-Salvete;
here it is, kindly forwarded by a fellow cultor in Lusitania--
, "Lusitano-Romano" <LUSO_ROMANO@...> wrote:
Here's an article that is of the interest of all those who strive to
restablish the cult of the European Ancient Deities:
***
From: Robin Jackson
(Information Officer,
Odinist Fellowship)
Dear Colleague,
You will be interested in this ground-breaking judicial decision,
giving legal recognition to the Odinist religion in English law, as
more fully detailed in the attached Round Robin. For the first time
ever, a judicial declaration has stipulated that a pagan religion,
namely Odinism, is to be accorded recognition, as a religion, for
legal purposes. The legal precedent, established by this case, will
help to protect the rights, not only of Odinists, but of all pagans,
in the workplace. The Odinist Fellowship is proud of having achieved
this breakthrough for the wider pagan community.
Thanks be to the gods and goddesses!
7 April 2006
Round Robin 2006 / 2 - WE'VE WON!
Dear Fellow Odinists,
Today I have received some good news, which I have been waiting for
with anticipation. I have held up this issue of this Round Robin, so
as to make the announcement without delay. It concerns the tribunal
case of an Odinist, sacked by his employer for expressing his
religious faith in the workplace. The case has enormous implications
for all pagans, especially as a legal judgment had to be reached as
to whether Odinism, and by implication other pagan religions, should
be accorded recognition under anti-discrimination legislation. We
are
delighted, therefore, to be able to declare the result, which our
barrister summed up so succinctly and simply with the words, "We've
won!"
The case of Royal Mail Group PLC versus Donald Holden, which was
heard in the Manchester Industrial Tribunal on 9 and 10 March,
pitted
a large, wealthy corporation, with a multi-million pound turnover,
against a sole individual, Donald Holden, whose only resources were
his honest integrity and his dogged determination to stand up for
his
rights. Donald is a member of the Odinist Fellowship, and we were
able to put him in touch with a first-class barrister, Adrian
Davies,
an observer member of the Fellowship, who, I have to say, made
mincemeat of the Royal Mail's witnesses in court. I, myself, was
present on both days of the two-day hearing, and presented evidence
as a witness on Donald's behalf.
Whilst listening to the tribunal proceedings, I could not help
thinking of Franz Kafka's disturbing, German-language novel, "The
Trial", in which the hero gets embroiled in a surreal nightmare of
paranoia-inducing, legal proceedings and insane bureaucracy. But by
comparison with Kafka's narrative, it is the Holden case, which
reads
like far-fetched, surrealist fiction. Yet, sadly, the sorry society,
in which we live, produces such travesties week in, week out.
What are the facts of this case? Many of you will be surprised, as I
was, to learn that, increasingly, employers with a large proportion
of Muslim staff are being obliged to set aside rooms in the
workplace
for Muslim prayers, and to allow their employees to take time away
from their duties to engage in these prayers. At the Mail Centre
where Donald worked, there was just such a room, which was
designated
as a "Multicultural Room". That is important, because never, at any
time, did the Royal Mail claim that the Room was solely for Muslim
use, or that non-Muslims might not use it for their own purposes.
And the simple point, that Donald was evidently trying to make is
that he too, as an Odinist, and as a non-Muslim, had the right of
access to the facilities, which, in theory, the management had set
aside for all staff, but which, in practice, were being used as an
exclusive Muslim Club Room. Donald had the audacity to enter the
Room, as if he had an equal right to it as any other employee, in
order to spend a few moments in silent prayer; and just as the
Muslim
employees used the Room to store their Korans and prayer calendars,
Donald, himself, presumed to have the right to leave his sheets of
paper, containing the text of our introductory booklet, "All About
Odinism", downloaded from the internet, and some images of Odin, in
the Room, on a couple of plastic chairs placed next to a sink.
One item of evidence, which I have seen, is a book used to sign in
and out for the key to this Multicultural Room. Donald's visits to
the Room were always of short duration, and mainly took place on a
Saturday, when the Mail Centre was almost empty, and when his
security duties obliged him to patrol the building to check all was
in order. I was able to see for myself, that certain names and
signatures, evidently belonging to Muslim employees, recurred time
and time again in the signing-in book, sometimes three or four times
in a single shift, and that the duration of their stay was often
half
an hour, or more. Some would call this "skiving". It is true that
pious Muslims are obliged to pray five times a day, and those times
are usually considered to be dawn, morning, noon, evening and
nightfall. So it seems remarkable that some of the Muslim employees
were trying to fit them all into one shift. But the Royal Mail's
managers weren't interested in that! They were more interested in
what Donald was getting up to in the Muslim Club Room – sorry,
Multicultural Room!
