Posted on 04/17/2007 5:46:16 AM PDT by Victor
By GREGG AAMOT, Associated Press Writer Mon Apr 16, 6:51 PM ET
MINNEAPOLIS - Taxi drivers who refuse service to travelers carrying alcohol at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport face tougher penalties despite protests from Muslim cabbies who sought a compromise for religious reasons, officials said Monday.
The Metropolitan Airports Commission said new penalties were needed to ensure customers get safe and reliable taxi service, and voted to suspend a driver's airport taxi license for 30 days for the first offense and revoke it for two years for a second offense. The new penalties take effect May 11.
Airport officials say more than 70 percent of the cabbies at the airport are Muslim, and many of them say Islamic law forbids them from giving rides to people carrying alcohol.
Under the old rules, a driver who refused to transport someone carrying alcohol would be told to go to the back of the taxicab line. Airport officials said that since January 2002, there have been more than 4,800 instances of drivers' refusing to take alcohol-carrying travelers.
Commissioners said the old rules didn't prevent customers from being stranded at the curb or — as reported in a few cases — dropped off before their destination after drivers learned of their alcohol on board.
Some Somalis who testified Monday urged commissioners to reject the new penalties and find some other solution.
"We see this as a penalty against a group of Americans only for practicing their faith," said Hassan Mohamud, an imam and an adjunct professor at William Mitchell College of Law.
The airport had proposed one pilot program that had drivers who wouldn't transport alcohol display a different top light on their cab, but the public's reaction was overwhelmingly negative and taxi drivers feared it would make travelers avoid taxis altogether.
Let them find another line of work. I certainly would, if it involved my faith. Cabs carry all sorts of people, they had to know that when they signed up.
A lot of urban cab drivers (of all races)lost their medallions because they refused to pick up Black males. The cabbies had a not unreasonable fear that if they drove into the inner city, they would be mugged. Even with bullet-proof glass partitions, they often got stiffed.
So why do the sharia Muslim drivers just have to go back in line when they discriminate on the basis of religion? Obvious double standard. Fire them for violating others’ rights and not doing thier jobs.
It’s from an episode of the original “Star Trek” series, where Scotty, by using every bottle of his whisky reserve, out drinks an alien who has taken human form(and therefore, a human metablism). I don’t know the episode number, but I think the aliens who took over the Enterprise were from the Andromeda galaxy. Just moments after winning, Mr.Scott himself passes out.
The abortion pills fall under the same scope, as they are controlled substances, and thus one cannot just go to the shelf and pick them up. They have to be dispensed by the pharmacist. The pharmacists job is to dispense, not question the efficacy of any substance to a particular patient.
"Muslim cab driver Abdinoor Dolal called penalties punitive and asked for a measured approach Monday, April 16, 2007 at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport in Minneapolis where the airport commission approved tougher penalties for cabdrivers who refuse service to travelers carrying alcohol, as some Muslim drivers have done for religious reasons."
"An audience including Muslim cab drivers listened to testimony Monday, April 16, 2007 at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport in Minneapolis where the airport commission approved tougher penalties for cabdrivers who refuse service to travelers carrying alcohol, as some Muslim drivers have done for religious reasons."
"A Muslim cab driver takes time for afternoon prayers outside the meeting room Monday, April 16, 2007, at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport in Minneapolis. Taxi drivers who refuse service to travelers carrying alcohol at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport face tougher penalties despite protests from Muslims cabbies who sought a compromise for religious reasons, officials said Monday"
Thank you for all that information. Some time back in another discussion, I said I had heard somewhere that some or all of the 9-11 hijackers had allegedly visited a strip joint the night before (not sure if that’s true though), but someone else pointed out that apparently, doing so is not a violation of their religious beliefs.
And this supports what I’m saying — that these Muslim drivers are using religion as an excuse to not do certain things they don’t want to do — not necessarily a violation of their religious beliefs. And I’m going to be racist and ponder — wonder if these guys actually do practice the rest of their beliefs? Are they really strong believers, or do they just use their faith for their own selfish (secular) purposes?
My question is, why hasn't some enterprising person seen a business opportunity and started a "Porky's" car service?
Muslims have no concept of our form of government.
Once these people get a foothold anywhere they start agitating for their “religious rights”.
The problem is, there are so much diversity and multicultural bullcrap going on that many municipal and state agencies buy into these attempts to install Sharia into our system of government and laws without a thought.
It’s not a victory until they straight out fire the bums.
And most of them landed in Minneapolis!!!
Did I read this correctly 70%???? 70% of cab drivers in Minneapolis are Muslim? What the hell?
“...I know I am in the minority here but I have some problems with people being told to violate their faith.”
There is a critical difference here. A Muslim cab driver refusing to transport alcohol, pork, or dogs, is attempting to force others to submit (= “Islam”) to the arbitrary “rules” of his religion. The Christian pharmacist forced to dispense abortificents is concerned that he is being forced to participate in a moral evil.
No Hildy, 70% of the cabbies at the AIRPORT are Muslim....not the entire cab population of Minneapolis.
I did not address the Pharmacist issue. Not going there.
And you might get an argument regarding the “morality” issue of alcohol in a Islamic taxi. Not going there, either. Morality is a nebulous concept.
My point was that if you are a cab driver, do your stinking job, or get another one where this will not be a problem. Pretend that you are the Military, and “Don’t ask, Don’t tell”.
Then why did they take a job as a taxi driver then?
And a setup for lawsuits. Especially with regard to the imans. If those suits are decided in their favor, then people will be hesitant about reporting any suspicious activity. So much for national security. More death and destruction.
As for the cabbies, this may also be about lawsuits, but I also see yet another attempt to forcing political correctness. We will then have to have accommodations for every group or individual who wants special treatment. This really burns me up.
Not the same situation at all. Taxi drivers have always been required to carry any passengers not considered dangerous. Abortificants are a new technology being imposed on pharmacy techs, who in many cases have been working in the field for decades, and their religious status is being ignored.
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