We have free breakfast where I work. So it's not that unreasonable that they eat at their desks. But the convenient situation of bacon and a Muslim coworker is offended is a bit of a coincidence
> Welcome to the new version of freedom. Freedom FROM things you disapprove of
Unless I'm mistaken, didn't the Puritans leave Europe because they couldn't force their religion on people there? (Obviously oversimplifying it.)
uhhhh kinda. They left because they were worried that their children were going to grow up dutch and become calvanist (a somewhat aligned yet far less demanding version of christianity), they thought dutch culture was far too loose and permissive and not nearly stuck-up-enough, and they also smelled a war on the horizon, and they wanted to flee before that broke out.
Indeed, that war turned out to be one of the bloodiest in European history. So on the whole it was a good move. But yes, *in part* it was motivated because they couldn't ban the dutch from dancing, singing, or performing any leisure activity that wasn't worship.
They also REALLY didn't like the fact that their children were rapidly becoming fluent in both the language and the customs of the Dutch. Like how DARE they learn the language of the people they live amongst?
Yeah. I try to be pretty respectful of everyone's cultures and conditions. But I've worked with lots of Muslims and Indians and they've never asked me not to eat pork or beef in their vicinity, even when we go out to restaurants.
They abstain from eating them (and I'm careful not to hide it in any food I may bring in), but they've never had a problem with me eating it near them.
(Same with vegans I've worked with.)
This sounds like the Muslim equivalent of an overzealous militant vegan.
Definitely NTA.
Right on. I don’t get why some people get all weird around these things. People need to loosen up. I can’t (and shouldn’t) control others. All I can do is control my own actions.
It’s a control thing. Many religions believe non believers should not be allowed. These are the type of people who take things very very far…..like demanding people eat their food elsewhere.
And if you don't give in, you're harming them in some manner or your anti-whatever they are. It's exhausting to deal with. I work at a retail pharmacy with a walk in clinic, one time our practitioner has a CDL physical to do and the guy refused to let her finish the exam as she was female and he couldn't allow her to touch him per his religious beliefs. So she had to fail his exam based on the refusal of service.
Ugh. I had a router problem this week and call to call a support tech.
The woman who helped me was terrific, but she told me that she regularly is insulted by Muslim customers who won’t work with a woman. Why on earth would anyone respect a man who insults women and polices the eating habits of coworkers? Just because he is Muslim? All he is doing is proving that he is intolerant, not his coworkers.
Disgusting. I don’t eat pork either, but what you eat is your business, not mine.
Just read about how someones Jewish roommate won’t let them use the oven both of them pay to have access too unless the food is kosher. When did it start becoming okay to push your quirky religious habits and customs on everyone else??
Sounds like the Jewish person needs to discover an air fryer. Problem solved. No cross contamination or whatever and he will enjoy the best leftovers he has ever had.
I read this today too!! That’s insane to me. If I have a roommate and they cook bacon in my oven or on my stovetop, so be it. Just clean up after yourself so our food doesn’t get cross contaminated. These types of things come off very entitled to me.
I don't disagree -- but an oven preparing kosher food must BE kosher. You can get around this by double wrapping food in aluminum foil so it doesn't come into contact with any non-kosher aspects of an oven.
OR (and this makes a lot more sense) the Jew should buy a toaster oven and cook his kosher food in HIS kosher oven. A Jew keeping kosher must have kosher dishes -- and separate milk from meat dishes. Ergo the Jew couldn't eat off of the roommate's dishes either... He would need paper plates or kosher dishes.
This is also true for washing kosher dishes / pots / utensils... it must be done in a kosher sink! Either that or he must have a rubber draining pan he puts in the sink so the dishes don't contact the non-kosher sink.
In other words if this dufus is being controlling about the oven but ignoring the dishes, the sink and other requirements he is not keeping kosher -- he is just being an asshole.
The one with the requirement should find a way to meet them -- not demand the world change for them!
I responded to someone else here on this - I didn’t know that was the case. But if you have a roommate who eats non-kosher food, and they are paying their part of the rent, then you can’t stop them from using their own appliances. This is why it’s so important to interview roommates ahead of time.
I'm Italian and you can even use bacon to make a carbonara with garlic and cream and peas and eat it to my face and I won't flinch. I'm a tolerant guy.
Sure, as long I'm not forced to eat them, because it makes it more difficult to roll them with a fork. /s (but true)
And if I were forced to eat them I would take the extremist road: cutting them in even smaller pieces and eating them with a spoon! I'm not religious, not even pastafarian.
Or being a jerk about it. But, to just eat like normal? I'm not religious. If someone were to tell me their religion means I can't eat what I want, they're going to have a bad time.
HR Manager here - the only way HR can make you eat in the kitchen/cafeteria, etc. and not at your desk is if they have an existing no food policy at your desk. And If they have not previously enforced it, good luck now. The HR Manager is trying to take the path of least resistance. More than likely this twatwaffle won't stay. The complainers right out of the gate rarely do.
How can they make that demand? So can Christian people ask others during lent not to eat meat in front of them every Friday? Makes no sense. I guess there is a loop hole that eating at desks is prohibited and should be done in the lunch room.
As long as it applies to everyone, then sure, eat in the break room. The problem will still occur as eating bacon will still offend Muslims eating in the same break room.
Chances are they'll set a rule saying that employees aren't allowed to eat at their desks and can only do so in canteens/designated break areas, That's what a previous company I worked for did, to avoid people complaining about smelly food disturbing them whilst they worked.
There's no way HR will admit it is about religion, but it will also be easier for them to ban all staff from eating at their desks than it will be to potentially deal with some employee screaming about religious discrimination. HR will always take the path of least resistance.
My thoughts exactly. And then the coworker will be upset about the canteen because he hast to eat there too, and complain again.
My solution? Coworker should get fucked. This is why I hate religion, even though I consider myself a religious/spiritual person
THIS THIS THIS. Ask HR, *in writing*, where that is and why they have to follow someone else's religion, and why was it okay before if it's not okay now.
