"Muslim cabbies Want to Discriminate Against Customers"

[Cheese]

Another fuse linked to a potential bomb. Do Muslim cabbies have the right to refuse service, "PUBLIC SERVICE", to those who do not follow their religious beliefs? If allowed would this lead to a resurgence in drinking and driving? What if a Muslim took a job as a Bus Driver? Could he forbid women from getting on the bus without their head fully covered?
There is a HUGE compnent of Muslim cabbies in Canada...can we see a potential political/religious bomb on the horizon?

Should cab drivers be allowed to refuse rides to people who somehow violate the driver's religious beliefs? That's what Muslim cab drivers in Minneapolis want: they don't want to give rides to anyone who has alcohol because alcohol is contrary to their religious beliefs. What's next, refusing to give rides to women who aren't modestly dressed? Jews? Gays? Atheists?

Star Tribune Article

About article

In September, the Star Tribune reported that one flight attendant had been refused by five drivers, because she had wine in her suitcase.Taxi drivers who refuse a customer, except for safety reasons, must go to the end of the taxi line.
They face a potential three-hour wait for the next fare. Muslim drivers asked for an exemption, and officials of the Metropolitan Airports Commission proposed color-coded lights on cab roofs to indicate whether the driver would accept a passenger carrying alcohol.

[Agamemnon]

Way over the top. If they don't want to give a ride to legitimate customers, they shouldn't be cabbies.

[MrMastodonFarm]

A cab is a public service?

[Resolute 14]

Isnt this self defeating anyway? Fewer fares = less money.

If they want to get away with this, there better not be any complaints a couple years down the road because "Christian" cabbies are making more money.

[Cheese]

Originally Posted by MrMastodonFarm

A cab is a public service?

Ah crap MMF..semantics...a private public service then...something that MADD wants us all to take after a night cheering on the Flames at the local pub.

Why should my ability to move around a city be conditioned on Muslim religious law? Why shouldn't everyone have the same rights to move around a city regardless of what Muslim, Jewish, Christian, or Hindu doctrines say about them, their religion, their pets, or what they drink?

[Winsor_Pilates]

Originally Posted by Snakeeye

Isnt this self defeating anyway? Fewer fares = less money.

If they want to get away with this, there better not be any complaints a couple years down the road because "Christian" cabbies are making more money.

Or if this leads to other cabbies not driving Muslims. Some how I don't think these same Muslim cab drivers would support that.

[Vulcan]

What stood out to me is that 3/4 of the drivers at the airport are Somali Muslim. They don't need a law to make their rules effective. They run the show and by the way how would they know what's in somebodies suitcase?

[RougeUnderoos]

It's good to hear that they rejected the "colored lights" approach. We'll see how devout these fellas are when nobody gets in their cab.

If I was so inclined to be a cabbie, I think I'd move to Minneapolis. I'd clean up.

[Table 5]

interesting, the drunk muslim cabby who ran a red light causing an accident that left me and my friends with life-long back/neck injuries didn't seem to mind alcohol so much.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by Winsor_Pilates

Or if this leads to other cabbies not driving Muslims. Some how I don't think these same Muslim cab drivers would support that.

Discriminating based on religion is illegal, discriminating based on sobriety is not.

But the family of the first persion killed by a drunk driver who tried to get a cab and failed because of this should sue the cabby into bankruptcy.

[RougeUnderoos]

Originally Posted by Snakeeye

Discriminating based on religion is illegal, discriminating based on sobriety is not.

But the family of the first persion killed by a drunk driver who tried to get a cab and failed because of this should sue the cabby into bankruptcy.

I don't think this has anything to do with sobriety.

[Flash Walken]

Boy, this is like a prophecy of what's to come if that Defense of Religion bill is passed by the conservatives.

[Tron_fdc]

Sweet. Does that mean I can finally open my "White Christian Driver Only" cab company?

Oh wait, that's racist.

[Red Mile Style]

I don't really see what the problem is...

I mean, Christians deny people the right to get married because of their sexual orientation. Granted, I think it's wrong, but they're just following their religion. It's not like the cabbies are benefitting in any way from this, in fact it's the opposite. As much as it seems backwards, it's their religious beliefs and they have a right to practice it.

If anything, take this away from the story: don't visit the Twin Cities area... the only thing they got going for them is a huge mall (sound familiar?)...

[Winsor_Pilates]

Originally Posted by Tron_fdc

Sweet. Does that mean I can finally open my "White Christian Driver Only" cab company?

Oh wait, that's racist.

Isn't that mayfair?

[Tron_fdc]

Originally Posted by Winsor_Pilates

Isn't that mayfair?

No idea.

I could care less what the skin colour of my cabbie is, as long as he can put up with my trucker mouth and boozy breath at 3AM. I will be a little annoyed if I don't get picked up because I'm not Muslim. Or maybe tht's part of it....Muslims don't drink and as such the cabbies won't have to put up with people barfing in the cab.

Maybe I'll just drive home. It's like a video game with 2 lines on either side of the road....no problem!!

[Bobblehead]

Since there are often only a set number of Taxi licenses (at least in many jurisdictions), if a portion of drivers decide to refuse giving rides based on a specific criteria it can really skew the availability of cabs.

[longsuffering]

Originally Posted by Cheese

Why should my ability to move around a city be conditioned on Muslim religious law? Why shouldn't everyone have the same rights to move around a city regardless of what Muslim, Jewish, Christian, or Hindu doctrines say about them, their religion, their pets, or what they drink?

I assume that you're equally outraged that an African American male has a hard time getting a cab in New York City.

That said, I think this position of the cabbies is wrong. If you want to be a cabbie, you should not be able to discriminate against members of the public.

[WessThompson]

easy solution...go back to the middle east and drive a damn cab there...

[Flames in 07]

Originally Posted by Red Mile Style

I don't really see what the problem is...

I mean, Christians deny people the right to get married because of their sexual orientation. Granted, I think it's wrong, but they're just following their religion. It's not like the cabbies are benefitting in any way from this, in fact it's the opposite. As much as it seems backwards, it's their religious beliefs and they have a right to practice it.

If anything, take this away from the story: don't visit the Twin Cities area... the only thing they got going for them is a huge mall (sound familiar?)...

I was blown away by the post until I saw the author.

I'm not Christian, but let me be the first to tell you that there are millions of Christians who may not deny anybodys right to get married, regardless of the circumstances that you are trying to portray.

Secondly, cab drivers do not have the right to admit or deny business based on religious beliefs. There's laws they have to abide by.

Lastly, those who visit the TC's don't really have much choice about if they go St. Paul or not, and certainly don't based their travel decisions based on the behavior of cab drivers, regardless of their views.