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A Minneapolis question. Why are "most" of the airport cabbies, Muslim?

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SoCalDem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-28-07 04:47 PM
Original message
A Minneapolis question. Why are "most" of the airport cabbies, Muslim?
CNN interviews a few and they were "recent" arrivals (a few years, for most. Who USED to drive the cabs before they arrived? Are there no non-Muslims who drive cabs in Minneapolis?

If they will not drive for people with animals or liquor, why are they still allowed to even frequent the airport?

What if they refused to transport Jewish people, or black people? or women traveling alone?

This country need a serious debate about keeping "faith" OUT of the workplace, and if you cannot do it, then perhaps you need to find a job AT the place of worship..
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pennylane100 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-28-07 04:52 PM
Response to Original message
1. Its incredible that we are even having this debate.
If you cannot do your job because of religious considerations, you should obviously look for another one. Especially one where you need a permit to operate.

As an atheist/agnostic I believe that if you give an inch in the battle to keep religion out of the lives of non-believers you will very soon loose the war.
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liberalpragmatist Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-28-07 04:56 PM
Response to Original message
2. Minneapolis has a very large Somali population - nt
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SoCalDem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-28-07 04:57 PM
Response to Reply #2
3. Did they pool their money and buy all the cabs? n/t
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liberalpragmatist Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-28-07 04:59 PM
Response to Reply #3
4. I doubt it
They're recent immigrants, so my guess is that the cab industry was an easy one for them to find work in, similar to how New York cab drivers are largely of foreign extraction.

Anyway, it doesn't matter if they're Muslim, so long as they do their job, which most of them are doing.
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SoCalDem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-28-07 05:01 PM
Response to Reply #4
5. the CNN report (yeh, I know) said that 4 out of 5 cabbies refused
service.. That doesn;t sound like most.
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liberalpragmatist Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-28-07 05:03 PM
Response to Reply #5
6. Oh, well, I could be wrong then
My memory could be faulty - I was basing it off an article I read about a month ago and I thought it said it was only a minority of the cab drivers.
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Deja Q Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-28-07 05:14 PM
Response to Reply #3
8. Do all American IT workers pool their money and buy Indian IT companies?
(just a counter-question)
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sam sarrha Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-28-07 06:01 PM
Response to Reply #3
10. did the Middle Eastern people or Hamas pool their money and buy all the Quickstops in the 80's??
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Bucky Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-28-07 06:30 PM
Response to Reply #10
12. HA! Good one! Of course it's traditional for immigrant groups to congregate into one job field.
In the past different immigrant communities included Irish construction workers, Chinese launderers, Italian street vendors, Indian anaesthesiologists, Filipino nurses, and Canadian movie stars. Immigrants who come here in large waves tend to seek out paths to achieving the American dream that their friends and countrymen are able to tell them about.
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demosincebirth Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-28-07 05:10 PM
Response to Original message
7. I was in D.C. a while back and the muslim cab drivers
were on strike at the airport to force the city to provide a place to wash their feet before they pray. Many people were upset because the cabbies were using the public wash room to wash their feet during the day when they are in heavy use. Don't know the outcome of the situation because I left that same day. I know that I would be very upset to constantly see people washing their feet in basins where I wash.
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sam sarrha Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-28-07 05:59 PM
Response to Reply #7
9. i flat wouldn't wash in a basin where someone just washed their feet, sounds like a liability for .
the airport.. someone hop'n around on one foot on a wet floor. rubbing their foot on the faucet ..

i do have a real problem with the regular knob faucet handles,, people touch them before they wash and after they wash... why wash.. the paddles that you use you wrist to turn on the water are much more sanitary and civilized..
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msongs Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-28-07 06:12 PM
Response to Reply #7
11. how about wash feet in their cab? ain't religion grand??
must everyone in Minneapolis accomodate something that is another person's PERSONAL LIFESTYLE choice?

gee I wish everybody on the planet would do what I want whenever I want them to do it :-)

Msongs
www.msongs.com
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Bear down under Donating Member (289 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-28-07 07:12 PM
Response to Reply #11
14. I don't see what's so unreasonable about this.
How much would it cost for the airport to add a bidet or two to one of the men's rooms the cabbies use?

I know your remark about wishing evryone on the planet to do what you want them to is intended as sarcasm, but Americans abroad are notorious for just that attitude.

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Bucky Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-28-07 06:32 PM
Response to Reply #7
13. Ah, the old debate about ablution pollution
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