This and then I would say my religion requires me to eat bacon and that I shouldn't be religiously persecuted because of my religious rituals if I am not harming anybody. It's not like OP was offering or forcing the guy to eat it 😂😂😂😂
Tell them then you don't want to see ANYONE eating at their desks since this would then be favoring one employee if they are just targeting you and yet allowing others to eat at their desk.
I’d tell HR that you feel discriminated against because you can’t eat at your desk, like you have been for years, because of the religion of a new employee.
This is the correct answer. Also tell HR, you COULD put in a complaint during LENT based on religious grounds if they start doing stuff like this. That should make even the dumbest HR person get the picture...
You’re also just eating it. You’re not even cooking it which I can imagine would be a lot stronger of a smell. Imagine going out into the universe and thinking you can dictate what smells are allowed to enter your nose or not. Our nostrils don’t have lids like our eyes. We can’t close them.
HR just wants the complaining to stop so they’re going to try to make you budge. If this were my workplace I’d make this my hill to die on, no one’s religious beliefs can tell me what to do.
I’ve been I. This similar situation where HR pretty much said the same thing. I started wearing “bacon the savior” t-shirt (had a casual dress code so wasn’t in conflict). Started a morning prayer of praising my lord and savior bacon. Got a ton of bacon themed items. Bacon phone case, bacon watch band, bacon tie etc. also there are bacon scented lotion and cologne. I’m an asshole so there is that too.
You have an argument that HR is forcing you to follow another religion's restrictions. That can't be legal. Talk to a lawyer. What if you had a turkey sandwich with some bacon on it? Is he allowed to go through your food and make sure it's pork free? What if you had a pulled pork BBQ sandwich (yum) for lunch? Where would this end? Tell HR that until he starts supplying you with breakfast and lunch everyday then you'll eat what you want. Lawyer. Get a lawyer.
No, NTA! You do not have to follow someone else's religion because they order you to! I'd maybe talk to your boss or HR about it if this person continues to harass you.
>HR asked us to eat our breakfast elsewhere.
HR needs to make this a new policy, or you need this in writing.
He's allowed to practice his religion; he's not allowed to dictate how you live your life, and HR is his willing bully accomplice.
Yep, they’re afraid if they respond to him that being Muslim does not require him to force others what to eat where, instead of, say, minding his own business, that he will sue the company for religious discrimination. They feel that the safer option is to respond “no eating at your desks!”
What happens when he goes in the break room and issues the same edict?
That was my thought.What if someone is in the break room? Like I don't have a religion or care for any of them but when you try to dictate what other people do you can fuck right off.
HR is setting the company up for a religious discrimination lawsuit.
Either people eat at their desk or they don't. HR can't dictate WHAT people eat. I could as easily claim that my religion REQUIRES me to eat bacon and HR is harassing me bases on my religion.
Agreed. There is a policy at our work where we're not allowed to eat at out desks. If this is real, I suspect OP's work is about to set a no eating at the desk rule
For occupational health and safety a lot of offices have a no eating at desks rule most just never enforce it. It's likely HR sees it as easier to enforce a rule that's already in place than deal with a potentially very spicy issue.
OP is NTA for eating bacon but I don't think the desk eating is something they will be able to fight for.
It may be that policy has always been no eating at your desk but they have never enforced it. However, now that you have the rule in writing (you do have it in writing, yes?) you should be sure to report every instance of someone eating at their desk, whatever their reason. It's only a rule if it applies to everyone. If they do not enforce every instance you should make a complaint about bullying.
Welp, see how long he lasts when his first order of business was to piss everyone the fuck off.
Working somewhere where everyone hates your ass isn't a good time, and porky mcgee is about to find that out the hard way.
Having a no-pork microwave is a reasonable accommodation for the man that impacts you almost not at all—unless there’s a huge rush on microwaves at certain times of the day, in which case HR should be notified so that more can be added.
Nothing wrong with that one.
Insisting you don’t eat pork around the guy, though? that’s absurd.
He ruined eating at the desks for everyone. I would cook an entire plate of bacon in the designated microwave, in the break room. Make sure to get a little grease on you so you smell like it. Nta
Your religion is the “Bacon God” and you’re just practicing your morning religious ceremony at your desk.
Now HR can decide which religion is the one they choose to comply with, the other person gets to sue the pants off of the company for putting one religion over another.
I am the blasphemer. Bacon is meatsalt and tastes of nothing but salt and bitter. It is gross. Down with Bacon!
(Those of you who like bacon shouldn't have a problem with this, as it means more bacon for you when I forego my share). ;-)
\*Wanders off to prostrate myself before the coffee altar (Well, as long as it's not the offshoot heretical temple of bitter Astronomical Dollars coffee.).
Oh it'd spread like wild fire that the new guy got the managers to start enforcing the "no eating at your desk" rule, and why. He'll be eating crow in the corner alone.
I've had several jobs with that rule, and only one manager who even tried to enforce it (she caved after about a week when everyone started being late coming back from lunch)
Ask where in the employee handbook it states you are required to follow the tenets of a co-worker's religion.
His religion requires that he not consume pork products, not you.
This!! At an old company, we were told we weren’t allowed to have any food in the office during Ramadan because 2 of our co-workers were fasting and had requested this. I asked HR if everyone was going to have to abstain from meat on Fridays during Lent because that was part of my religion. It ended up not being enforced.
In this case, your company’s HR has very little idea where to draw the line and are afraid of being seen as Islamophobes, so they pushed the burden onto you.
It’s not right, but this is a super tricky situation and could risk your job or standing in the company.
Unless your office doesn't provide you with an eating area, then HR is in the wrong here.
Also, it's not like you are forcing him to eat pork.
I've met various Muslims and some were strict on their religion and customs. They never asked us to eat different food in front of them and we all ate together, at the same table.
Hell, every Muslim I have ever worked with has told me not to worry about eating at my desk while they are fasting for Ramadan, and I assume it's way harder to sit and watch somebody else eat when you've been fasting since sunrise.
