Brussels: Muslim Council Worker Sacked for Refusing to Shake Hands with Female Supervisor

A Belgian convert to Islam, employed by the City Council of Brussels, was sacked because he refused to shake hands with his supervising municipal magistrate, Karine Lalieux (PS), the newspapers Sudpresse and Le Soir reported on Monday.

The municipal magistrate in charge of town council staff, Philippe Close (PS), a explained that the former employee of the Brussels museums refused to shake hands with Karine Lalieux “claiming that his religion prohibited him from touching women”.

The man was then summoned to a meeting, an inquiry was conducted and the employee repeated that he would continue to act in that way.

“In the town council administration, we have a duty of neutrality and the staff must exhibit courtesy,” he continued, adding that “in these conditions, our judgement was that his work with the town council could not continue”.

The town council then made a decision, behind closed doors on 29 April, to dismiss him.

The deputy director of the Centre for Equality of Opportunities and the Struggle Against racism, questioned by the newspapers, expressed the view that Brussels City Council had taken the right decision.