It is a specious argument, I think. While I have no knowledge of UK employment law, I do know that discrimination of the sort that the Muslim security guard is alleged to be engaging in, would cause him to lose his job in the US. I live in a community with a fairly large Muslim population, and can tell you that the guy must have some serious mental problems, not rigid cultural or religious beliefs, and my workplace has 3 Muslim male workers, and 2 female Muslim workers.

I have never heard of such a ludicrous thing happening in my years of working with Muslim men. Anyone who accepts a position for employment must be able and willing to fulfill all the duties of the position, or they won't get hired. If hired, and they refuse to perform the duties for which they were hired, they are fired. Since very few Muslim American men would ever attempt to make such a ludicrous suggestion about female colleagues, I can't imagine it ever being an issue in the workplace.

The Muslim men I have worked with have all been very respectful of women. In general (and probably because of the scrutiny they face in the post 9/11 workforce), I find them to be much more respectful of women than their European American colleagues, who often treat female colleagues, subordinates, clients, etc. with a fair amount of disrespect, contempt. and disdain. And frequently get away with it, because their fellow male colleagues turn a blind eye to it, or are complicit in the behavior.