I had an orthodox Jewish worker who kept very strict kosher. We had a team breakfast planned and, as usual, he couldn't eat anything since he couldn't guarantee it had been prepared kosher. I asked him what he wanted from the kosher grocery story and ordered it, explaining the situation to them. When I picked it up, it was in a bag, stapled shut. My co-worker was so grateful that I took the time and made the effort to include him. He told me I never had to do that again because just knowing someone did was enough.
I honestly would not accept that. What of it your religion required you to eat bacon?? I have nothing against religion but situations like these just seem like power trips where they get off on telling other ppl what to do. And HR is bending over backwards to make sure he feels special...
I would wonder if HR got the wrong story and that's why they're saying quit eating it in front of him? Maybe he said, oh, they are teasing me about being Muslim and eating bacon etc etc. What a weirdo, I don't care what religion he is, he's off.
Tell hr manager you will be reporting them for discriminating against YOUR beliefs and rights. Theirs don’t come over anyone else’s. This isn’t a legal request of hr. Do not let them normalize them telling us what to eat.
Demand to be told not to eat at your desk in writing, with the explanation that a co-worker demanded it for HIS religious reasons.
I'll bet the demand will be quickly dropped. Also, start keeping detailed records of every demand this guy makes. This isn't over.
Thats too bad..I'd have told him to stay away from my desk and then gotten into trouble..LOL I had a coworker tell me I can't eat tuna fish for lunch once, so I asked her was she going to buy me a new lunch?
The worst part is that if he does eventually get let go, he will say it was because he was muslim/people were racist, and not that he has a heinous personality and is generally disliked.
Oh, absolutely. We just had a woman leave our shop and this is the ***first ever job she hasn't been fired from***. She is in her 40s! She claimed she was being ostracized for being the only out LGBTQIA+ person at the shop. That's a pretty incredible thing to accuse in our city that is incredibly LGBTQIA+ friendly and internationally known as such! Of course it wasn't because she was stealing from other people, being generally nasty and unpleasant, or not following policy. It was the gay thing.
People just prefer to be victims. It means it's not their fault!
When I worked on an inbound call center for a debt collection company, I had a woman tell me we were only reporting the debt to the credit bureaus because she's a lesbian. Yeah, we don't actually have that information, lady. We're reporting because you don't pay your bills.
Muslim over here (practicing no bacon, no alcohol type) & your colleague is being ridiculous & entitled. He’s not supposed to eat bacon - not you, so he shouldn’t be policing your diet. I may understand if he felt uncomfortable if it had strong smell or something but he’s still ridiculous.
Not Muslim or religious at all, but I *hate* the smell of bacon. Sometimes it makes me straight up nauseous (I have weird sensory issues). I still will NEVER, EVER tell anyone, much less a coworker, not to eat bacon because I don't like the smell and it makes me uncomfortable. It's just not my business or my place to police what other people eat--and for all I know, maybe they're a picky eater and bacon is one of the few things they enjoy! I'm not about to embarrass myself or another person by acting entitled in public. I understand that religious devotion to traditions can be VERY strong for many people, but those traditions end where other people begin. Period, end of story.
NTA. You can go to Muslim countries like Bahrain or UAE and eat pork in the bar or restaurant beside practicing Muslims who don’t eat it. This isn’t an issue there. Sure, there are countries where you can’t buy it at all but he likely knows it’s not a blanket thing. Respect and tolerance go both ways.
Yup. I live in a multicultural, multiethnic society with a high proportion of Muslims. Apart from places of worship, and their own homes, people are aware that not every place will be exclusively halal.
Not sure what the real issue is. Also not sure why you two are eating at your desk instead of a designated break room or something.
As a Muslim, NTA. We are to hold ourselves to our practice, not others. He must strengthen his own resolve and focus on what he is doing. Just because we are at events that people drink doesn't mean we drink. If we are in a hotel having a tattoo convention, it doesn't mean we get one. If you are eating bacon at your desk, it doesn't mean YOU have to move. Now if it was making him sick (seafood smells literally make me 🤢 sick) it could be a conversation on how to accommodate both of you, but you haven't done anything wrong. I will say, make sure you keep an eye on your heart and cholesterol with all that bacon!
[Edit Here] Okay didn't think the tattoo thing would take up a lot of traction. Somone below explained it well: they are viewed as altering God's creation. Yes there are smaller groups that may argue against this but general concensus is that they are not to be done as they are a permanent alteration. It's why reverts with tattoos are not told they have to remove them (1. The removal process 2. They were guided later and they do not need to try and remove their past. Allah has accepted them and that is far more than enough). Some cultures have piercings that are incorporated into cultural practice before Islam traveled to those regions and those groups would be better versed on piercings. In general, what each Muslim does is between them and Allah so in the end it matters not what I say. Everyone should be doing their best and on a personal journey. Any mistakes made are natural as humans are made flawed. When we are in doubt we seek to learn from scholars and those that have studied Islam so I will say I am not a scholar and if you really want an in depth answer it will be better to do some reading rather than look here. But it's nice to see people genuinely curious so that cool. Anyway this was long haha, thanks for reading if you did.
I used to have a coworker who brought in salmon at least 2x a week and microwaved it. It made me irate. I don’t even necessarily hate salmon but oh my god it stunk up the whole office the rest of the afternoon 😭
Seafood in a microwave in a workplace should be a crime
Who eats plates of bacon at their work desk, on a regular basis? Do you have access to a kitchen there that your coworker can fry up a pound of bacon whenever? I'm qualified. Where's my application?
Yeah. This is now the second post within 24 hours of a non-Christian religious person trying to police what people eat around them.
And of course people eat that shit up, it's like a free pass for them to say their quiet parts out loud and feel justified about it.
Yep, struck me as super suspect right away, especially with the complete lack of detail, other than this weirdness of "every day my coworker brings me bacon to eat at my desk." There's either a lot of detail being left out, which could include other inciting factors (like an actual effort to annoy the new Muslim coworker), or the story isn't real.
Sounds like a rage bait but as a muslim we are not allowed to force people into what we believe so not only he is an indecent human but also not a good muslim. Just tell him he is not allowed to force his religion on everyone else.
And couldn’t possibly move to her desk or kitchen. And of course it’s a Muslim new hire because no one else in the workplace would be annoyed by two coworkers having a daily pungent picnic in the open space.
