Manager Made Anti-Muslim Remarks During Work Call – Am I Overreacting?
Today during a team call, my manager started discussing politics. He is from Bihar, and he said BJP will eventually rule Tamil Nadu. I replied that I do not think that will happen because many people in Tamil Nadu do not support politics based on religious discrimination.
Initially it was a healthy discussion, but then he started saying Modi is a good leader because he does not like or work for Muslims. He also said Muslims are “bad people” and “cause trouble,” based on some personal experiences he had.
I told him that everyone will have problems with different people in life, but you cannot generalise an entire community because of that. I also asked him whether he had never had problems with people from his own religion.
I then told him that I am also a Muslim and have been working under him for more than a year, and asked whether he also disliked me. Even after that, he continued trying to justify his views by giving examples of incidents involving Muslims.
In the end he said something like, “I am sorry, but still…” and It did not feel like a genuine apology or realisation that what he said was inappropriate.
Now I am wondering whether I should raise this with HR or his superior, or whether I am overreacting.
What would you do in this situation?