UK Muslim councillor [Labour] faces protests as she takes prayer break in middle of town hall meeting

Hmm... In Egypt a report showed that public servants do on average 1/2 hr work each day as most of the time is spent going to and from making the Islamic prayers.

The Tower Hamlets area of London is a high Muslim density area.

Here's more on Egypt's problems with prayer vs. work:

[For] Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, there is a simple answer to Egypt's productivity problem -- pray less, work more.

And before the prayers themselves, there is also a mandatory ablution during which worshippers must wash their faces, hands and arms, feet and heads. In large office buildings, the trips to the bathroom can also eat away at valuable work time.

Qaradawi's plea to reconcile faith and productivity may hit some hurdles as it risks upsetting the deeply entrenched custom of "prayer breaks" at work.

Society's increased Islamisation over the past 30 years has already silenced some critics of long prayer sessions.

According to an official study, Egypt's six million government employees are estimated to spend an average of only 27 minutes per day actually working, reflecting a real problem with productivity. [more]

A Muslim Labour councillor faced a backlash when a Town Hall meeting was adjourning while she went to pray.

The development committee at Tower Hamlets stopped after five minutes to allow Muslim councillors a prayer break during its last meeting.

Cllr Rania Khan faced shouts of "disgusting" from the public gallery as she left to pray and on her return said she had been disturbed by the "abuse hurled at her".

A former Labour councillor, Ronald Osborne, sitting in the gallery, said: "We weren't hurling abuse at her. But you don't stop a meeting to pray, that should be done beforehand. Are they paying her to pray? People rushed home from work to get to this meeting and it's not fair to keep them waiting."

Cllr Khan later explained that as many other Muslim she tries to pray at set times five times a day.

She said: "I'm a politician but my religion is also important to me. I had been in meetings from 2-7pm and I'm entitled to a 15 minute break in any job.

"I had already missed earlier prayers and the important thing was to try and pray before the sun came down.

East London Adv