Barney Jones, aka Jonba Hehol, and his brother Daniel Jones, aka Morda Hehol, conducting a Jedi service
The Guardian reports that Daniel Jones, founder of the religion inspired by the Star Wars movies, says he was humiliated and victimised for his beliefs following the incident at a Tesco store in Bangor.
The 23-year-old, who founded the International Church of Jediism, which has 500,000 followers worldwide, and recently received a £5,000 donation from singer Charlotte Church, was told the hood flouted store rules.
But the grocery empire struck back, claiming that the three best known Jedi Knights in the Star Wars movies – Yoda, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Luke Skywalker – all appeared in public without their hoods. Jones, from Holyhead, who is known by the Jedi name Morda Hehol, said his religion dictated that he should wear the hood in public places and is considering legal action against the chain.
Said Jones:
It states in our Jedi doctrination that I can wear headwear. It just covers the back of my head. You have a choice of wearing headwear in your home or at work but you have to wear a cover for your head when you are in public.
He said he’d gone to the store to buy something to eat during his lunch break when staff approached him and ordered him to the checkout where they explained he would have to remove the offending hood or leave the store.
They said: ‘Take it off’, and I said: ‘No, its part of my religion. It’s part of my religious right.’ I gave them a Jedi church business card. They weren’t listening to me and were rude. They had three people around me. It was intimidating.
Jones, who has made an official complaint to Tesco, is considering a boycott of the store and is seeking legal advice.
Tesco said:
He hasn’t been banned. Jedis are very welcome to shop in our stores although we would ask them to remove their hoods. Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda and Luke Skywalker all appeared hoodless without ever going over to the Dark Side and we are only aware of the Emperor as one who never removed his hood.
If Jedi walk around our stores with their hoods on, they’ll miss lots of special offers.
Shirley Chaplin
Shirley Chaplin said she believed The Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Trust Hospital was trying to prevent her from expressing her religious beliefs.
But the trust said the policy had nothing to do with the crucifix specifically, and was motivated by health and safety concerns about patients grabbing necklaces.
Chaplin, 54, from Exeter, said:
For about 30 years I have worked in the NHS and nursed patients day and night and on no occasion has my cross caused me or anyone else any injury – and to my knowledge, no patient has ever complained about me wearing it. The Trust even refused to test the ‘breaking strain’ on the necklace.
Chaplin, who is due to retire in eight months, added:
Everyone I have ever worked with has clearly known I am a Christian: it is what motivates me to care for others.
The world’s scariest zombie-worshipper, barrister Andrea Minichiello Williams, founder of the Christian Legal Centre, was quick to get in on the act:
You cannot separate a person’s faith and motivation from other areas of their life, including what they do with the majority of their time: work. Unfortunately an aggressive, secularist, politically correct agenda is being driven in the NHS and other public sectors at present.
Hat Tip: Godless not Gormless and BarrieJohn
The Freethinker was founded in 1881 by GW Foote, an outspoken critic of religion. After the publication of 
September 21st, 2009 at 1:12 pm
She states that "everyone I have ever worked with has clearly known I am a Christian". In short, she has been prosletizing at work.
September 21st, 2009 at 1:13 pm
How strange, again, that she is dependent on a book of two-thousand-year-old fairy stories to motivate her to care for others. Most of us in the real world are motivated to do good by our common humanity.
September 21st, 2009 at 1:27 pm
"Persecution" stories like the nurse one get tiresome. She's been asked to do one thing for safety purposes and she's stubbornly refusing.
In Daniel Jones' case, Tesco's will assume he's a thief if he's seen in a hood. It's in the interest of his safety to comply as well, but he's doing everything she is, except without lawyers (so far?).
Jediism feels like it should be a mock religion, a satire that exists solely for highlighting the silly side of stories like the nurse's. But 70,000 people in Australia marked their religion down as Jedi for the 2001 census, according to wikipedia. Is there any way to know how many said they were jedi as a gag or protest and how many answered as true believers?
Maybe there's nothing wrong with another science fiction based cult. It can't possibly be worse than Scientology…
September 21st, 2009 at 2:00 pm
Give me an aggressive, secularist, politically correct agenda over an aggressive, fundamentalist, superstitiously correct agenda any day.
It was in the papers that the nurse is allowed to pin a cross to her lapel, so not only is the symbol not the issue but she does not have to be 'separated' from it, Ms Williams… and besides, isn't God carried in the heart?
September 21st, 2009 at 2:29 pm
This Jedi chap may have a case. Can you imagine the furore if Tesco (may bankruptcy be upon them) asked a muzzie woman to remove her Darth Vader outfit.