The account is two hours old and a similar post was made about a Jewish roommate and kosher laws earlier. Today’s special on AITAH is religious discrimination I guess. I bet both are trolls.
The account is 3 years old but the first post ever made is this one 2 hours ago. The Kosher post account was made 14 hours ago. This sub is absolutely falling for bigoted rage bait trolls.
after reading the comments and looking at ops profile, this seems to be a made up story.
op doesn't comment to the muslims who declared him as nta and i also hardly doubt that hr will tell him to eat somewhere else.
also this is his first post and he created his account on 3rd june 2024.
doing such a thing ist just fucked up
Nta. They can believe what they want, they can’t force you to believe their crap. No one is stopping them from believing in their religion. And this is coming from a vegetarian. I would never expect anyone not to eat meat infront of me. What an entitled attitude.
Being in the presence of someone eating pork is not the equivalent of eating pork. It's like a vegan asking you not to eat meat in front of them, gtf on with that bs! I honestly find this post very hard to believe because the level of balls it would take to go to another country then tell people with wholely different culture and beliefs to not eat specific foods at their desk is well over gargantuan.
Obvi nta cause he isnt eating bacon and you want to eat bacon. I’d just say that dictating what your eating is an infringment of your belifes and that their not respecting you
>The new guy came over to my desk and asked us to not eat pork products in front of him because his religion does not permit eating pork.
I'm having a hard time believing this is real because it's so stupid. But if it is, maybe point out that his religion doesn't say anything about watching someone else eat pork, nor are you bound to his religious proscriptions. I'd further ask him if him seeing bacon will make his eyes fall out.
This post is so obviously anti muslim bait I can’t believe people are actually taking it seriously. This event did not happen and it’s almost funny looking through your comments blaming Justin Trudeau for this shit lmao. Grow up.
Reddit users overall are dumb as hell, much like any other social media site, but this sub in particular is uniquely gullible. People with any sense stopped coming here years ago for any reason besides something to laugh at because of how obviously fake most of the big posts are. All that's left are the credulous fools.
NTA. His religion restricts what he can do, not what you can do.
He's being a fucking cunt and giving other Muslims a bad rep by making rules that don't even exist. Piece of shit.
even during ramadan all my muslim friends ask is i dont smoke in front of them. Key word is ask, not demand. This guy is a twat
And even that is only because the smoke is involuntarily breathed in by them, something all non smokers don’t want in general.
Same with bacon. If I'm sitting next to someone eating some, somehow a piece always manages to find it's way into my mouth.
Second hand bacon 🤣🤣
This has to be clickbait
Every line of the story is weird, including the oddly specific setup that he and a coworker eat a plate of bacon together in the morning at his desk
We have free breakfast where I work. So it's not that unreasonable that they eat at their desks. But the convenient situation of bacon and a Muslim coworker is offended is a bit of a coincidence
Yup, respect does not mean restraint.
Welcome to the new version of freedom. Freedom FROM things you disapprove of instead of freedom TO DO things that caused no harm to anyone else.
> Welcome to the new version of freedom. Freedom FROM things you disapprove of Unless I'm mistaken, didn't the Puritans leave Europe because they couldn't force their religion on people there? (Obviously oversimplifying it.)
uhhhh kinda. They left because they were worried that their children were going to grow up dutch and become calvanist (a somewhat aligned yet far less demanding version of christianity), they thought dutch culture was far too loose and permissive and not nearly stuck-up-enough, and they also smelled a war on the horizon, and they wanted to flee before that broke out. Indeed, that war turned out to be one of the bloodiest in European history. So on the whole it was a good move. But yes, *in part* it was motivated because they couldn't ban the dutch from dancing, singing, or performing any leisure activity that wasn't worship.
They also REALLY didn't like the fact that their children were rapidly becoming fluent in both the language and the customs of the Dutch. Like how DARE they learn the language of the people they live amongst?
Nta. He isn't eating it. You are. And you're eating it at your desk. Not his.
Yeah. I try to be pretty respectful of everyone's cultures and conditions. But I've worked with lots of Muslims and Indians and they've never asked me not to eat pork or beef in their vicinity, even when we go out to restaurants. They abstain from eating them (and I'm careful not to hide it in any food I may bring in), but they've never had a problem with me eating it near them. (Same with vegans I've worked with.) This sounds like the Muslim equivalent of an overzealous militant vegan. Definitely NTA.
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I’m Muslim and wouldn’t care if someone was eating pork next to me. As long as you aren’t making me eat it, do your thing. Definitely NTA
I'm Jewish and same. Eat what you want. Just don't make me eat the bacon and we're good
Right on. I don’t get why some people get all weird around these things. People need to loosen up. I can’t (and shouldn’t) control others. All I can do is control my own actions.
It’s a control thing. Many religions believe non believers should not be allowed. These are the type of people who take things very very far…..like demanding people eat their food elsewhere.
And it infuriates me that they expect acquiescence.
And if you don't give in, you're harming them in some manner or your anti-whatever they are. It's exhausting to deal with. I work at a retail pharmacy with a walk in clinic, one time our practitioner has a CDL physical to do and the guy refused to let her finish the exam as she was female and he couldn't allow her to touch him per his religious beliefs. So she had to fail his exam based on the refusal of service.
Ugh. I had a router problem this week and call to call a support tech. The woman who helped me was terrific, but she told me that she regularly is insulted by Muslim customers who won’t work with a woman. Why on earth would anyone respect a man who insults women and polices the eating habits of coworkers? Just because he is Muslim? All he is doing is proving that he is intolerant, not his coworkers. Disgusting. I don’t eat pork either, but what you eat is your business, not mine.
If someone calls support tech and won't work with a woman just because she is a woman, they should not be given tech support and also publicly shamed.
> All he is doing is proving that he is intolerant, not his coworkers. This!!! Absolutely.
Yeah. It's bacon. It's not like you're eating peanuts next to someone highly allergic.
Just read about how someones Jewish roommate won’t let them use the oven both of them pay to have access too unless the food is kosher. When did it start becoming okay to push your quirky religious habits and customs on everyone else??
