The Nonsense Demands of the Somali Cabbies in Minneapolis

[Jaylaani]

UL,

 

Free duty bags is all they can see. It just doesn't make any sense. I guess what you don't see doesn't count.

[N.O.R.F]

Ofcourse they should obey the laws of the country they live in without comprising their faith, but when one chooses freely to become a cabbie on their own free will, obeying religion and faith is out of the door dear.

 

Listen, no one is forcing these men to obey the rules and regulations, but the minute they signed off those dotted lines in their contract, they themselves agreed to obey the laws of the country and its rules. Therefore, you have no grounds to stand, questioning what rules they should obey, because they are the ones who agreed to these same rules to begin with.

I was hoping to obtain a copy of the taxi code of conduct in that area. I have google searched but to no avail.

 

Why is religion out of the window when you become a cabbie? Do the same laws not allow religious freedoms? It is a fine balancing act and that is why we need a copy of the code of conduct. That’s the only way we can fully analise this.

 

Its all just opinion at the moment,,,,,,

[Taliban]

I am sure the majority of those who have made comments in this topic are Muslims; it's their duty to argue from an Islamic point of view and support those brothers/sisters who are upholding or practicing the teachings of Islam. It makes little sense if one is a Muslim but argues from a Western (non-Islamic) point of view.

[xiinfaniin]

Northern,

 

In this particular case, these taxi drivers lack the religious judgment needed to present their case as a religious request that warrants an exception. Every thing was going well I heard until some articles were published about the lack of solid evidence against transporting liqueur and it was then when the airport authorities made a complete u-turn on the whole thing.

 

Since they built their whole case on religious grounds and the Muslim scholars in that state took a different stand on it, these brothers seem to have not done their homework and they’ve hastily protested without fully educating themselves about the jurisprudential aspect of this masalah. Sadly this episode negatively impacted on their credibility and integrity.

[N.O.R.F]

^^Xiin

 

I understand they are standing on thin ice with regard to the Taxi Code of Conduct. I just want the nomads to present a case against the drivers using some sort of back-up. Then, when this is produced, we can analise it for holes and produce a counter case using civil/employment/religious/islamic laws.

 

Minnesota Muslim taxi drivers could face crackdown

 

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Muslim cab drivers at Minnesota's biggest airport are facing a possible crackdown for refusing to give rides to travelers carrying liquor or accompanied by dogs, an official said on Wednesday.

 

A large number of taxi drivers in the area of the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport are Muslim Somali immigrants.

 

Many of them say they feel the faith's ban on alcohol consumption includes transporting anyone carrying it. Some have also refused to transport dogs, both pets and guide dogs, saying they are unclean.

 

Under the proposal -- which is also aimed at drivers who refuse to take short-haul passengers in favor of more lucrative long trips -- a first offense would result in a 30-day cab license suspension and a second a two-year license revocation.

 

The public hearing, approved at a commission meeting on Tuesday, will be held February 27.

 

Hogan said the number of refused rides has fallen from about 77 a month early in 2006 to eight to 20 a month currently.

 

The decline is due in part to the government security ban on large quantities of liquid in carry-on baggage, but the staff felt the situation needed to be addressed for a variety of reasons, Hogan said.

 

Hesham Hussein, a spokesman for the Muslim American Society of Minnesota, said that group, in trying to work out a compromise last year, told the commission that Islamic law prohibits not only the drinking but the selling and transport of alcohol. He said the group said nothing about dogs and would not agree that a person with a seeing-eye dog should be denied a ride.

 

The compromise the group tried to work out involved marking cabs to alert dispatchers and customers to those who would not transport alcohol so they would not be hailed or called up from queues.

 

The commission rejected that idea and Hussein told Reuters that approach idea now appears to be dead. Given the "social polarization" and intolerance among some in the country, he said, the "cards are stacked" against the drivers.

 

If the stronger penalties are approved drivers could still refuse to accept a fare if they feel the person seeking a ride presents a threat to public safety or is drunk or on drugs.

