AIBU to question praying and sleeping in the library kids area?

We know from other librarians that this wouldn’t have happened so it’s perfectly reasonable to assume that he wasn’t directed to use the kids area
for his ritual.
Even in the extremely unlikely event (based on other librarians opinions) the area was suggested to him, common sense should have told him it was not a suitable place to conduct his practice. He wasn’t forced to take over the kids area was he?

Honestly the mental gymnastics required to get to a position where this is ok is worthy of a place on the Olympic squad.

Do you know for certain that the man in question wasn’t advised he could use the area, and therefore was in the space allocated to him?

You can’t possibly know that, much of this thread is based on assumption.

Neither. I have said it’s not an appropriate space IMO. However we don’t know that he wasn’t directed to it, and by OPs account it sounds like he left after his prayers.

Shorter than if she’d turned up to the police holding a session in the space designated for children - so that’s better, right?

Do you know for certain that the man in question wasn’t advised he could use the area, and therefore was in the space allocated to him?

You can’t possibly know that, much of this thread is based on assumption.

Neither. I have said it’s not an appropriate space IMO. However we don’t know that he wasn’t directed to it, and by OPs account it sounds like he left after his prayers.

Shorter than if she’d turned up to the police holding a session in the space designated for children - so that’s better, right?

Do you know for certain that the man in question wasn’t advised he could use the area, and therefore was in the space allocated to him?

You can’t possibly know that, much of this thread is based on assumption.

Neither. I have said it’s not an appropriate space IMO. However we don’t know that he wasn’t directed to it, and by OPs account it sounds like he left after his prayers.

Shorter than if she’d turned up to the police holding a session in the space designated for children - so that’s better, right?

Are you not going to condemn the police hosting a grown up event in an area intended for children?

It’s not appropriate, that space is for children specifically. It’s suspicious when adults go in there without children.

Unless of course the specific problem is that it was a man, or rather a Muslim man, and not just that the space is intended for children.

Unless I’m missing something, It sounds like the space was allocated to the police to hold a session with local community police for people to discuss local concerns …and not for children.
In your opinion is it being a man or being a Muslim which grants you the right to do as you please to the detriment of at least one woman and children who turned up to use the space for its intended use?

As I said upthread - there’s zero evidence in the OP’s posts to show that he either hadn’t been given permission to use the space, or that there were any children in the space before the OP arrived there to be disturbed by him. Posters here have, without knowing if either of those is true, ascribed all kinds of potential misdeeds to the man, from being a paedophile downwards. I can easily picture a situation where a man asked the librarian ‘is there a quiet place I can pray for five minutes looking in this direction?’, the librarian looked across and said ‘there’s nobody in the children's library area, you could use that for a few minutes’ and then he went about his business. But everyone posting has assumed quite a series of other events, none backed up by facts. I am questioning why their thoughts immediately turn in a particular direction.

Well yes.
But I am sure the OP could have managed to wait the not many minutes until the man had finished.
This really was no big deal.

Are you not going to condemn the police hosting a grown up event in an area intended for children?

It’s not appropriate, that space is for children specifically. It’s suspicious when adults go in there without children.

Unless of course the specific problem is that it was a man, or rather a Muslim man, and not just that the space is intended for children.

Sometimes space is used for different things/organisation and not just books.
In fact just last week one library I use held a session with local community police for people to discuss local concerns.

..and sometimes it’s used for a children’s area.

Sometimes space is used for different things/organisation and not just books.
In fact just last week one library I use held a session with local community police for people to discuss local concerns.

..and sometimes it’s used for a children’s area.

