Airport threatens licenses of Moslems cabbies

From the St. Paul Pioneer Press...

The revision would suspend the airport license of any cabdriver refusing a passenger who is not life-threatening or intoxicated. Suspension would last 30 days on the first offense, and two years for each offense after that....

About three-quarters of the airport's taxis are driven by Somalis, said airport spokesman Patrick Hogan; such drivers are commonly Muslim, and many believe their religion strictly forbids the transport of alcohol or dogs.

Hogan said that one year ago, 77 people a month were refused transport due to alcohol, and others were refused because they only had to go short distances. He added that about a half-dozen people a year were refused transport because they had animals traveling with them, including service animals such as guide dogs.

On one hand we should work to respect other's religious belief, but at the same time it stands to reason that there is a limit to what one should reasonably demand from others within the context of those beliefs. I would hardly think it logical to get a job playing the piano in a strip club, then demand the strippers stop taking their clothes of because it offends my religious beliefs. Maybe comparing a blind person with a seeing-eye-dog to a stripper seems extreme, but I'm trying to place it within the context that the Moslem cabbies are supposedly coming from. If their job requires them to do things contrary to their faith--they should find other work. 

Now that's not to excuse those bosses who intentionally invent "requirements" for a job, specifically to aggravate an employee with sincerely held religious beliefs. That happens a lot, and is inexcusable. (believe me, it's happened to me several times) This case is different in that transporting people who are carrying alcohol or need seeing-eye-dogs is a reasonable expectation for the job.

Posted by Danny Carlton at January 4, 2007 5:39 AM