The man was obviously threatening the cosy arrangement between
management, unions and Muslim leaders, that prevailed at the Mail
Centre – and so he had to be stopped! An anonymous complaint was
made – this goes back to October 2004 – to the effect that a muddy
footprint had been left on the carpet of the Multicultural Room.
What
could this mean? There could only be one possible interpretation:
quite clearly, the culprit had intended it as an attack on the
Muslim
religion. And not only was it, self-evidently, an anti-Muslim
footprint, but on closer examination it became obvious that it must
have been made by an anti-Islamic boot; and, no doubt, that anti-
Islamic boot had been wielded by an Islamophobic foot. And who else
could that Islamophobic foot belong to? The principal suspect had to
be Donald Holden, of course!
What could any reasonable manager do in such circumstances?
Obviously, there was only one solution: set up covert spy cameras in
the Multicultural Room to trap the culprit, as he goes about
creating
criminal damage! So, for five months, from October 2004 to February
2005, the managers video-recorded Donald to see if he was causing
deliberate damage in the Room. Surprise, surprise! – the outcome of
this five-month surveillance operation – which, no doubt, cost
thousands of pounds to undertake – was that not a single piece of
evidence was uncovered, implicating Donald in damage of any sort.
Nor, indeed, were any more muddy footprints discovered.
One of the curious features of the Holden case is that no one has
ever managed to discover who actually muddied the carpet! Indeed, as
the hearing progressed, it became increasingly doubtful whether
anyone had actually seen any muddy footprint on the carpet, in the
first place. None of the Royal Mail's managers, neither the
investigating officer, nor Donald's line manager, nor the external
appeals officer, admitted to having actually seen any footprint at
all. And the only evidence, offered in support of its existence, was
two anonymised statements, purportedly made by Muslim members of
staff. But since these two statements were anonymous, and since
those
responsible for making them did not appear in court, and could not
therefore be cross-examined, I began to find myself doubting their
existence too. Had there ever been a muddy footprint? Did the
affronted Muslims really exist? Was the footprint really anti-
Islamic? Or was it just an imaginary, anti-Muslim, muddy footprint?
The truth may never be known for certain, but some might be inclined
to call it a "set-up".
Now, of course, Donald was not aware that he was being spied on over
a period of five months, and he was on his own whenever he went into
the Multicultural Room. So, if he had had a mind to tear up a few
Korans, scrawl anti-Muslim slogans on the walls, or leave behind
defamatory cartoons of Mohammed, he could have done so without
apparent risk of detection. But Donald had absolutely no intention
of
doing anything against the Islamic religion; he was simply intent on
doing something for the Odinist faith, by staking his claim, as an
Odinist, to a share in the use of that small part of his workplace –
to establish his right of way, so to speak. Far from attempting
anything suspicious, he dutifully signed in and out in the book for
the key to the Multicultural Room, and simply went there to spend a
few minutes on his own, as the video-recordings clearly showed.
So, after five months of achieving nothing, what were the managers
at
the Mail Centre supposed to do? They realised that a charge of
criminal damage could never be made to stick. But the matter could
not be allowed to rest there, could it? No, it could not, for the
video evidence gathered proved that Donald had been repeatedly
leaving his religious literature in the Room on some plastic chairs
near a sink. Doubtless, in some societies in the world today, that
would be sufficient grounds for the culprit to be taken out, and
summarily executed. However, as we, in this country, have not yet
got
around to introducing summary executions for insulting Islam, Donald
was called in to be interviewed by an investigating officer, – this
was on 23 February 2005, – subjected to a gruelling inquisition, and
summarily suspended from work on the grounds of "religiously
aggravated harassment directed against the Muslim faith". Donald was
never to do a day's work for the Royal Mail again.
The weakness of the Royal Mail's case against Donald, which became
only too apparent during the course of the tribunal hearing,
especially when our excellent barrister got the opportunity of
grilling – and then frying and roasting – the Royal Mail's managers
in cross-examination, is that, at each stage of the disciplinary
proceedings against Donald, the definition of what action was deemed
to constitute the "religiously aggravated harassment" altered. No
two
managers could exactly agree on what it was that Donald had done,
which deserved to be called "harassment", but they all agreed that
he
was guilty of it, nonetheless.
The investigating officer, who suspended Donald in February 2005,
took the line that it was the religious literature, left by Donald
in
the Room, that was offensive to Muslims. This officer, in his
interview with Donald, derided and belittled Donald's Odinist faith,
trying to make him admit that he was not a true believer, and then
asserting that Odinism was not a real religion at all. To support
this, he had obtained a written statement from one of the Royal
Mail's legal officers, stating: "We do not believe that Odinism
could
ever be recognised as a religion in a democratic society." The
investigating officer, who had done some cursory research on the
internet, quizzed Donald about aspects of the religion, and whenever
Donald failed to give a ready answer, then tried to make it appear
as
if he was insincere in his religious persuasion. He described the
literature Donald had left in the Room, i.e. the text of our "All
About Odinism" booklet, as "offensive", and he called the pictures
of
Odin, also left there, "disturbing" and "alarming". When asked what
he had been doing in the Room, Donald answered that he had been
praying, though he had obviously not been kneeling or kow-towing
while doing so, but this explanation was treated with derision.