As for the stupid nurse. There has to be a dress code to comply with health & safety and hygiene rules: No rings, pendants, bracelets and hair tied back if long. If you are unfortunate to work in A & E then you don't want anything that the drunken louts – who often treat nurses as punch bags – can grab hold of.
September 21st, 2009 at 2:39 pm
the jedi guy can't be much of a jedi if he didn't use a jedi mind trick to fool the tesco emloyees into thinking that either there was no hood or it was already taken down
September 21st, 2009 at 2:47 pm
I love Tesco's response: witty and shrewd! But, of course, not being among the initiated, there's no way they could properly apprehend Jedi theology
September 21st, 2009 at 3:16 pm
I have not worn my wedding ring for 40yrs, not only because of safety rules but because my wife wants a live husband not a dead one with a ring. These mystic types are assholes as safety rules don't apply until it happens then they are the 1st to sue the company for what is essentially their own fault.
The store are a bunch of idiots who think they have nothing to fear from the jedi…little do they know the power of The Force. I'd love see them try to get a nun to remove the habit or as Angela noted they would be scared spit-less if they tried to remove muzy tent.
September 21st, 2009 at 4:55 pm
"You cannot separate a person’s faith and motivation from other areas of their life"
If that applies to secular motivation, Andrea Minichiello Williams, who made that allegation, should shut up, because (by her own logic) she believes that secularists won't change their minds.
September 21st, 2009 at 5:36 pm
Have they even read the Jedi code? Jedi do not wave their lightsabers about except in combat training or when ready to kill someone.
September 21st, 2009 at 6:03 pm
That scary lawyer reminds of someone….
Oh yeah – http://bunwaycards.com/FrWLN20
Tee hee.
Actually – I quite like stern women.
September 21st, 2009 at 7:25 pm
If the Jedi is doing this to make a point about religious people being exempt from rules that apply to everyone else then I am right behind him. Otherwise I think that he is being a bit of a twat. ZombieHunter took the words right out of my keyboard, a real Jedi would have had no problem, I doubt that anyone would even dare to cross him.
September 21st, 2009 at 8:26 pm
Of course, it's not just Burkas that are "under threat" here. Jewish yarmulkes, Sikh Turbans, Muslim Taqiyahs and UFOlogist tin foil hats should also all be proscribed by tesco – otherwise they are discriminating, plain and simple. And, even though i personally think the Jedi church is a bit of a joke that actually undermines the atheist case, discrimination is discrimination, and I hope these guys sue the ass off tesco's – or even better force them to ban all religious clothing
Rog
September 21st, 2009 at 8:57 pm
It's every bit as credible as Scientology – or as any other religin for that matter!
September 21st, 2009 at 8:57 pm
It's every bit as credible as Scientology – or as any other religion for that matter!
September 21st, 2009 at 9:37 pm
Agreed Stoney. I was sort of hoping that the whole point was to make a point about the kind of thing that is happening re the second story, but I have to admit that I'm at a loss to see how this is being achieved. Maybe time will tell or maybe it's just that the force is not with me yet.
If he is doing it for that reason, like you I'm right behind him. If not – if he's serious – FFS!!!
Godless not gormless
September 21st, 2009 at 10:59 pm
My assumption after learning that thousands of persons (but certainly nowhere near 500,000) had informed a census taker that their religion was Jedi Knight, was that such persons could only be pranksters who viewed "Jedi Knight" as a clever euphemism for "atheist". After all, the Jedi religion was invented by a science fiction writer for a movie script. But the mention of Scientology was a reminder that, no matter how ludicrous a pretend-religion might be, it will eventually be taken seriously by the intellectually impaired. And at that point an opportunist is bound to declare himself its pope-equivalent and start fleecing the suckers. Anyone who doubts that a science fiction pretend religion can lure individuals so mindlessly gullible that they become fanatic proselytizers for the scam that is fleecing them has only to look at Tom Cruise.
September 22nd, 2009 at 8:14 am
Why does she need to wear a "cross" then?
September 22nd, 2009 at 8:23 am
I saw the silly nurse on the news this morning. I was surprised and somewhat gratified to hear the interviewer give her a reasonable grilling, he had clearly done his homework and asked some fairly pointed questions.
September 22nd, 2009 at 8:28 am
It was originally a protest (in New Zealand?) against having to inform census takers of one's religion, but does appear to have got a bit out of hand now! I, too, am rather fearful of people taking it all a bit too seriously. Apparently Liam Neeson himself is thoroughly pissed off with being cross-examined by Jediists and other Star Wars cranks about the finer points of lightsabers etc, so I'm afraid that, yes, anything could happen!!
September 22nd, 2009 at 10:40 am
This religious intolerance has gone too far!
Why, only yesterday I was innocently walking around my local Supermarket when my Stoning Bucket was confiscated.
How on earth can I express my faith as the Lord intended?
