Posted on 01/05/2007 6:10:34 AM PST by theothercheek
Officials at Minneapolis-St. Paul International airport asked the Metropolitan Airport Commission for permission to hold public hearings on a proposal that would suspend the airport licenses of Muslim cab drivers who refuse service to passengers carrying alcohol or accompanied by service dogs. Each month, some 100 people are denied cab service at the airport on religious grounds, and the problem is getting worse, according to airport officials.
Drivers would have their airport licenses suspended 30 days for the first offense and revoked for two years after the second offense. The cabbies would be subject to the new penalties by May 11, when airport taxi licenses are scheduled for annual renewal.
Last year, the Metropolitan Airport Commission received a fatwa from the Muslim American Society of Minnesota that forbade taxi drivers from carrying passengers with alcohol so as to avoid "cooperating in sin according to Islam."
“Islam also considers the saliva of dogs to be unclean,” Hassan Mohamud, imam at Al-Taqwa Mosque of St. Paul, tells The Associated Press. Mohamud, who is also director of the Islamic Law Institute at the Muslim American Society of Minnesota, plans to petition airport officials to reconsider their proposal.
The First Amendment guarantees the right to practice one’s religion. It does not guarantee the right to drive a hack, or to refuse service to someone of a different faith, or to refuse service to someone who needs the assistance of a service animal. Muslim immigrants to the US are clearly unfamiliar with the American concept that “Your rights end where mine begin.” For more than 230 years, this guiding principle has protected our uniquely ecumenical and pluralistic country from the sectarian, ethnic and racial strife Muslims finance, stoke and engage in worldwide.
Instead of trumpeting trumped-up charges of “anti-Muslim backlash,” The Stiletto thinks the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) would better serve the Muslim community in America by educating them on religious tolerance, respecting the rights of others and showing compassion to a blind person shivering in the chill of the Minnesota winter waiting for a taxi who will take him and his dog home from the airport.
NOTE: Original source includes links to relevant articles and Web sites.
Actually, I am in favor of a cab driver refusing service to anyone for any reason (unless he is an employee of a firm which has other rules), just as I believe any business can refuse to serve a customer. In Chicago, cab drivers are forced to take pick up unsavory characters and take them to dangerous locations. These cab drivers have been disarmed and helpless thanks to gun-control.
So blind people with guide dogs would be refused service? So much for "Allah the Compassionate, the Merciful".
Regards, Ivan
Be sure to bring a bottle of hooch and shake it at them. Then you'll be sure to get a non-terrorist-supporting cabbie.
Actually, I am in favor of a cab driver refusing service to anyone for any reason (unless he is an employee of a firm which has other rules), just as I believe any business can refuse to serve a customer.
We dog lovers consider Islam to be unclean.
ping
Whatever happened to the old-fashioned obnoxious loudmouthed American cab drivers?
I say yank their licences for a year on the first complaint.
No second chances or defenses/mitigating circumstances allowed.
There are no LIONS Clubs in Islamo-Facist countries.
Are you nuts?
This is the kind of bigotry that gets us a bad name.
The problem is only a limited number of licenses are granted to haul passengers from airports. If muslims grab most of the licenses and serve only "sin free" fares we are in trouble- might as well be in Saudi Arabia.
Any hack gets a concession to serve "the public" at a state/federal funded facility- they must accomodate "the public". If they don't want to haul pork-chewing whisky toting infidels - they can drive a dfifferent concession route.
You don't even need to go that far. You could just use my favorite moving boxes as luggage. When the Magslinger Compound changes location, I always go to a party store to pick up empty liquor boxes. They are free and because of the high cost of the original contents are always of very high quality.
So here's a solution:
Don't allow the cab driver to French kiss the dogs.
Actually - I've also thought that dog's saliva was "unclean" - mainly due to their habit of licking their buttholes.
I applaud the sentiment, but it will never happen. CAIR are interested only in stirring the pot and portraying themselves as the voice of all Muslims, the way MADD purports to speak for all victims of drunken driving. Both stances are erroneous, of course, but the bone-idle MSM somehow can't be bothered to expend any shoe leather and actually REPORT so they simply lean back in their chair and play dial-a-quote day after day. Most cabbies I've seen would never say no to a fare no matter what the circumstances but suddenly we've got religious purists driving. As passengers, should we call the cops and report their frequent dangerous/aggressive driving and constant chatter on cell phones?
Oh goodness, that's never a good thing.
Safety is a significant concern, but not on par with refusing a sober person carrying a bottle of wine. Slippery slope.
Nice parallel. What about women in mini-skirts, men in skull caps, or kids snacking on pork laden slim jims???
It is illegal to refuse service to someone with a service animal. It's called denying access and is a violation of state and federal law. A cab is considered public accomodation.
I'm all for it. As a woman I have had very bad experiences with Muslim cab drivers. They are frightening and rude. They can't seem to get the idea that women are allowed to travel alone without a veil.
Once in Minnesota I had a cab driver that --- no kidding --- looked very much like Mohammed Atta, who glared at me, tore around the icy streets at high speed, almost snarled at me when I asked a question, seemed very agitated and angry to the point where I simply asked him to pull over and I got out and walked.
I would love to be able to avoid Muslim cab drivers carrying a big bag that says LIQUOR STORE or something. Hell I would wave a bottle of Johnny Walker at them to avoid getting into a cab with a Muslim driver.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.