Despite a considerable amount of pressure put on him to admit that
he
was not truly an Odinist believer, or that Odinism is not a genuine
religion, or that he was not really praying, Donald remained utterly
steadfast, and refused to give in to any of these impudent and
insulting assertions. The result was that Donald was summarily
suspended from work, on full pay, pending further disciplinary
investigations.
I must also add, that this investigating officer admitted, in
writing, that he was responsible for confiscating Donald's papers,
including the two images of Allfather Odin – papers, which were,
after all, Donald's private property – and then destroying them! Why
did he have to do that? I made it clear to the tribunal, in my
submissions, that this spiteful, sacrilegious act would cause a
scandal among all true Odinists.
It was at this time, that Donald first contacted me. I have to admit
that, initially, I could hardly believe that I was hearing the whole
story, and so I insisted on ascertaining the facts, and seeing the
supporting documentation, myself. In all the two dozen years, in
which I have worked for the Odinist movement, I had never
encountered
a genuine case of religious discrimination in the workplace. So I
was
astonished to do so now. At Donald's request, I wrote, in my
capacity
as Director of the Odinist Fellowship, to the Chairman of the Royal
Mail Group, Mr Alan Leighton, pointing out to him that he must be
aware, even if some of his subordinates were not, that it is illegal
to discriminate on grounds of religion in matters of employment, and
has been ever since the introduction of the Employment Equality
(Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003. I asked him to reconsider his
managers' ill-advised decision, so as to prevent the matter from
coming to court.
However, the case was then passed on, from the investigating
officer,
to Donald's own line manager. Perhaps because of my letter to Mr
Leighton, – who knows? – Donald's manager professed himself to be
unconcerned by the content of the literature left in the Room. He
had
looked at the investigation afresh, and it was not the Odinist
literature or images that disturbed him, and which he deemed to
constitute "religiously aggravated harassment". No, it was the fact,
of which there was undoubted video evidence, that Donald had walked
on the carpet! – and that he had done so without taking his shoes
off! – although his shoes must have been clean, since he had not
left
any muddy footprints! Walking on the carpet in the Multicultural
Room, while wearing shoes, was against the rules. More seriously, it
definitely – and without the shadow of a doubt –
constituted "religiously aggravated harassment". What is more, since
this action had been repeated time after time, Donald Holden was
clearly a serial carpet-walker, and totally unfit to remain in the
Royal Mail's employ. "Religiously aggravated harassment" is a
criminal offence, and the manager had seriously considered reporting
the matter to the police. He had no choice, therefore, but to decide
on a summary dismissal. A man, who had had nearly thirty-three
years'
unblemished service in the Royal Mail, was to lose his livelihood
and
his pension rights – and all because he walked on the carpet!
Welcome
to the joys of diversity in Multicultural Britain!
Donald appealed against his dismissal. The external appeals officer
confirmed the decision to dismiss, but the grounds of dismissal this
time were not because of the supposedly offensive action of leaving
religious literature in the Multicultural Room, nor because of the
harassment implicit in walking on the carpet, but because – oh, it
gets funnier by the minute – because he moved the plastic chairs!
The
appeals officer stated, that she might not have taken such a dim
view
of Donald Holden's transgression, if it had not been for the fact
that the video evidence showed him unstacking the two plastic chairs
at the rear of the room, and placing one of them near the sink,
where
the Muslims used to wash before prayers. The video film showed, that
he did this repeatedly on many of the occasions, when he entered the
Multicultural Room. Indeed, Donald admitted having done so, and that
he had placed his images on the chair, so as to have a better view
of
them. The appeals officer therefore, naturally, concluded that it
was
a case of harassment. Moreover, it was repeated and deliberate
harassment, and therefore "religiously aggravated harassment". As
such, it was just about the most serious crime in the book. The
decision to dismiss was confirmed.
Fortunately, not everyone in the world has gone stark, raving mad.
The three Panel Members of the Manchester Industrial Tribunal, after
hearing all the evidence in the case, formed the judgment that
Donald
Holden had been unfairly dismissed, and, although they cannot order
his reinstatement, they can order the Royal Mail to pay a
substantial
package of compensation. The pay-out is likely to run to six
figures.
