A photo of a billboard for ABC Mall that Twitter users were reposting Thursday, after a pop-up shop in the Achrafieh location closed down after the mall allegedly asked it to dismiss one of its employees because she wore a hijab to work. (Credit: @sarahibrr/Twitter)
BEIRUT — A group of lawyers submitted a report Monday to the Public Prosecution in Beirut requesting that action be taken against an unnamed mall in the Achrafieh area for violating public and religious freedoms by stopping a veiled woman from continuing her work, the state-run National News Agency reported.
Here’s what we know:
• According to the NNA, the lawyers asked the public prosecution to investigate and arrest those it finds to be “actor, instigator or accomplice” in the case before referring them to the judiciary responsible for prosecuting crimes that violate the constitution and public and religious freedoms.
• Speaking to L’Orient Today, Abdul Aziz Juma, one of the lawyers who submitted the request, explained that the mall is not named in the report to avoid issues of libel. However, the lawyers’ request comes days after a social media furore broke out over allegations that ABC mall in Achrafieh asked the pop-up store Full House, which was operating on its premises, to dismiss an employee who wore a hijab to work. Full House recounted the incident on social media, saying that it opted to shut down its store rather than dismiss its staff member.
• Responding to a direct message from another social media user regarding the incident, ABC defended itself as “a non-sectarian entity that welcomes and respects all religions at the mall!” However, the mall also acknowledged the existence of a ban on religious attire, writing: “The ban doesn't discriminate against any religion and our policy accepts all tenants regardless of their religious beliefs. However, our internal policy, which forbids all religious public displays and symbolic items/accessories, is communicated very clearly and is accepted by all ABC employees, tenants and pop-up shops.”