Dry Taxis

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I put this in the same category as pharmacists who want to refuse to sell the so-called morning after pill.

I stepped into the taxi depot that serves the Minneapolis - St. Paul International Airport, where drivers sit and wait for their next fare. In this crowded, noisy room, most of the cabbies are Muslims originally from Somalia.

"We're doing a story about the conflict between the cabbies and the airport. The Muslim drivers have been refusing to take passengers carrying alcohol, such as wine or liquor purchased at a duty free shop," I explained.

A group of men gathered around us.

"This is America, we have freedom of religion," says one cabbie. We could see their feelings are intense -- that the issue seems to cut to the core of their identity.

Sounds familiar, no? If your religious beliefs conflict with your job duties you should find another job. That goes for pharmacist and cab driver.

And this dude gets it completely backward.

"The Metropolitan Airport Commission is discriminating against us Muslim drivers," says Abdulkaddir Adan, a Somalian-American who's been driving a cab in the Twin Cities for two years.

No, YOU Mr. cabbie are discriminating based on what items a fare is carrying. You don’t have to drink. You don’t have to like that others drink. And unless your passenger is beating you over the head with a Jack Daniels bottle or, I suppose opening and drinking the hooch in the cab, it’s really none of your business if someone is carrying alcohol. The booze is just not any of your concern.