This story has received a lot of attention this past week:
Commissioners at one of the country’s biggest airports are considering punishing Muslim cab drivers who refuse service to passengers possessing alcohol or guide dogs.
The cabbies claim transporting those items violates Islamic law.
“It is against our faith and the airport is discriminating against Muslim drivers,” says a cab driver who would only give his first name, Hashim.
Three-quarters of the 900 cabbies licensed to operate at the airport are Muslim, most from Somalia. It is unclear how many are adhering to this letter of Islamic law which considers the purchase, drinking and transport of alcoholic beverages a sin.
Of course this is being used to fuel more intolerance against Muslims in this country, but how does it compare to other issues in America? Take the case of pharmacists who refuse to dispense the Morning After pill. These people are given a “pass” because it “violates their religious beliefs”, yet the same meme doesn’t apply to the Muslim world?
Perhaps this paragraph from the same article sums it up best:
“This is a public access issue,” says Chuck Samuelson, of the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota, “Bottom line is we are a secular society, and that’s the way it is.”
Yes we are. If people are going to take a stand and denounce these cab drivers for what they are doing, they better be prepared to denounce doctors who refuse to provide legal abortions due to “religious conflict” or pharmacists who refuse to dispense the very legal morning after pill. And remember on that note – a Muslim refusing to transport someone for having alcohol with them is not putting a life endanger. Refusing to provide medical care very well could put a life in danger. How do the hypocritical wingnuts justify that?