Muslim Officer Sues New York Police Dept. Over No-Beard Policy - Polidicks

[QUOTE=Ltp0wer;50574627]You can not get a reliable seal on a respirator with a beard. [IMG_thumb]http://multimedia.3m.com/mws/media/843188E/3mtm-half-facepiece-reusable-respirator-6300.jpg[/img_thumb] What if they just let him wear his beard? Then he encounters a situation in the line of duty where he needs to wear a respirator, doesn't get a proper seal, and gets killed or injured because of it. The department could be sued by the family for not enforcing OSHA regulations and there would be OSHA fines on top of it. They didn't fire him, they suspended him. If his beard is that important to him, he should understand not being able to work if it makes him a liability.[/QUOTE] Not only that, but as a police officer, other lives depend on him being able to do his job as well.

It's the same way in the military. The only exceptions are for medical conditions (but even then you can only let it grow out a certain length). Religious exceptions are only generally granted to officers in the Chaplains Corps, and if not, waivers are given on a highly conditional and case by case basis.

[QUOTE=Ltp0wer;50574627]You can not get a reliable seal on a respirator with a beard. [IMG_thumb]http://multimedia.3m.com/mws/media/843188E/3mtm-half-facepiece-reusable-respirator-6300.jpg[/img_thumb] What if they just let him wear his beard? Then he encounters a situation in the line of duty where he needs to wear a respirator, doesn't get a proper seal, and gets killed or injured because of it. The department could be sued by the family for not enforcing OSHA regulations and there would be OSHA fines on top of it. They didn't fire him, they suspended him. If his beard is that important to him, he should understand not being able to work if it makes him a liability.[/QUOTE] ex-fuckin-ctly as I also have a beard and a couple masks myself, its not if the beard can fit ( although that is a factor) its that even though the hairs can be tiny, it still will not allow the perfect seal that is needed.

Religious freedom means you get to [B]believe[/B] what you want, not [B]do[/B] what you want. It should never supersede existing rules or else the rules become irrelevant.

[QUOTE=Rainboo;50574013]I've always thought that beards were more of a traditional thing than a religious thing as with burqas. Only a handful of the Muslims I know actually wear beards. It's not really necessitated by the religion IIRC. [editline]dsa [/editline] Yep, did a quick search to confirm. Beards were apparently needed during the time of muhammad in order for the muslims(a far smaller minority back then) to distinguish themselves from non-muslims in the middle east. But at present it is not necessary and it is actually preferable to trim them for the sake of hygiene. Middle eastern people just traditionally put it on as a show of respect to muhammad by following after his appearance. So yeah this is more about tradition than it is about islam read above not really a religious thing though since it's perfectly fine for a muslim not to wear a beard[/QUOTE] This one I agree. Beards are NOT compulsory in Islam but is a mere status in Arab culture.

[QUOTE=BCell;50585249]This one I agree. Beards are NOT compulsory in Islam but is a mere status in Arab culture.[/QUOTE] I would love to see how this guy responded to someone pointing this out.