... to be annoyed at the Muslim who prays next to me in work?

[Beethoven]

I share a small office with two other people. A new guy has started who's a muslim, and will roll out his mat and start praying behind me. I know it doesn't hurt me, but I feel a little uncomfortable for the few minutes that he does it.

Am I being an unreasonable bigot?

EN - where do you live that someone will roll out a prayer mat in the street and no one will look at them?

Tante - yours was no more 'appropriate' than GOML's!

Chippingin - that's in DH's country, not here!

Well I don't think yabu. If somebody started clacking their rosary beads right next to me I would think ofgs!

YANBU. I'm a catholic and wouldn't start praying in public. It's not appropriate. Surely there is somewhere else he can go? The British way is to worship privately, or in shared faith communities. When in Rome...

I sit next to someone who does pilates postures for his back every lunchtime in the office - involving rolling out a mat next to our desks and then stretching around on the floor for about fifteen minutes with bits of rope.

I am now used to it, although can be midly embarrassing if you need to get passed.
Occasionally we have customers coming round the office and they do sometimes comment!
So I don't think UABU, but I don think you will get used to it!

That should obviously say "I do think you will get used to it!"

Riven,

He's Egyptian, not British (not that it really makes a difference). I think I know what I need to do

Mowi

I get what you are saying but I think it's more about making the effort rin Islam rather than actviely trying to do it in front of people.

If thete's no provision then you do it wher you can becuase The Prophet and god are mroe important to you than teh emotions of a colleague.

And to be honest i think that's always been fairly evident in Christianity hasn't it also? I mean, nobody said to Queen Mary 'oh stop with this bloody persecution crap and keep it a private matter'.

It's come about more recently via a gradual if not formal separation of Church and state.

(BTW although I know my post looks otherwise, am not Muslim and am in fact Christian, albeit of the undertated sit quietly in peace varriant)

OP, a few questions....

1. Did your colleague check with you all if it was okay he prayed in open office space?

2. Is there anywhere in close proximity he could go?

3. Is it hugely disruptive for him to be praying there or is your discomfort borne out of elephant-in-the-room-syndrome (you don't want to talk to him about it)?

I don't think this has much to do with religion though (unless you are offended by open prayer, which actually I could sort of understand, especially if your colleague did not discuss his actions before), I think it's more to do with someone doing something that affects the workplace that isn't actually related to the job. I can't make a call on whether you're being unreasonable....yet.

This would annoy me a lot less than the bloody Christos who surround me and who are forever inflciting their God-bothering screen-savers and random Bible quotes at the bottom of e-mails on my eyes.

I used to go to an internet cafe in Hackney where the guy would pray in the middle of the shop floor.

Big deal. Let him get on with it. I personally believe that there is no one at the other end listening but if he's not making a noise or tripping you up then let him get on with it.

I don;t think it really matters if there is anyone on the end tbh- Vivekananda (big writer in firld of universalism) suggested that prayer was meditation for the soul regardless of who you thought the receiver was and I tend to agree.

MIFLAW - you crack me up :)

SanctiMoanyArse - I'm just a crabby old atheist who only sets foot in church when it's an "occasion" so that's why I feel uncomfortable {grin}. And I did many years ago have the experience of having to step over a praying muslim girl to get to the loo in the ladies' cloakroom area at University. I remember feeling embarrassed about whether to say "excuse me", back out of the room altogether or just creep past!

YABU to object to a muslim colleague praying out loud.

But if christians start praying in public and you object you will find plenty of people to support your annoyance

Lucy, in answer to your questions

1. No he didn't ask2
2. There probably is somewhere he can go but 3) It's not really disruptive, just feel a little strange because it's new

Mowi i'd have felt uncomfy in that postion PMSL and I'm a Quaker type with an RE degree LMAO!

YANBU. As someone else has said, he is doing something in the shared office space that is totally unrelated to the work being done, and making colleagues feel uncomfortable. Did he ask if you minded? Where I work there is a prayer room, but I appreciate this will not be the case with smaller companies, but I think he should be asking for somewhere to be provided.

Live and let live

I actually cannot believe anyone with a modicum of intelligence would post this.

So you are either

a) lacking in intelligence

or

b) a troll

Either way, YABtotallybigotedandU.

YANBU - work is not he place for it IMHO - the muslims at my job go to the first aid room to pray. We all have our beliefs and i think its reasonable to keep them seperate from work. I thought work came before prayer in the Koran anyway - but my knowledge is pretty sparse and only from dribs n drabs imparted on me over the years. I would feel uncomfortable with it as I choose to avoid religion at all costs and don't think it should be imposed on me - by someone praying right next to me in a place (i.e work) I can't leave!

Why can't he just pray silently in his head whilst sat at his desk. Sounds like just another example of people wanting to ram their beliefs down other people's throats.

gingerkirsty Plenty of us agree.

I'm not sure what intelligence has to do with it really, perhaphs you'd like to elaborate on your post.