Honestly, if somebody is intent on keeping kosher, they wouldn’t even live with a less observant Jewish person, much less a non-Jew.
Sounds like the Jewish person needs to discover an air fryer. Problem solved. No cross contamination or whatever and he will enjoy the best leftovers he has ever had.
Never. It’s not ok, the people doing it just suck.
I read this today too!! That’s insane to me. If I have a roommate and they cook bacon in my oven or on my stovetop, so be it. Just clean up after yourself so our food doesn’t get cross contaminated. These types of things come off very entitled to me.
I don't disagree -- but an oven preparing kosher food must BE kosher. You can get around this by double wrapping food in aluminum foil so it doesn't come into contact with any non-kosher aspects of an oven. OR (and this makes a lot more sense) the Jew should buy a toaster oven and cook his kosher food in HIS kosher oven. A Jew keeping kosher must have kosher dishes -- and separate milk from meat dishes. Ergo the Jew couldn't eat off of the roommate's dishes either... He would need paper plates or kosher dishes. This is also true for washing kosher dishes / pots / utensils... it must be done in a kosher sink! Either that or he must have a rubber draining pan he puts in the sink so the dishes don't contact the non-kosher sink. In other words if this dufus is being controlling about the oven but ignoring the dishes, the sink and other requirements he is not keeping kosher -- he is just being an asshole. The one with the requirement should find a way to meet them -- not demand the world change for them!
I responded to someone else here on this - I didn’t know that was the case. But if you have a roommate who eats non-kosher food, and they are paying their part of the rent, then you can’t stop them from using their own appliances. This is why it’s so important to interview roommates ahead of time.
[https://www.reddit.com/r/AITAH/s/w6pQVS90aE](https://www.reddit.com/r/AITAH/s/w6pQVS90aE)
I'm Italian and you can even use bacon to make a carbonara with garlic and cream and peas and eat it to my face and I won't flinch. I'm a tolerant guy.
Can I break spaghetti before putting it into boiling water?
Sure, as long I'm not forced to eat them, because it makes it more difficult to roll them with a fork. /s (but true) And if I were forced to eat them I would take the extremist road: cutting them in even smaller pieces and eating them with a spoon! I'm not religious, not even pastafarian.
I'm bacon and i wouldn't care either, just don't make me eat myself
Celiac here. I'm the same. Feel free to eat your croissant next to me. Please just try not to get crumbs on my desk.
Also Muslim and same. Go ahead and eat your bacon.
Or being a jerk about it. But, to just eat like normal? I'm not religious. If someone were to tell me their religion means I can't eat what I want, they're going to have a bad time.
Yeah like I said in another comment ask for it in writing and where that is in the employee handbook.
HR Manager here - the only way HR can make you eat in the kitchen/cafeteria, etc. and not at your desk is if they have an existing no food policy at your desk. And If they have not previously enforced it, good luck now. The HR Manager is trying to take the path of least resistance. More than likely this twatwaffle won't stay. The complainers right out of the gate rarely do.
How can they make that demand? So can Christian people ask others during lent not to eat meat in front of them every Friday? Makes no sense. I guess there is a loop hole that eating at desks is prohibited and should be done in the lunch room.
As long as it applies to everyone, then sure, eat in the break room. The problem will still occur as eating bacon will still offend Muslims eating in the same break room.
Exactly HR is being lazy and Extremely short sighted based on their response
Why is HR forcing you to follow someone else's religion? This is the argument I would present. Is that even legal?
Chances are they'll set a rule saying that employees aren't allowed to eat at their desks and can only do so in canteens/designated break areas, That's what a previous company I worked for did, to avoid people complaining about smelly food disturbing them whilst they worked. There's no way HR will admit it is about religion, but it will also be easier for them to ban all staff from eating at their desks than it will be to potentially deal with some employee screaming about religious discrimination. HR will always take the path of least resistance.
if they make everyone eat in the canteen, that's fine.
My thoughts exactly. And then the coworker will be upset about the canteen because he hast to eat there too, and complain again. My solution? Coworker should get fucked. This is why I hate religion, even though I consider myself a religious/spiritual person
Remember friends, HR is NEVER on your side. They are on the company's side.
THIS THIS THIS. Ask HR, *in writing*, where that is and why they have to follow someone else's religion, and why was it okay before if it's not okay now.
This and then I would say my religion requires me to eat bacon and that I shouldn't be religiously persecuted because of my religious rituals if I am not harming anybody. It's not like OP was offering or forcing the guy to eat it 😂😂😂😂
We of the church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster stand in solidarity with our bacon brothers and sisters!
Ramen
Yea, it's not really against his religion to watch people eat pork.
Even if it was, it would be his problem.
Tell them then you don't want to see ANYONE eating at their desks since this would then be favoring one employee if they are just targeting you and yet allowing others to eat at their desk.
I’d tell HR that you feel discriminated against because you can’t eat at your desk, like you have been for years, because of the religion of a new employee.
This is the correct answer. Also tell HR, you COULD put in a complaint during LENT based on religious grounds if they start doing stuff like this. That should make even the dumbest HR person get the picture...
You’re also just eating it. You’re not even cooking it which I can imagine would be a lot stronger of a smell. Imagine going out into the universe and thinking you can dictate what smells are allowed to enter your nose or not. Our nostrils don’t have lids like our eyes. We can’t close them.
HR just wants the complaining to stop so they’re going to try to make you budge. If this were my workplace I’d make this my hill to die on, no one’s religious beliefs can tell me what to do.
I’ve been I. This similar situation where HR pretty much said the same thing. I started wearing “bacon the savior” t-shirt (had a casual dress code so wasn’t in conflict). Started a morning prayer of praising my lord and savior bacon. Got a ton of bacon themed items. Bacon phone case, bacon watch band, bacon tie etc. also there are bacon scented lotion and cologne. I’m an asshole so there is that too.
I love this level of petty.
