Greeley, Colorado Christian Zionist Group Protest Somali-Imposed Sharia in their Community
by Jerry Gordon (August 2009)
2005 and 2006.
Greeley, Colorado, as Lawrence Wright, Pulitzer Prize winning author of
So it is ironic that the legacy of Qutb has returned to Greeley in the form of Somali immigrant workers at the JBS Swift & Company meat packing plant there. Somalis are employed in a chain of meat packing plants that stretches across the Front Range and includes heartland communities in Fort Morgan, Colorado and Grand Island and Lexington in Western Nebraska. Major meat packing employers include JBS Swift & Company, Cargill and Tyson Foods.
The National Center for Counterterrorism in
After one year, green cards are provided for employment and ultimately US citizenship is guaranteed.
Somalis have been the most conflict-prone of refugee groups admitted under these federally-sponsored programs. There is in Australia. A few of these would-be shaheeds have been murdered in Somalia by the very group they sought to join, Al-Shabaab.
Federal prosecutors in Minneapolis have been
The Greeley protest has been launched because of evidence that Somali workers endeavored to impose Sharia compliance on their workplace at JBS Swift & Company. Their activities have disrupted relations with non-Muslim, largely Hispanic employees and supervisors, and threaten disruption in the community. These Somali worker demands have been aided by so-called community organizers and labor union groups. The federal and state refugee resettlement programs have bolstered Somali indifference to assimilation through the establishment of taxpayer-funded ethnic community-based organizations.
Our colleague, Ann Corcoran of the of
It all started with the disruptions caused by firings of Somali workers at the JBS Swift & Company Greeley plant during Ramadan in September, 2008 culminating with filings under the US civil rights law in June of this year. Here is the background.
Greeley Tribune:
A week-long dispute between JBS Swift & Co. and hundreds of Muslim workers seeking Ramadan prayer accommodations flared into firings of about 100 workers Wednesday afternoon.
Some said they will take legal action against the company, and a spokesman for United Food Commercial Workers Local 7, which represents production workers at Swift, said the union will file a grievance for any worker who wants his or her job back.
The Muslim workers said JBS Swift officials agreed to the request and would begin it later in the week. They said when they left for breaks around 7:30 p.m. Friday supervisors told them to stay on their lines.
They said bathrooms were locked to them and drinking fountains shut off. They walked off the job, being told they were suspended.
About 100 employees, some of whom were supposed to be working, protested company officials accommodating Muslims by moving their break time to accommodate those fasting for Ramadan, a Muslim holy month. The company allowed Muslim workers to take their breaks about an hour earlier than normal to break their fasts.
The peaceful crowd milled about behind the plant gates signifying its frustration.
Castillo, who is white, said every race was represented in the protest with the exception of Somalis. Castillo said employees are frustrated by what they feel is a double standard when it comes to other races and Somalis.
Note this from an RRW post:
Complaints have been filed with state officials and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, said Steve Chavez, director of the Colorado Civil Rights Division.
Chavez met with Somalis in Greeley last week. He said federal officials are taking the lead on the investigation.
EEOC officials declined to comment.
Concerns surfaced last year after JBS managers refused to let late-shift Somalis pray at sunset during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. Workers walked off the job, and more than 100 were fired. Somali workers have since claimed ongoing issues with their Latino supervisors, Chavez said.
“They believe they were treated differently because they were Somalis,” he said.
JBS spokesman Chandler Keys said the company has attempted to accommodate religious practices by installing foot washes in locker rooms for foot-cleansing prior to prayer and bidet-type spray devices on toilets to assist with cleansing after using the rest room.
Gordon: Would you provide us with some background on your group in Greeley, Colorado?
Gale: We are more than 50 Patriotic Christian Zionists. We consider ourselves versed in Zionism. We make annual trips to Jerusalem and the West Bank. We have frequent Orthodox Jewish guest speakers here in Greeley from Jerusalem.
Gordon: What are your group’s concerns about the Somalis in Greeley?
Gale: We are concerned about Islamic Sharia Law coming to Greeley. We oppose all forms of Sharia in the US.
Gale: It precedes the onset of Ramadan that begins this year on August 21st. The union and the management at the JBS Swift& Company plant in Greeley are trying to decide what to do about special prayer times during Ramadan.
Gordon: Do you have the requisite permits for this protest and who else might be joining?
Gale: We have a City of Greeley assembly permit from the Greeley Police Department. Most attendees at the protest will probably be from our group. However, other churches and organizations have been notified.
Gordon: What other issues has your group protested in the past?
Gale: We have protested the Presbyterian USA Sabeel conference in Denver in 2005, the Gush Katif Gaza Disengagement, the MILA – Denver University pro-Palestinian event in 2006, and we have attended several other pro-Israel rallies including those at the State Capitol in Denver.
Gordon: When did Somalis first become employed by JBS Swift & Company?
Gale: About two years ago.
Gale: The Somalis appear to be increasing. We estimate there are now about 1,000 Somalis in Greeley, a city of about 98,000. To our knowledge there is only one Somali-owned shop catering to Somalis in the community. There is a Somali community center that we understand gives Somali emigrants English language lessons.
Gordon: How many Somalis are employed there currently?
Gale: Approximately 400
Gordon: How diverse is the JBS Swift & Company work force at the Greeley plant?
Gale: The plant work force is mostly Hispanic.
Gordon: Have there been any reports of problems between the Somali and non-Somalis at the Greeley JBS Swift & Company plant?
Gale: Yes, last year at Ramadan.
Gordon: To your knowledge what happened at JBS Swift & Company last year during Ramadan?
Gale: Last year at Ramadan the police were called in because of violence between the Somalis and the non-Somalis at the plant. The Hispanics accused the Somalis of taking over the plant.
Gale: No, most people that I talk with don’t have a clue as to what is going on.
Gordon: To your knowledge who may be supporting the Somali community intent on enforcing Sharia at the JBS Swift & Company plant?
Gale: Possibly Lutheran Family Services.
Gordon: Were you aware of the irony that Al Qaeda got its start in Greeley?
Gale: Yes, that is a dark side to the history of the town when an Egyptian exchange student Sayyid Qutb came here around the late 1940’s to attend what is now the University of Northern Colorado. Amazing that from his dislike of American society sprang the roots of Al Qaeda.
Gordon: What do you hope will be the outcome of Friday’s protest in Greeley?
Gale: We hope to raise awareness of the issues concerning Sharia with people here in Northern Colorado and perhaps all over the US.
We want to let the Moslems know that the people here will not tolerate Sharia.
We want to let the non-Moslems at JBS Swift & Company know that they are not alone in their concern about Sharia at the plant.
We want to let JBS Swift & Company know that the people here do not support special rules for Moslems.
We want to let CAIR know that people in the US will stand up to them.
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