Commentary; Posted: 6/6/07
Twin Cities cab drivers controversy
Rev. John C. Blackford,
Religion Columnist
This spring a controversy erupted at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport involving cab drivers of the Islamic faith.
Because of their beliefs, the primarily Somalian cabbies refused to pick up anyone with alcohol in their luggage or on their person.
The resulting conflict brought the attention of the media in our area, and in other parts of our nation as well, being viewed as a part of the larger set of cultural issues we face in relating to the demands of growing minority groups.
In April the airport commissioners voted 11-0 to crack down on drivers refusing service, making Minnesota the first place in the country to decide how to treat Muslim cab drivers who decline to transport alcohol-toting riders on religious grounds.
Annually the airport handles more than 700,000 taxi rides.
Since 2002 there have been about 4,800 complaints from customers of drivers who refused to carry people carrying alcohol.
Many drivers were unhappy with the decision, and one complained: “It’s excessive punishment...The new rules ruin our life totally.” (Minneapolis Star Tribune, April 20, 2007).
Since the cab drivers issue surfaced, other cultural concerns have emerged.
Islamic employees in food markets have refused to check out pork and bacon items unless the customers swiped them through the scanner.
Some in the Somali Muslim community say it is wrong only to eat pork, but the more orthodox believe the prohibition extends to selling, touching or handling the meat.
Further problems include the unwillingness of Islamic drivers to allow dogs in their cabs, thus making it difficult for the blind and others who use service dogs.
Last year a Muslim student slipped and hit her head while trying to wash her feet in a bathroom sink as part of a religious ritual. Now there is an effort being made to install foot baths in our colleges.
Are these events insignificant or could they lead to further demands by the Moslems in our midst?
It is informative to look to our northern neighbor, Canada, for answers to our question. An organization representing about half of that nation’s students has called for sweeping changes that would affect higher education in many ways.
This group is calling for outright grants for students instead of interest accumulating loans, because Islam “opposes usury and involvement with interests-bearing loans.”
Their report endorses “women-only” time on athletic facilities, and urges schools to “provide curtains or screens over the observation windows” when women are using the pool.
Halal (ritually slaughtered food) must be offered, and precautions must be taken by staff to prevent contaminating halal food.
The tenets of Islam should be taught to students, and great efforts should be made to avoid Islamophobia.
The Muslim Students Association of the United States and Canada is working closely with the Canadian students group, and has counseled the local school where the student was hurt in her foot washing accident.
“Its main goal, it says, is ‘Dawah’: spreading Islam.” (Katherine Kersten column, Minneapolis Star Tribune, April 19, 2007).
Minnesota’s Muslim population is around 120,000, and includes American-born Muslims, immigrants from East Africa, South Asia, the Middle East, the Far East and Europe.
Somalia immigrants are the fastest growing segment, and represent between a quarter and a half of state Islamic followers. There are 20 mosques (places of worship) in Minnesota.
Their spiritual leaders are called “imams” (meaning “preachers”), who are active in efforts to secure more concessions from both government and private institutions.
There are many moderate Muslims, who are being assimilated into our American cultural ways, and are deeply concerned about the actions of the more radical Islamists.
They need our encouragement and support in the ways we may be able to bring them to bear on the situation.
In another article the writer will consider the wider impact of Islam in the nation and throughout the world.
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