I regularly use libraries.
Some big with a clear separate children's area, some small with just a corner.
In the daytime unless there's a specific Rhyme/Story Time session happening the area is frequently empty.
School age children are at school. Younger children in childcare. The ones at home with a SAHP usually go when there's a group on but not so much at other times (obviously some do - like the OP).
I really would like the hear the other side of the story.
The man could have asked permission. The library staff could have thought "well generally the children's library is empty this time of day so as it will only be 10 minutes if that it will be fine" and said it was ok.
I assume when he had finished his prayer he left.
In that short time she had to wait the OP could have taken her children to the adult shelves and got her children to "choose" some books for her to read - and chatted to her children about books that she likes and when the man left then went into the children's part.
This whole thread feels like a Daily Mail comments section. Horrible.
Modern libraries are frequently classed as Community Hubs. Sometimes space is used for different things/organisation and not just books.
In fact just last week one library I use held a session with local community police for people to discuss local concerns.
Where were they set up? The kids section. Because generally between 9 and 3 there's no children around to use it. They are at school or daycare.

I also note that the sleeping woman has elicited a tiny fraction of the comments that the praying man has.

I am a historian of society, art, architecture and by extension, some politics and religion. I am not asserting anything about those religions but pointing out arguments I often see from people who have objections to expressions of Islam, Hinduism and Sikhism in particular. If you think there’s no way that there is a race element to the OP and to many, many other disingenuous posts made here in recent years which purport to be about one thing but on examination turn out to be about quite something quite other, then I’d invite you to reflect a bit about the ways in which social media is being manipulated to increase division in society, stoke up racial hatred and achieve particular political ends.

I also note that the sleeping woman has elicited a tiny fraction of the comments that the praying man has.

As I said upthread - there’s zero evidence in the OP’s posts to show that he either hadn’t been given permission to use the space, or that there were any children in the space before the OP arrived there to be disturbed by him. Posters here have, without knowing if either of those is true, ascribed all kinds of potential misdeeds to the man, from being a paedophile downwards. I can easily picture a situation where a man asked the librarian ‘is there a quiet place I can pray for five minutes looking in this direction?’, the librarian looked across and said ‘there’s nobody in the children's library area, you could use that for a few minutes’ and then he went about his business. But everyone posting has assumed quite a series of other events, none backed up by facts. I am questioning why their thoughts immediately turn in a particular direction.

Christianity is a ‘foreign religion’, unless you’re in the Middle East. We still can’t shop for more than 6 hours on a Sunday because of Christianity, and we have bank holidays which are observed on Christian religious holidays. So no, we aren’t a predominantly secular society. No such arrangement has been made for other religions on their holidays, so we haven’t treated them equally to Christianity. If we are a predominantly secular society, and that’s what you want, I take it you are equally opposed to any use of the library by children making Easter or Christmas decorations, and are very vocal about the need to remove the bank holidays from Christian religious holidays?

What is your actual point? Should he have been in there?

I deal in facts and figures. So many times I’ve tried to engage in debate here by refuting massive assumptions and prejudices by bringing in facts, but they are roundly ignored. It’s made it quite clear that most people don’t actually appreciate being given facts when they contradict a position they have taken based on something other than facts. Usually prejudice. Often stoked by social media, which seems to be where many, many people now get their information about the world. They prefer their prejudiced position. My post reflects the reality of the situation.

I am a historian of society, art, architecture and by extension, some politics and religion. I am not asserting anything about those religions but pointing out arguments I often see from people who have objections to expressions of Islam, Hinduism and Sikhism in particular. If you think there’s no way that there is a race element to the OP and to many, many other disingenuous posts made here in recent years which purport to be about one thing but on examination turn out to be about quite something quite other, then I’d invite you to reflect a bit about the ways in which social media is being manipulated to increase division in society, stoke up racial hatred and achieve particular political ends.

I deal in facts and figures. So many times I’ve tried to engage in debate here by refuting massive assumptions and prejudices by bringing in facts, but they are roundly ignored. It’s made it quite clear that most people don’t actually appreciate being given facts when they contradict a position they have taken based on something other than facts. Usually prejudice. Often stoked by social media, which seems to be where many, many people now get their information about the world. They prefer their prejudiced position. My post reflects the reality of the situation.