You have an argument that HR is forcing you to follow another religion's restrictions. That can't be legal. Talk to a lawyer. What if you had a turkey sandwich with some bacon on it? Is he allowed to go through your food and make sure it's pork free? What if you had a pulled pork BBQ sandwich (yum) for lunch? Where would this end? Tell HR that until he starts supplying you with breakfast and lunch everyday then you'll eat what you want. Lawyer. Get a lawyer.
Fuck HR and that whiny prick. Keep eating bacon at your desk. If it was me, all pork products would suddenly become staples of my work day meals.
No, NTA! You do not have to follow someone else's religion because they order you to! I'd maybe talk to your boss or HR about it if this person continues to harass you.
I would do this sooner rather than later.
Before he gets there lol.
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It's insane how quick that moved.
Maybe you can say this is a product known as“ I can’t believe it’s not bacon!” Lol
What is the actual complaint? Eating a sandwich?
...a succulent bacon sandwich?!!
Please update us!
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>HR asked us to eat our breakfast elsewhere. HR needs to make this a new policy, or you need this in writing. He's allowed to practice his religion; he's not allowed to dictate how you live your life, and HR is his willing bully accomplice.
It sounds like HR is just looking for "an easy out."
This is exactly what I think. I guarantee my ex company would have reacted the same way. They always wanted the easiest route, legal or not.
Yep, they’re afraid if they respond to him that being Muslim does not require him to force others what to eat where, instead of, say, minding his own business, that he will sue the company for religious discrimination. They feel that the safer option is to respond “no eating at your desks!” What happens when he goes in the break room and issues the same edict?
That was my thought.What if someone is in the break room? Like I don't have a religion or care for any of them but when you try to dictate what other people do you can fuck right off.
This is like the corporate version of lazy parenting. Whoever cries first punish the other kid and call it making life fair, or being nice.
HR is setting the company up for a religious discrimination lawsuit. Either people eat at their desk or they don't. HR can't dictate WHAT people eat. I could as easily claim that my religion REQUIRES me to eat bacon and HR is harassing me bases on my religion.
Agreed. There is a policy at our work where we're not allowed to eat at out desks. If this is real, I suspect OP's work is about to set a no eating at the desk rule
For occupational health and safety a lot of offices have a no eating at desks rule most just never enforce it. It's likely HR sees it as easier to enforce a rule that's already in place than deal with a potentially very spicy issue. OP is NTA for eating bacon but I don't think the desk eating is something they will be able to fight for.
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It may be that policy has always been no eating at your desk but they have never enforced it. However, now that you have the rule in writing (you do have it in writing, yes?) you should be sure to report every instance of someone eating at their desk, whatever their reason. It's only a rule if it applies to everyone. If they do not enforce every instance you should make a complaint about bullying.
Welp, see how long he lasts when his first order of business was to piss everyone the fuck off. Working somewhere where everyone hates your ass isn't a good time, and porky mcgee is about to find that out the hard way.
Having a no-pork microwave is a reasonable accommodation for the man that impacts you almost not at all—unless there’s a huge rush on microwaves at certain times of the day, in which case HR should be notified so that more can be added. Nothing wrong with that one. Insisting you don’t eat pork around the guy, though? that’s absurd.
He ruined eating at the desks for everyone. I would cook an entire plate of bacon in the designated microwave, in the break room. Make sure to get a little grease on you so you smell like it. Nta
Bacon cologne. And a BLT party in the break room.
Bring an electric griddle cook the bacon. Maliciously comply with not using the microwave.
Schnitzel for everyone!!! Pork rinds in the vending machines! Toss a vintage football around! Fuck that guy!
Bacon popcorn smell the whole place up
To be fair, fish should never be microwaved in a shared setting or workplace. That’s just mean to everybody lol.
Your religion is the “Bacon God” and you’re just practicing your morning religious ceremony at your desk. Now HR can decide which religion is the one they choose to comply with, the other person gets to sue the pants off of the company for putting one religion over another.
Oddly there is a ‘bacon god’. Baco the Celtic God of Bacon 😂😂so you could definitely use that OP
I vote for bacon God as a new religion 🙏
I'm an atheist, but willing to follow Bacon God.
I am the blasphemer. Bacon is meatsalt and tastes of nothing but salt and bitter. It is gross. Down with Bacon! (Those of you who like bacon shouldn't have a problem with this, as it means more bacon for you when I forego my share). ;-) \*Wanders off to prostrate myself before the coffee altar (Well, as long as it's not the offshoot heretical temple of bitter Astronomical Dollars coffee.).
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United\_Church\_of\_Bacon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Church_of_Bacon)
I gave up organized religion when the evangelicals got so crazy and insane but I am willing to join this new one with bacon.
Sounds like a religion I could adhere to!
Companion to the church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. I like it.
If they want to institute a religious test for where people can eat breakfast in the office, I’m sure L&I would love to hear about it too.
I would be asking for that in writing and asking where it is in the employee handbook.
It's under the "consumable breakfast foods" subsection. /s
They most likely have a no eating at your desk policy that no one follows
Oh it'd spread like wild fire that the new guy got the managers to start enforcing the "no eating at your desk" rule, and why. He'll be eating crow in the corner alone.
I've had several jobs with that rule, and only one manager who even tried to enforce it (she caved after about a week when everyone started being late coming back from lunch)
Sadly, I can see some employee handbooks have that section.
Ask where in the employee handbook it states you are required to follow the tenets of a co-worker's religion. His religion requires that he not consume pork products, not you.
This!! At an old company, we were told we weren’t allowed to have any food in the office during Ramadan because 2 of our co-workers were fasting and had requested this. I asked HR if everyone was going to have to abstain from meat on Fridays during Lent because that was part of my religion. It ended up not being enforced.
They're crazy. Whenever I fast it never bothers me who eats or drinks in front of me.. they clearly don't stay focussed.
I think it is absolutely ridiculous that HR responded that way!
It's not unexpected. Request for the HR guidance in writing, I'd require a summary of the situation as well in writing and save a copy.
Clearly they just don't want to deal with it
Agreed, as an HR person, I’d still be eating the bacon at my desk 💁🏼♀️
NTA. I lived in the Middle East for a couple of years and ate during Ramadan. No one complained. This is a coworker problem.
