Muslim cabbies face license loss for refusing fares with alcohol

• Article
• Comments ()
• Click-2-Listen
• Videos

By

The Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport will begin suspending licenses of Muslim taxi drivers who refuse for religious reasons to provide service to passengers transporting alcohol.

The Metropolitan Airports Commission voted unanimously Monday to suspend a driver's airport taxi license for 30 days for the first offense and revoke it for two years after a second offense. The policy goes into effect May 11.

The action "will strengthen compliance with our taxi cab ordinance and ensure people who seek taxi service receive it," commission Executive Director Jeff Hamiel said.

"Some Muslims believe that it is inappropriate not only to drink alcohol, but to carry or transport alcohol," said Jeff Hassan, a lawyer representing the Muslim cabdrivers. "Some would interpret that to mean carry or transport for hire or for profit, so there are a few different interpretations on prohibitions."

Previously, cabdrivers who refused to transport customers were sent to the back of the line, a punishment that has been handed out in nearly 5,000 instances since 2002, commission spokesman Patrick Hogan said.

"Sometimes they asked if [the passengers] are carrying alcohol, or they will see it," Mr. Hogan said. "One person saw a stuffed animal and thought it was a decanter and denied the person service because they thought it contained alcohol."

Another 300 incidents have been recorded in which individuals were refused transport to destinations near the airport.

Mr. Hassan said his clients are considering whether to file a lawsuit against the commission to overturn its decision.

"This is certainly possible. As this point, we do not know," he said.

Dozens of cabdrivers were among about 100 people who attended Monday's meeting, where Mr. Hassan argued that the drivers were protected under the state's constitution.