AOL Settles With Muslim Over 'Sand N**ger' Incident
WASHINGTON, July 17 /PRNewswire/ -- America Online (AOL) and its business
partner Cendant Corporation have reached a settlement with a Muslim shopper
in Chicago, Ill., who received a racist slur on a catalog from a Cendant-owned
company that does business through AOL.
``Sand n**ger''
was printed under the obviously-Muslim name of the catalog recipient.
That slur is used to attack Muslims, who are assumed to be Arabs from countries
that are primarily desert. In fact, Arabs are a minority in the Muslim
world.
The settlement, the terms of which are not being released, came after
hundreds of Muslims contacted both corporations to express their concerns
about the incident.
Financial compensation, a letter of apology and sensitivity training
for Cendant employees had been demanded by the recipient of the catalog.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Washington-based Islamic
advocacy group, initiated its informational campaign when the parties failed
to reach agreement after months of discussions.
The Muslim shopper who received the offensive mailing label is a member
of AOL. Through AOL, she became a member of AOL Netmarket (AOL Keyword:
Netmarket). When the shopper and a friend, who was the recipient of a gift
from the catalog, received order confirmations, both found ``sand nigger''
printed under their names. (AOL is listed as the ``Service Name'' on the
confirmation receipt.)
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