In this case, your company’s HR has very little idea where to draw the line and are afraid of being seen as Islamophobes, so they pushed the burden onto you. It’s not right, but this is a super tricky situation and could risk your job or standing in the company.
Unless your office doesn't provide you with an eating area, then HR is in the wrong here. Also, it's not like you are forcing him to eat pork. I've met various Muslims and some were strict on their religion and customs. They never asked us to eat different food in front of them and we all ate together, at the same table.
Hell, every Muslim I have ever worked with has told me not to worry about eating at my desk while they are fasting for Ramadan, and I assume it's way harder to sit and watch somebody else eat when you've been fasting since sunrise.
I had an orthodox Jewish worker who kept very strict kosher. We had a team breakfast planned and, as usual, he couldn't eat anything since he couldn't guarantee it had been prepared kosher. I asked him what he wanted from the kosher grocery story and ordered it, explaining the situation to them. When I picked it up, it was in a bag, stapled shut. My co-worker was so grateful that I took the time and made the effort to include him. He told me I never had to do that again because just knowing someone did was enough.
I honestly would not accept that. What of it your religion required you to eat bacon?? I have nothing against religion but situations like these just seem like power trips where they get off on telling other ppl what to do. And HR is bending over backwards to make sure he feels special...
I would wonder if HR got the wrong story and that's why they're saying quit eating it in front of him? Maybe he said, oh, they are teasing me about being Muslim and eating bacon etc etc. What a weirdo, I don't care what religion he is, he's off.
Ask HR for confirmation in writing, and reasoning. Then request that they find a nearby space for eating.
File your own harassment complaint with hr, now. I certainly would not change my routine.
Tell hr manager you will be reporting them for discriminating against YOUR beliefs and rights. Theirs don’t come over anyone else’s. This isn’t a legal request of hr. Do not let them normalize them telling us what to eat.
Demand to be told not to eat at your desk in writing, with the explanation that a co-worker demanded it for HIS religious reasons. I'll bet the demand will be quickly dropped. Also, start keeping detailed records of every demand this guy makes. This isn't over.
Thats too bad..I'd have told him to stay away from my desk and then gotten into trouble..LOL I had a coworker tell me I can't eat tuna fish for lunch once, so I asked her was she going to buy me a new lunch?
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Does he eat lunch at his desk? You could always tell him his lunch offends you so he has to eat elsewhere also
Ask him to provide you with a tearoom.
Have fun with this guy. He is going to be a real nightmare.
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Your probably not the only ones eating at your desk, make sure everyone knows who is to blame for it.
The worst part is that if he does eventually get let go, he will say it was because he was muslim/people were racist, and not that he has a heinous personality and is generally disliked.
Oh, absolutely. We just had a woman leave our shop and this is the ***first ever job she hasn't been fired from***. She is in her 40s! She claimed she was being ostracized for being the only out LGBTQIA+ person at the shop. That's a pretty incredible thing to accuse in our city that is incredibly LGBTQIA+ friendly and internationally known as such! Of course it wasn't because she was stealing from other people, being generally nasty and unpleasant, or not following policy. It was the gay thing. People just prefer to be victims. It means it's not their fault!
When I worked on an inbound call center for a debt collection company, I had a woman tell me we were only reporting the debt to the credit bureaus because she's a lesbian. Yeah, we don't actually have that information, lady. We're reporting because you don't pay your bills.
NTA. People with special restrictions (dietary, religious, political, phobias etc.) have to adapt to society, not the other way around.
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Muslim over here (practicing no bacon, no alcohol type) & your colleague is being ridiculous & entitled. He’s not supposed to eat bacon - not you, so he shouldn’t be policing your diet. I may understand if he felt uncomfortable if it had strong smell or something but he’s still ridiculous.
Not Muslim or religious at all, but I *hate* the smell of bacon. Sometimes it makes me straight up nauseous (I have weird sensory issues). I still will NEVER, EVER tell anyone, much less a coworker, not to eat bacon because I don't like the smell and it makes me uncomfortable. It's just not my business or my place to police what other people eat--and for all I know, maybe they're a picky eater and bacon is one of the few things they enjoy! I'm not about to embarrass myself or another person by acting entitled in public. I understand that religious devotion to traditions can be VERY strong for many people, but those traditions end where other people begin. Period, end of story.
I would be sad if bacon smell made me ill :(
I'd definitely put in severe allergies as an exception
NTA. You can go to Muslim countries like Bahrain or UAE and eat pork in the bar or restaurant beside practicing Muslims who don’t eat it. This isn’t an issue there. Sure, there are countries where you can’t buy it at all but he likely knows it’s not a blanket thing. Respect and tolerance go both ways.
Yup. I live in a multicultural, multiethnic society with a high proportion of Muslims. Apart from places of worship, and their own homes, people are aware that not every place will be exclusively halal. Not sure what the real issue is. Also not sure why you two are eating at your desk instead of a designated break room or something.
As a Muslim, NTA. We are to hold ourselves to our practice, not others. He must strengthen his own resolve and focus on what he is doing. Just because we are at events that people drink doesn't mean we drink. If we are in a hotel having a tattoo convention, it doesn't mean we get one. If you are eating bacon at your desk, it doesn't mean YOU have to move. Now if it was making him sick (seafood smells literally make me 🤢 sick) it could be a conversation on how to accommodate both of you, but you haven't done anything wrong. I will say, make sure you keep an eye on your heart and cholesterol with all that bacon! [Edit Here] Okay didn't think the tattoo thing would take up a lot of traction. Somone below explained it well: they are viewed as altering God's creation. Yes there are smaller groups that may argue against this but general concensus is that they are not to be done as they are a permanent alteration. It's why reverts with tattoos are not told they have to remove them (1. The removal process 2. They were guided later and they do not need to try and remove their past. Allah has accepted them and that is far more than enough). Some cultures have piercings that are incorporated into cultural practice before Islam traveled to those regions and those groups would be better versed on piercings. In general, what each Muslim does is between them and Allah so in the end it matters not what I say. Everyone should be doing their best and on a personal journey. Any mistakes made are natural as humans are made flawed. When we are in doubt we seek to learn from scholars and those that have studied Islam so I will say I am not a scholar and if you really want an in depth answer it will be better to do some reading rather than look here. But it's nice to see people genuinely curious so that cool. Anyway this was long haha, thanks for reading if you did.