 

link

[N.O.R.F]

By Keith Oppenheim

CNN

 

Adjust font size:

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota (CNN) -- It's always interesting to me, that in my own country, I often get assignments where I walk into a room, and everyone looks and sounds different from me. Different language. Different culture. And sometimes, different beliefs.

 

On this story, I crossed such a threshold.

 

I stepped into the taxi depot that serves the Minneapolis - St. Paul International Airport, where drivers sit and wait for their next fare. In this crowded, noisy room, most of the cabbies are Muslims originally from Somalia.

 

"We're doing a story about the conflict between the cabbies and the airport. The Muslim drivers have been refusing to take passengers carrying alcohol, such as wine or liquor purchased at a duty free shop," I explained.

 

A group of men gathered around us.

 

"This is America, we have freedom of religion," says one cabbie. We could see their feelings are intense -- that the issue seems to cut to the core of their identity.

 

"The Metropolitan Airport Commission is discriminating against us Muslim drivers," says Abdulkaddir Adan, a Somalian-American who's been driving a cab in the Twin Cities for two years.

 

We asked Adan if he'd give us a ride, and let us interview him while he was driving. He agreed. CNN Photojournalist Derek Davis set up a "lipstick" cam, a small camera, positioned on the dashboard.

 

From the back seat, I asked why Adan would object if I were carrying alcohol.

 

"The one who drinks, the one who transports, and the one who makes a business of it, they have the same category," he said.

 

"So, by my transporting my alcohol in your cab, you are sinning?" I asked.

 

"Sinning to God, yes," he replied.

 

Adan is not alone. About three quarters of the 900 cabbies serving the airport are Muslim, and many have been regularly refusing passengers carrying beer, wine or liquor.

 

In the past five years, 5,400 would-be taxi passengers at the airport were refused service for this very reason, said the Metropolitan Airport Commission, or MAC. Last May, passenger Bob Dildine says he waited for 20 minutes, and five cab drivers would not give him and his daughter a ride. He was carrying wine he bought on vacation.

 

"They're here to provide service to people," said Dildine. "We were a lawful customer, and we were denied service. That's not our way of doing things."

 

MAC officials said they don't know of any airport other than the Twin Cities where this has become an issue. MAC officials explain that the area has a growing population of immigrant Somalians, many who've sought jobs as taxi drivers. Last year, MAC consulted local Muslim leaders, who issued a fatwa, or religious opinion.

 

"It is expressly stated," said Kahlid Elmasry of the Muslim American Society. "Transportation of alcohol for Muslims is against the Islamic faith, and therefore forbidden."

 

Last September, airport officials sought a compromise, and suggested that distinctive lights could be put on the roofs of cabs operated by drivers who will not transport alcohol. That way, taxi starters -- airport staff who direct people into cabs -- could send passengers with alcohol to those drivers who have no objection.

 

"But the feedback we got, not only locally but really from around the country and around the world, was almost entirely negative," said airport spokesman Pat Hogan. "People saw that as condoning discrimination against people who had alcohol."

 

Right now, MAC says any cabbie who refuses a passenger carrying alcohol must go to the back of the line. No small thing, given cabbies often have to wait at the depot up to three hours for the next fare.

 

But because MAC officials have received thousands of complaints, they're considering stiffer penalties: a 30-day suspension for a first refusal, a two-year suspension for a second.

 

"We're now at a point where the drivers may have to make a choice," said Hogan.

 

For Adan, the choice is clear.

 

"I would leave my job, instead of doing something that's not allowed in my religion," he said.

 

The interview with Adan took a long time. Our fare came to $150, a very good day for him. Normally, he makes about $100 a day, so it became more clear to us that refusing a fare is a big loss. But Adan said he won't accept the idea that in America a cab driver should allow something his religion forbids.

 

cnn.com

[Taliban]

Originally posted by Northerner:

"People saw that as condoning discrimination against people who had alcohol."

"I would leave my job, instead of doing something that's not allowed in my religion," he said.

What's there to discriminate about alcohol? Is alcohol like milk, water or medicine? Everyone knows the damage alcohol causes to one's life.

 

Kudos to Adan and Muslims like him; Muslims in the West with such integrity and steadfastness have become a rarity.