection process? Meaning, will there be reservations in hiring Muslim employees in an International Organization?

3. What other security measures does your organization put in place to ensure you don't employ a terrorist?

4. Could this feeling of inferiority subside in the future?

In a recent press conference regarding the 7/7 attack, a journalist asked Deputy Assistant Commissioner of Police Mr. Brian Paddick, "Is there an indication that the attack is from Islamic Terrorists?" He answered, "Before I answer, I would like to reiterate that those words should not be coined together. These terrorist acts are never in line with the teachings of Islam as a faith. These people are using the name of Islam to justify their acts."

As a Muslim, I am happy to hear that there are people who understand the implications of the media calling these terrorists Islamist terrorists, Islamic extremists, or Islamic fundamentalists. They should just be called terrorists, or maybe Al-Qaeda terrorists. The word Islam should not be involved as it gives a negative impact to Muslims worldwide.

Fortunately, the people in my country understand this as they live in a predominantly Muslim country and know what Islam stands for. Only after attending the seminar did I realize that this may not be the case in non-Muslim countries. I would like to ask if this affects the employment process. Do you have reservations about hiring Muslims? I asked this during the seminar, but I do not believe I received an honest answer. Hopefully, this forum will provide me with some honest answers. It is important for me to understand to help with our Overseas station recruitment.

Thank you and take care.

Dear All,

I strongly believe that Islam never ever promotes terrorism, and those involved in such activities are not real Muslims. I don't know why they are engaged in such negative activities, but I firmly believe that war cannot bring peace and happiness.

Islam always advocates for peace, harmony, cooperation, and friendly coexistence with people of other religious beliefs. Unfortunately, some individuals are straying from this path, just as some so-called first-world people do.

Undoubtedly, events like 9/11 and 7/7 have disrupted normal peaceful life and created numerous challenges for good Muslim people. I agree with you. Obviously, such incidents will lead to problems and chaos in the job market and the field of HR. As an HR practitioner, I feel disheartened when I witness such cruel situations.

However, I am an optimist and look forward to a better and prosperous future.

Thanks and regards,

I've posted the same question on another site, and a few Muslims replied and confessed that it does affect them, especially in promotional activities. Being a Muslim is a disadvantage in promotional exercises. Some of them are from Singapore where the superior is a non-Muslim. I've also asked them about evaluations through performance appraisals. They told me that it doesn't work, as they are moved from one department to another and suddenly their reviews are poor.

So, my questions to this forum are:

a) If a person's performance reviews have been consistently good throughout the years, should HR ask the superior why there is a sudden drop in ratings?

b) How do we ensure that the ratings are always based on work performance and not on other factors? In production areas, it may be easy as the number of products produced may determine performance, but what if in areas such as HR itself where job specs include disciplinary issues, conducting interviews, etc.?

It seems like the topic is about whether or not Muslims are being discriminated against. That being said, I think HR should always review why there is a sudden change in performance and reviews, especially if there is no past issue, and speak to the supervisors. Generally speaking, at least in North America (US/Canada), such obvious discrimination can lead to legal action against the company. Therefore, both managers and HR are always trying to stay informed and have a good understanding of this matter.

It almost seems like there is a lot to ensure - whether one is Muslim due to 9/11, African-American facing past discrimination, part of a minority group, or a woman. My point is that if an employee feels they are being judged based on their religion, ethnicity, or gender, then it is HR's role and responsibility to step in. It is also the responsibility of the employee to speak to an HR representative. How can anything be resolved if there is no clear communication?

Cheers!

Rekha

I think it is not discrimination as such. It is more of an aftereffect of 9/11 and 7/7. Just like in the US and Britain where outrage is being shown by throwing stuff at Muslim houses, mosques, etc., this outrage is also translated through job performance appraisals.

How do we, as HR practitioners, need to respond to this situation if an employee comes to us with this problem? We know that once everything cools off, the supervisor is quite fair. However, can we balance being fair to the worker and the supervisor, just monitoring the situation and acting on it later? For example, we could observe the next year's appraisal and compare it to non-Muslim employees' performance reviews.