A Muslim nurse midwife from Chicago who was fired last May from Norwegian-American Hospital is suing the hospital, claiming she was the victim of post-Sept. 11 backlash discrimination.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed the lawsuit Monday in federal court on behalf of Rashidah Abdullah, alleging she was harassed, reprimanded and eventually fired because of her religion.
Abdullah, 35, a Chicago native who converted to Islam as a girl, began working at the Humboldt Park hospital in May 2000. Beginning in fall that year, she was subject to a series of harassing comments and behavior that worsened after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, EEOC trial attorney Lauren Dreilinger said.
In October 2001, Abdullah was at a meeting where her manager repeatedly referred to the monthlong Ramadan observance as "Rashidah's Ramadan" and, at one point, "Rashidah's Taliban," Dreilinger said.
That same month, Abdullah alleges she had a conversation with her manager about the difficulties of being a minority, particularly a Muslim, and he replied by saying if she didn't like it, she should leave the country.
Abdullah complained to the hospital in late fall 2001.
The suit alleges the hospital fired her in retaliation.
Norwegian Hospital spokesman Elio Montenegro said Abdullah's termination was "strictly a personnel matter. . . . There were issues related to her work in both her relationship with the hospital policies as well as in health care."
He said the hospital is one of the city's most diverse. "We as a hospital celebrate our cultural diversity," he said.
Abdullah's lawsuit is the fourth filed nationwide by the EEOC alleging backlash discrimination against Muslim or Arab employees.