The Jews killed Jesus and now they are trying to kill Obi-Wan Kenobi .
September 22nd, 2009 at 11:12 am
You're right again, Sister Talitha. Thank God He has raised up such faithful defenders of His Infallible Word as ourselves to combat sin and unrighteousness wherever they are found! Do you know who the founder of Tesco's was? Step forward none other than Jacob Edward Kohen, Esq. – and you don't get much more Jewish than that!! This is all part of a world-wide Jewish/Communist/Atheist conspiracy to drag the world down to Hell, and we must expose these evildoers at every opportunity, before it is too late!!! (Praise the Lord and pass the Prozac)
September 22nd, 2009 at 11:28 am
Please enlighten me, what is a stoning bucket? If it is a bucket full of stones I am not surprised that it was confiscated. And which lord are you talking about? But then, I think you were just joking.
September 22nd, 2009 at 11:31 am
'due to retire in 8 months' would be the clue here, I think.
Funny how she kicks up a fuss right when there'a chance of an out of court settlement and early retirement.
Unfit plods close to pensionable age invented that scam, but most of the generation who pulled it have now retired. As they were also notorious for joining evangelical groups as a career move in some forces it doesn't suprise me the scam has re-merged amongst other public service godbotherers close to their sell-by date.
September 22nd, 2009 at 11:45 am
There is one other group of people that should be banned from supermarkets nationwide. True, they rarely don their religious garb during the winter months, unless they have been abroad to practise their cult, but when they do put on their strange attire I avoid getting too close. Yes, you have guessed whom I mean: the Sun Worshippers. Supermarkets should have members of staff at the entrance handing out burqas and chadors for these strange men and women to wear if they wish to shop there.
September 22nd, 2009 at 12:47 pm
Sister Talitha HAS been told that she shouldn't patrol the local shopping mall stoning those whom she considers to be flagrantly flouting God's eternal laws. There are other ways of dealing with such error. However, she is young and idealistic, and I feel that we should, rather, applaud her enthusiasm, channelling it in the right directions, taking care that we do not discourage her in her Christian walk.
(PS Have you never visited Landover Baptists? They probably have stoning buckets and stones "for sale" there!)
September 22nd, 2009 at 3:00 pm
It has successfully kept vampires out of her ward?
September 22nd, 2009 at 7:04 pm
Maybe the nurse could just have a cross tattooed on the place of her necklace cross? Nothing dangling around, and there's still cross where she believes there should be one.
September 22nd, 2009 at 9:02 pm
UPDATE
The cross nurse (in both senses) is suing rather than trade her chain for a lapel pin. http://www.christianlegalcentr.....php?id=8...
Her brief personal statement reads like Christian whiner's bingo – 'political correctness', 'marginalising', 'secularisation' . Only needed 'persecution' for a full house.
September 22nd, 2009 at 9:21 pm
Yes, it does make you a little cross, doesn't it?
I think you are referring to the barrister's statement here. How can the NHS have a "secularist agenda" when it is not a religious body? As you say, she is just parrotting words which have no logic or significance whatsoever.
September 22nd, 2009 at 9:30 pm
Reading around, it seems that Jediism is Taoism repackaged to fit the Star Wars universe.
Well, if it's been done with Winnie The Pooh…
September 22nd, 2009 at 11:24 pm
I can't be bothered to do it now – too busy reading the new Dawkins book – but has anybody sorted out exactly what Tesco are objecting to? In the picture, the chap's face is clearly visible: it's not as if he's wearing a bike helmet or anything else concealing his face.
Ah, of course: he's wearing it to conceal other headgear which might well contain a bomb, fizzing away merrily. Ban the bomb, as we used to say!
September 22nd, 2009 at 11:29 pm
They really are Mrs Chaplin's words according to the piece, although they might as well have been drafted by walking holy huff Andrea M W who chimes in underneath.
September 23rd, 2009 at 7:33 am
I've seen it now: I didn't realize that she was still being quoted. My apologies. The statements of the two harpies are amazingly similar – I wonder why that would be? But why would anyone in the "public services" be concerned about being able to "express their faith"? That's not what they're being paid to do.
September 23rd, 2009 at 9:11 am
Can't argue with that, Lyle – the proof's in the eating!
September 23rd, 2009 at 9:25 am
Williams has lost the blot again "it is by their fruits Ye shall know them" not by some outward visible sign but by an inward spiritual nature. Clearly for Health and Safety this women has been asked to conceal her cross. Williams needs the money and any conflict she can find to generate cash will be a blessing from God. No wonder Jesus hated the Teachers of the Law and their obsession to follow rules to the letter.
September 24th, 2009 at 10:42 am
There is no religious obligation upon Christians to wear any visible symbol of their faith, and they know it! It's all bollocks!!