Is this a case of religious discrimination?

What would you think if you saw this story in the paper:

ANAHEIM, Calif. - Seven Jewish families filed a lawsuit accusing the owner of an apartment complex of religious and housing discrimination.

The suit, filed in Orange County Superior Court, alleges that the owner and the manager of Chaumont Villas refused to make repairs to apartments, prohibited Jewish children from playing in public areas and harassed Jewish families because of their faith.

The complex manager called the lawsuit baseless.

Terry M. Mousa, one of the plaintiffs, said he, his wife and three children lived for three years in their $1,450-a.m.onth, 3-bedroom unit with no problems. A new manager arrived a year ago and began referring to Jewish tenants with profanity and routinely harassing Jewish children, he said.

Mousa circulated a petition in June seeking a new manager and asking for repairs to units. Mousa was later evicted.

Pat Mitchell, a vice president for property management firm Swami International, one of the defendants, said Mousa was evicted for causing friction between Jewish tenants and the apartment manager.

"This is nothing more than a landlord-tenant dispute," Mitchell said. Mousa "has been harassing the manager and not allowing her to do her job. ... We can't have somebody creating a hostile environment."

 

Here's the actual AP newswire story as it happenned last month:

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) - Seven Muslim families filed a lawsuit accusing the owner of an apartment complex of religious and housing discrimination.

The suit, filed in Orange County Superior Court, alleges that the owner and the manager of Chaumont Villas refused to make repairs to apartments, prohibited Muslim children from playing in public areas and harassed Muslim families because of their faith.

The complex manager called the lawsuit baseless.

Tawfiq M. Mousa, one of the plaintiffs, said he, his wife and three children lived for three years in their $1,450-a.m.onth, 3-bedroom unit with no problems. A new manager arrived a year ago and began referring to Muslim tenants with profanity and routinely harassing Muslim children, he said.

Mousa circulated a petition in June seeking a new manager and asking for repairs to units. Mousa was later evicted.

Pat Mitchell, a vice president for property management firm Swami International, one of the defendants, said Mousa was evicted for causing friction between Muslim tenants and the apartment manager.

"This is nothing more than a landlord-tenant dispute," Mitchell said. Mousa "has been harassing the manager and not allowing her to do her job. ... We can't have somebody creating a hostile environment."

Now that you've seen the actual story, does it change your viewpoint at all?

 

Comments like that make me ashamed to be a Christian, let alone Baptist.

I'm sure you'll likewise have no problem if a landlord discriminates against a renter who has AIDS.

 

This is just a general question. The apartment complex in question is very near where I work. I pass it frequently. In fact, it's one of the apartments I looked at before I bought my house (I chose a complex that was only 2 blocks from work). It's an average apartment complex that I wouldn't have a problem living in, or recommending if someone said "anyone know of a good amartment to rent?".

Well, the way this came to be a post was that a person at work (I'll call her Tracy), who lives in a nearby apartment (belonging to a different management company), heard about this before it made the news. But in talking about it at work, Tracy mistakenly said it was some Jewish families who were facing discrimination. A few days later (still before this story was printed), Tracy corrected herself and said it was Muslim families. BTW, I asked her if their religion was obvious in their dress. She said no, they dressed like anyone else would. The woman didn't wear headscarves and the children didn't look any different than any other children. I must acknowlege that any time I've driven past there, I could never see any visible difference among any of the residents.

At work, most people agreed: It didn't matter what religion they were. Presuming the info is correct, discrimination is wrong. But one person completely changed his tune when he found out they were Muslims instead of Jews. Now, this guy is a complete certifiable card-carrying owner of white sheets in the closet. He doesn't like anyone: Pureto Ricans, Catholics, Fundamentalist, Muslims, etc. In fact, when he thought it was a Jewish family, he commented "they should just hook up with a Jew banker, buy the complex and fire the manager".