Minnesota Muslim taxi drivers could face crackdown

CHICAGO, Jan 18 (Reuters) Muslim cab drivers at Minnesota's biggest airport are facing a possible crackdown for refusing to give rides to travelers carrying liquor or accompanied by dogs, an official said yesterday.

The Metropolitan Airports Commission has authorised a public hearing next month on a staff proposal to increase penalties for refusing fares, spokesman Patrick Hogan said.

A large number of taxi drivers in the area of the Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport are Muslim Somali immigrants.

Many of them say they feel the faith's ban on alcohol consumption includes transporting anyone carrying it. Some have also refused to transport dogs, both pets and guide dogs, saying they are unclean.

Under the proposal -- which is also aimed at drivers who refuse to take short-haul passengers in favour of more lucrative long trips -- a first offense would result in a 30-day cab license suspension and a second a two-year license revocation.

The public hearing, approved at a commission meeting on Tuesday, will be held February 27.

Hogan said the number of refused rides has fallen from about 77 a month early in 2006 to eight to 20 a month currently.

The decline is due in part to the government security ban on large quantities of liquid in carry-on baggage, but the staff felt the situation needed to be addressed for a variety of reasons, Hogan said.

Hesham Hussein, a spokesman for the Muslim American Society of Minnesota, said that group, in trying to work out a compromise last year, told the commission that Islamic law prohibits not only the drinking but the selling and transport of alcohol. He said the group said nothing about dogs and would not agree that a person with a seeing-eye dog should be denied a ride.

The compromise the group tried to work out involved marking cabs to alert dispatchers and customers to those who would not transport alcohol so they would not be hailed or called up from queues.

The commission rejected that idea and Hussein told Reuters that approach idea now appears to be dead. Given the ''social polarization'' and intolerance among some in the country, he said, the ''cards are stacked'' against the drivers.

If the stronger penalties are approved drivers could still refuse to accept a fare if they feel the person seeking a ride presents a threat to public safety or is drunk or on drugs.

REUTERS PKS BST0418