Re: Have Booze, won't travel
'interesting' is an interesting word :)
Re: Have Booze, won't travel
The ahle-imaan cabbies need to find another job immediately. If it is against their beliefs then its better to stay away from such an employement/business.
The people who have dealt with Somalians here in the west or on Hajj will agree that they might have not seen a more jahil person in their lives as a Somalian. They have ruined Muslim reputition in Etobicoke area of Toronto. When you see them yelling at each other in super market, the first thing comes on your tongue is 'JANWAR'.
Re: Have Booze, won't travel
oh dont remind me of these ppl at Hajj, I thought they were sudanese or nigerians though. the gang makes a circle with all the men, like 20 of them, women and children are in the middle and then they jog around for tawaf pushing and shoving everyone in their way. totally disrespectful of the place and the occassion and of other pilgrims.
Re: Have Booze, won't travel
same difference
Re: Have Booze, won't travel
I agree.
The taxi association needs to mandate laws/rules that clearly dictate to taxi drivers that they will not refuse any of these passengers. If they have an objection then please find another more halal line of business.
Its like when you sign up for any service on the internet, you have a 30 page legal notice. You cannot continue unless you I Agree to it.
The problem though is that if this law is passed and if a majority of these somali cab drivers quit (and assuming other muslims choose not to replace them) then these places will start running very short on cab drivers.
Someone mentioned the muslim cabbies who dont mind helping people carry booze to their homes are tolerant. I wouldnt call them tolerant. I would call them ignorant. Thanks to western society though for blurring the lines between tolerance and ignorance :)
Re: Have Booze, won't travel
well cabbies do help ppl with their luggage. loading, unloading, you just tip them for the extra effort. now whether the cabbie helps you with a suitcase or a case, its not his problem, he is helping his customer carry his belongings, which is good customer service. I fail to see why that is ignorance.
Re: Have Booze, won't travel
Every breath you take contains an iota of air that once went inside a infidel ....
Stop breathing.
Re: Have Booze, won't travel
or once was in genghis khans fart...
Re: Have Booze, won’t travel
Seems like this issue has taken a life of its own, and is not going away any time soon. Time magazine has published a story about this in their latest issue. CNN has a front page article on this today.
Contrary to all the fatwas given by our esteemed guppies in this thread, the Muslim American Society (who are they??) have a different, and seemingly strict interpretation about alcohol. From the CNN article
Now finally, it seems the patience of Airport officials is wearing thin, and they are going to start suspending drivers who refuse passengers carrying alcohol. Now the drivers have to start making a real choice. Some will seem it as a test of their imaan and will give up cab driving (at least at the airport); while others may just begin to compromise on this interpretation of Islamic ruling.
Worst case scenario, if 600 of the 900 cab drivers at Minneapolis - St. Paul International Airport are kicked out, I fail to see how this problem will be solved, in any event (ppl won’t have cabs to begin with). Unless of course, there is an assumption that these muslim Somalian drivers had established a mafia and were not letting any one else to drive a cab from the airport.
Secondly, how come this is only an issue at Minneapolis - St. Paul International Airport? Are there no other muslim cab drivers in other airports, or are they so few in number that ppl really don’t care, or do all of them have a different interpretation on this issue?
Re: Have Booze, won't travel
so do the cab drivers search ur stuff befre u enter?
Re: Have Booze, won't travel
^ I assume they only know when the passenger is carrying a bottle or something bought from the duty-free shop at the airport.
Re: Have Booze, won't travel
I know that consumption and trading of alcohol is not allowd in Islam but giving rides seems a bit to far and imposing. These cab drivers are making a mistake by taking this too far, especially when merit is against them.
I think companies will just fire them and hire new people, but because they are so vast in numbers, quick replacements are not easy. That is why they are tolerating them.
Re: Have Booze, won't travel
How is the beer at Pakistan's Murree Brewery transported?
Are Muslims allowed to work at factories that make convoyer belts for Brewerys? If so they would be indirectly helping transport alcohol.
Re: Have Booze, won't travel
utd
as you can gather by the preceeding discussions, the cabbies in Minneapolis have simply lost it and the association there seems to be populated by imported right wingers types. It makes no sense.
Re: Have Booze, won't travel
I realize my opinion is different than just about everyone thats posted here, but I think the cab drivers should be allowed to take whomever they want or dont want.
When I was sitting in the back of a NYC cab a few weeks ago, I read that cab drivers are allowed to refuse to give you ride, and they dont have to give you a good reason. Atleast I think I read that.
This is the same thing to me.
Re: Have Booze, won't travel
well when they use religion as the basis of their issue then I have an issue with it because its my religion too and I have not seen anything credible that supports their position.
Re: Have Booze, won't travel
^ Well, thats not really a strong argument, in all seriousness. We all agree that there are many different opinions in Islam on any given topic. So, if those cab drivers believe in something, and are willing to bear the consequences of that belief, then yours or mine difference of opinion is not really important. We can keep our beliefs, and continue to insist that those cabdrivers have a faulty belief, but that doesn't solve this issue. And to be fair, it seems like the Muslim Association of that city not only agrees with the beliefs of those cabdrivers, but may actually have been instrumental in getting it popularized amongst them. And with anything like this, there can be very valid reasons for their argument. Notwithstanding many arguments that are against their position.
But the question is, do cabdrivers have a right to impose their religious beliefs in discriminating against others. Those with wine is one, but can cabdrivers also, by same logic, refuse to give a ride to prostitutes, homosexuals, polygamists, lawyers, accountants, bankers... pretty much anyone they don't want to associate with, based on their personal religious beliefs? I don't think anyone will mind, if cabdrivers refuse to give ride to someone where they suspect their personal safety is at jeopardy, or they want to avoid certain areas in a city (Harlem, Queens, Bronx, whatever), but thats again the 'safety' argument. Munni, does that answer the point you raised?
So, I think, in a nutshell, we will all agree that cabdrivers, like any other businessman, should have a right to refuse service to anyone; but that refusal should be based on an acceptable reason (safety). Religious beliefs may not constitute that. Otherwise, we are going down the dangerous slope of discrimination and segregation, that this country (USA) is battling for the last many decades.
Re: Have Booze, won't travel
Faisal
cabbies can have their position, the MSA there needs to be honest and not promote that position as THE position. That is my issue with the cabbies.
the right to refuse service has its weaknesses, you can not use that 'right' to be prejudiced and discriminatory.
Re: Have Booze, won't travel
I think you meant to say that your problem is with MSA, and not with cabbies then. In all liklihood, the cabdrivers are from the same background and are in herd mentality. MSA is the one who has taken the stand that carrying alcohol is wrong, and so all cab drivers are just following the "fatwa".
"Right to refuse service" is a tricky topic. I see it in all the restaurants, probably as a fall-back. Not sure if that will save them from a discrimination law-suit, if restaurant management tries to enforce it without a good reasonable cause.