And rightly so! He has lost his job, his overtime opportunities, and
his retirement prospects. And I know, that the stress of a long-
drawn
out case has taken its toll on him and on his family. Fortunately,
Donald has found alternative employment. And perhaps it will turn
out
to be a blessing in disguise, as his conditions of work, alongside
such managers, could hardly have been congenial. I am sure all our
members will join me in wishing him and his family all the very best
for the future – and likewise in expressing our appreciation to his
dedicated legal team!
Let us not forget, however, that thanks are also due elsewhere. We
have prayed to the gods, especially to Forseti, the god who presides
over cases of law to ensure justice is achieved. And we have asked
others to join with our prayers, and I am assured that they have
done
so too. Three weeks ago, during a rally of Northern members, held on
the occasion of the Odinist Easter at Grindleford, in Derbyshire, we
offered a sacrifice for this particular intention. The sacrifice of
the Cup of Remembrance is magically most effective. The gods heard
our pleas, and worked through us to bring victory in a just cause.
Odinism has been vindicated! Thanks and praise be to Forseti, and to
all the gods and goddesses!
One noteworthy feature of this story is that the anti-pagan
persecution was not being directed by Donald's Muslim colleagues,
with whom he had no real problem at all, but by a clique of
managers,
all of them white British, who are dogmatically committed to
pursuing
their own perverse programme of "multicultural diversity". These
managers were absolutely and unswervingly convinced that a trivial
action, like placing a plastic chair by a sink, could be viewed as
nothing other than a premeditated insult to Islam. Yet the same
managers admitted, in the tribunal, that their knowledge of the
Muslim faith was limited in the extreme. In a previous age, such
hypocritical paragons of political correctitude, would have made
exemplary Puritan witch-finders, or agents of the Holy Inquisition,
ferretting out heretics who had eaten meat in Lent, or crossed
themselves the wrong way round, and casting them on to the burning
pyre. The self-styled "politically correct", with their multi-faith
agenda, are truly the witch-finders general of the modern age.
Let me conclude by quoting the reserved judgment of the tribunal
concerning the recognition of Odinism as a religion. The tribunal
had
to decide whether Odinism satisfies the definition of a religion or
belief in terms of the Employment Equality (Religion or Belief)
Regulations 2003. This is the first time ever that this question has
been considered in court, and the tribunal's judgment establishes a
precedent, which can be referred to in any future law case in which
an Odinist – or, by implication, any other pagan – claims unfair
dismissal on religious grounds or religious discrimination in
matters
of employment. The reader will, particularly, want to note the
identifying characteristics that the tribunal panel were looking
for,
in trying to ascertain, on an objective basis, whether or not
Odinism
should be recognised, for legal purposes, as a religion, as these
are
the features that a reasonable person would expect any recognisable
religion to possess. Here is what the tribunal declared:-
"The first issue for the Tribunal is whether Odinism satisifies the
definition of a religion or belief in regulation 2(1). Mr Davies
contends that it does. Mr Peacock [barrister representing the Royal
Mail] neither admits nor disputes it."
"The Tribunal finds that Odinism is a religion or belief within
regulation 2(1). The Tribunal has considered the literature about
Odinism in the Bundle of Documents (which appears to be principally
a
hard copy of material from the website of the Odinist Fellowship)
and
also the evidence given by Mr Harrison, the Director of the Odinist
Fellowship. The Tribunal finds Odinism to be a belief systm based on
the pre-Christian heathen religion of the British Isles. It is
polytheistic and honours the Odinic pantheon of deities with
particular regard being paid to the deity of Odin or Woden. It has a
concept of the secular and the spiritual worlds and the relationship
between them. It has a broad code of ethics based on what are called
the Nine Noble Virtues. It has rituals and ceremonies including the
Cup of Remembrance, Naming, Pledge of Faith, Wedding and Laying to
Rest. It does not have any sacred texts as such but it pays special
heed to works known as the Prose Edda and the Poetic Edda which it
regards as sources of information about the heathen religion. The
Tribunal is not required to make any value judgment or assessment of
Odinism as a belief system but to decide whether it satisfies the
relatively exiguous definition in regulation 2(1) and the Tribunal
is
satisfied that it does."
Well, I don't think you can say fairer than that! Remember the case
of Royal Mail Group PLC v Holden (2006). For all pagans of every
kind, this has established a precedent ensuring your rights in law.
Odinism is now, quite categorically and specifically, covered and
protected by anti-discrimination legislation, in the same way that
has been taken for granted by other religions.
We Odinists have never needed any outside assurance that ours is a
true and genuine religion. That is something we know in our hearts,
and something we are taught by our nation's history. But many
Odinists, nonetheless, have craved a clear statement by judicial
authorities that our holy religion is and will be recognised in
English law. Thank the gods! Now we have it!
With sincere Odinist greetings!
Ralph Harrison
(Director)
_________________
Respectfully,
-Maurer
From here:
http://www.wcer.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=101
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