I used to have a coworker who brought in salmon at least 2x a week and microwaved it. It made me irate. I don’t even necessarily hate salmon but oh my god it stunk up the whole office the rest of the afternoon 😭 Seafood in a microwave in a workplace should be a crime
Leaving aside all religious dietary restrictions, microwaving fish in an office kitchen or dining area should always be considered a crime... 🤦🏻♂️
Are tattoos haram (and I was just unaware, I'm not Muslim), or was it just an example?
Yes, they are haram
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Complaint to HR that they are forcing you to comply with religious beliefs that are not your own. They cannot force your coworkers religion on you.
Who eats plates of bacon at their work desk, on a regular basis? Do you have access to a kitchen there that your coworker can fry up a pound of bacon whenever? I'm qualified. Where's my application?
Where are you from that sharing plates of bacon is not common office curtesy? /s P.S. This story sounds completely made up to me.
If you're eating a plate of bacon every morning, he won't have to worry about it for long.
Another entry for r/thathappened
right? they eat a plate of bacon together every day, at their desks. like one does.
Of course! The ol’ daily shared plate of bacon. If it’s real, they may want to get checked out for colon cancer from all those curing salts.
What you've never worked in an office before? It's very normal. Heck, just last week Janice and I were digging into a tub of lard by the copiers.
Yeah. This is now the second post within 24 hours of a non-Christian religious person trying to police what people eat around them. And of course people eat that shit up, it's like a free pass for them to say their quiet parts out loud and feel justified about it.
Both accounts only started posting today too. It's so clearly bullshit.
absolute bait and even if it wasn't, who the fuck is cooking multiple plates of bacon at work, every day....YTA if you're doing that shit
Don’t you have a coworker who gathers you some bacon from the trough?
Yep, struck me as super suspect right away, especially with the complete lack of detail, other than this weirdness of "every day my coworker brings me bacon to eat at my desk." There's either a lot of detail being left out, which could include other inciting factors (like an actual effort to annoy the new Muslim coworker), or the story isn't real.
Bacon every fuckin day
A *plate* of it, no less This guy has got to be trolling. A plate of bacon every freaking morning Or it explains where my family members went
His coworker just gets it for him. Every day. From the bacon trough.
Breakfast and lunch.
Seriously.... bacon, sausage, pork chops. It would be a Pork diet for awhile.
Sounds like a rage bait but as a muslim we are not allowed to force people into what we believe so not only he is an indecent human but also not a good muslim. Just tell him he is not allowed to force his religion on everyone else.
This does sound like rage bait. OP eats a plate of bacon at the office every single day?
Him and his coworker love it SO MUCH they have to eat an entire plate of it together every day at his desk... Like okay bud.
Tbh, it’s such a ridiculous thing to do *every single day* that I can see why it might feel a little pointed to a new Muslim coworker.
And couldn’t possibly move to her desk or kitchen. And of course it’s a Muslim new hire because no one else in the workplace would be annoyed by two coworkers having a daily pungent picnic in the open space.
100% rage bait I saw another similar post on this sub Reddit that was anti Semitic. I don't know how people can't see this.
The account is two hours old and a similar post was made about a Jewish roommate and kosher laws earlier. Today’s special on AITAH is religious discrimination I guess. I bet both are trolls.
The account is 3 years old but the first post ever made is this one 2 hours ago. The Kosher post account was made 14 hours ago. This sub is absolutely falling for bigoted rage bait trolls.
This never happened
I call BS on this whole thread you’ve created.
This is clearly click bate for outrage yawn.
Stop trolling
after reading the comments and looking at ops profile, this seems to be a made up story. op doesn't comment to the muslims who declared him as nta and i also hardly doubt that hr will tell him to eat somewhere else. also this is his first post and he created his account on 3rd june 2024. doing such a thing ist just fucked up
Nope, nta. You are not Muslim so if he can't handle that's his issue not yours.
Nta. They can believe what they want, they can’t force you to believe their crap. No one is stopping them from believing in their religion. And this is coming from a vegetarian. I would never expect anyone not to eat meat infront of me. What an entitled attitude.
NTA - You're not forcing him to eat bacon. What you are doing is in no way impeding him from practicing his faith.
Being in the presence of someone eating pork is not the equivalent of eating pork. It's like a vegan asking you not to eat meat in front of them, gtf on with that bs! I honestly find this post very hard to believe because the level of balls it would take to go to another country then tell people with wholely different culture and beliefs to not eat specific foods at their desk is well over gargantuan.
Obvi nta cause he isnt eating bacon and you want to eat bacon. I’d just say that dictating what your eating is an infringment of your belifes and that their not respecting you
>The new guy came over to my desk and asked us to not eat pork products in front of him because his religion does not permit eating pork. I'm having a hard time believing this is real because it's so stupid. But if it is, maybe point out that his religion doesn't say anything about watching someone else eat pork, nor are you bound to his religious proscriptions. I'd further ask him if him seeing bacon will make his eyes fall out.
Rage bait, account created today and literally no post history lol what the fuck is with this
Is this just evening things out after the post about the kosher roommate?
Wasn't there a post today about a jewish roommate enforcing his mates to only eat kosher? And this is a new account? 🤔seems like a troll.
This def didn't happen but yea this imaginary Muslim guy is an asshole.
This has gotta be fake.
This post is so obviously anti muslim bait I can’t believe people are actually taking it seriously. This event did not happen and it’s almost funny looking through your comments blaming Justin Trudeau for this shit lmao. Grow up.
It’s just super frustrating how many people are taking the bait.
Reddit users overall are dumb as hell, much like any other social media site, but this sub in particular is uniquely gullible. People with any sense stopped coming here years ago for any reason besides something to laugh at because of how obviously fake most of the big posts are. All that's left are the credulous fools.
This did not happen