Jordanian bank fires woman for refusing to wear hijab

From Al Arabiya/AFP:

The Jordan Dubai Islamic Bank on Wednesday fired a Christian employee because she refused to wear a scarf to cover her hair as part of uniform for female staff, its spokeswoman said.

“The bank warned Vivian Salameh to cover her hair as part of women’s uniform approved earlier this year, but she refused,” Iman Afaneh told AFP.

“Five other Christian women are working at the bank, and they are committed to wearing full uniform, including the headscarf.”

But Salameh said she “refused to wear the partial head cover because it is against my principles.”

“The bank uniform registered at the trade and industry ministry does not include wearing anything to cover my hair,” she said.

The Jordan-based Islamic bank is a public shareholding company which launched operations in 2010.

From its webpage, it seems that the bank is pretty upfront about its principles:

Jordan Dubai Islamic Bank is a fully integrated Islamic bank combining solid Islamic values with modern technology and innovation that characterize the best of modern banking. Our focus at Jordan Dubai Islamic Bank is on the needs of each of our customers. We are a customer-centric organization with close personal service and understanding forming the base of each of our client relationships.

To achieve these goals we have set solid foundations and standards for our Vision and Mission represented in the following:

Our Vision
Leading Islamic banking to serve all spectrums of the society.

Our Mission
To provide distinctive and innovative services emanating from the divine principles of Islam to build lasting and solid partnerships and to maximize benefits to all stakeholders.

Our Values
Innovation: At Jordan Dubai Islamic Bank, we adhere to the principles of innovation and distinguish ourselves as a pioneering financial institution by combining traditional Islamic values with the latest technology and innovative products and services; thus delivering the best of modern Islamic banking.

Knowledge: At Jordan Dubai Islamic Bank, our guiding principle of banking is inspired by the knowledge and doctrines embodied within the Holy Quran. Built from these strong foundations, we are proud to introduce the new standard of modern Islamic banking in Jordan.

This couldn't have been too big a surprise to her.

The bank also has, besides the (all male) board of directors, a Sharia Supervisory Board.