Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Muslim Cabbies, Alcohol, and Guide Dogs

Daniel Pipes notes an interesting issue involving Muslim cab drivers and religious accommodation:

A minor issue at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) has potentially major implications for the future of Islam in America. Starting about a decade ago, some Islamic taxi drivers serving the airport declared that they would not transport passengers visibly carrying alcohol — in transparent duty-free shopping bags, for example. This stance stemmed from their understanding of the Koran's ban on alcohol.


Consider the slippery slope: Catholic cabbies refusing to take women to abortion clinics (Dennis Prager noted that one); Quaker cabbies refusing to transport military personnel; etc.

A similar issue arose in Britain where a Muslim driver refused to transport a blind passenger and her "unclean" guide dog.


[HT:
Marty Peretz ]

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