A Cab Ride Too Far
The Minneapolis Metropolitan Airports Commission has voted - unanimously - to penalize taxi drivers who refuse rides to passengers carrying alcohol our who have dogs with them. This is, of course, a response to cab drivers who decided to make this an issue. It is not going to work out for them, they are going to lose their cab licenses if they want to continue their stunts.
MINNEAPOLIS (Reuters) - Muslim cab drivers at Minnesota's biggest airport will face new penalties including a two-year revocation of their taxi permits if they refuse to give rides to travelers carrying liquor or accompanied by dogs, the board overseeing operations ruled Monday.
The Metropolitan Airports Commission, responding to complaints about the liquor issue, voted unanimously to impose the new penalties beginning in May.
A large number of taxi drivers in the area of the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport are Muslim Somali immigrants. Many say they feel the faith's ban on alcohol consumption includes transporting anyone carrying it.
Some also have refused to transport dogs, both pets and guide dogs, saying they are unclean.
So, someone is finally pushing back against this kind of attempted strongarm tactic. The twisted reasoning at the heart of this is evident by the response of a "spokesman" for the people pushing this:
Hassan A. Mohamud, an imam at the Islamic Da'wah Center in St. Paul, called the stricter sanctions frustrating and disappointing.
"We see this as a harsh penalty against fellow Americans only because they are practicing their faith," the Muslim scholar said. "This does not reflect the American values of tolerance and accommodation."
In the imam's world, we have to tolerate and accommodate the intolerance and complete lack of accommodation of his followers in order to prove we are living up to American ideals. Welcome to the land of doublespeak.
Uncategorized | Gaius Tuesday, 17 April , 2007
By Lars Walker, Tuesday, 17 April , 2007 @ 8:46 am
I cannot believe that any governmental unit in my state would ever display this kind of backbone when dealing with Muslims. Watch for them to backtrack quickly.
By Rightmom, Tuesday, 17 April , 2007 @ 9:19 am
I posted on this myself over at http://allthingsconservative.typepad.com/all_things_conservative/ and I couldn’t be happier that Americans have stopped this push for sharia in an American State. Thank God there is still some sense in MN:)
By Gayle Miller, Tuesday, 17 April , 2007 @ 9:21 am
Good for them. It’s about time SOMEBODY stood up to this kind of infantile nonsense!
I am so tired of my rights as an American citizen being diluted by a bunch of foreign-born cretins who want to impose their culture on me. If they don’t like the way things work here, they are more than welcome to go back where they came from - I’ll even contribute a few dollars for the fare. But don’t come HERE and try to make us live like their 7th century culture back where they came from!
By Robert, Tuesday, 17 April , 2007 @ 3:43 pm
Here here.
This is like the Pharmacists who won’t sell birth control.
Or people who excuse police brutality because “you don’t know what it’s like to be in these pressure situations”.
You’re right. I don’t. That’s why I’m not a cop.
If you can’t handle the rigors of the job, find yourself a new career.