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It turns out that the Somali cabdrivers in Minneapolis who refused to carry passengers with alcohol were inspired by the Muslim Brotherhood, as part of a larger effort to bring Sharia to the United States. For what may seem to be a pragmatic and fair solution -- the airport's initial plan to color-code the cabs as Sharia-compliant and non-Sharia-compliant -- actually opens the door to numerous other Sharia provisions in the U.S., as Daniel Pipes has pointed out. Will an unmarried man and woman be allowed to share a cab? A man carrying a ham sandwich? This kind of effort, especially now that the Ikhwan turns out to be behind it, must be seen for what it is and resisted strenuously.
"Airport taxi flap about alcohol has deeper significance," by Katherine Kersten in the Star Tribune, with thanks to Fjordman:
The taxi controversy at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport has caught the nation's attention. But the dispute may go deeper than the quandary over whether to accommodate Somali Muslim cabdrivers who refuse to carry passengers carrying alcohol. Behind the scenes, a struggle for power and religious authority is apparently playing out.At the Starbucks coffee shop in Minneapolis' Cedar-Riverside neighborhood, a favorite Somali gathering spot, holidaymakers celebrating Eid, the end of Ramadan, filled the tables on Monday. Several taxis were parked outside.
An animated circle of Somalis gathered when the question of the airport controversy was raised.
"I was surprised and shocked when I heard it was an issue at the airport," said Faysal Omar. "Back in Somalia, there was never any problem with taking alcohol in a taxi."
Jama Dirie said, "If a driver doesn't pick up everyone, he should get his license canceled and get kicked out of the airport."
Two of the Somalis present defended the idea that Islam prohibits cabdrivers from transporting passengers with alcohol. An argument erupted. The consensus seemed to be that only a small number of Somalis object to transporting alcohol. It's a matter of personal opinion, not Islamic law, several men said.
Ahmed Samatar, a nationally recognized expert on Somali society at Macalester College, confirmed that view. "There is a general Islamic prohibition against drinking," he said, "but carrying alcohol for people in commercial enterprise has never been forbidden. There is no basis in Somali cultural practice or legal tradition for that.
"This is one of those new concoctions."It is being foisted on the Somali community by an inside or outside group," he added. "I do not know who."
But many Somali drivers at the airport are refusing to carry passengers with alcohol. When I asked Patrick Hogan, Metropolitan Airports Commission spokesman, for his explanation, he forwarded a fatwa, or religious edict, that the MAC had received. The fatwa proclaims that "Islamic jurisprudence" prohibits taxi drivers from carrying passengers with alcohol, "because it involves cooperating in sin according to the Islam."
The fatwa, dated June 6, 2006, was issued by the "fatwa department" of the Muslim American Society, Minnesota chapter, and signed by society officials.
The society is mediating the conflict between the cab drivers and the MAC. That seems odd, since the society itself clearly has a stake in the controversy's outcome.
How did the MAC connect with the society? "The Minnesota Department of Human Rights recommended them to us to help us figure out how to handle this problem," Hogan said.
Omar Jamal, director of the Somali Justice Advocacy Center, thinks he knows why the society is promoting a "no-alcohol-carry" agenda with no basis in Somali culture. "MAS is an Arab group; we Somalis are African, not Arabs," he said. "MAS wants to polarize the world, create two camps. I think they are trying to hijack the Somali community for their Middle East agenda. They look for issues they can capitalize on, like religion, to rally the community around. The majority of Somalis oppose this, but they are vulnerable because of their social and economic situation."
The society
What is the Muslim American Society? In September 2004 the Chicago Tribune published an investigative article. The society was incorporated in 1993, the paper reported, and is the name under which the U.S. branch of the Muslim Brotherhood operates.
The Muslim Brotherhood was founded in Egypt in 1928 by Hassan al-Banna. The Tribune described the Brotherhood as "the world's most influential Islamic fundamentalist group."Because of its hard-line beliefs, the U.S. Brotherhood has been an increasingly divisive force within Islam in America, fueling the often bitter struggle between moderate and conservative Muslims," the paper reported.
The international Muslim Brotherhood "preaches that religion and politics cannot be separated and that governments eventually should be Islamic," according to the Tribune. U.S. members emphasize that they follow American laws, but want people here to convert to Islam so that one day a majority will support a society governed by Islamic law.
Posted by Robert at October 26, 2006 7:30 AM
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The fatwa, dated June 6, 2006, was issued by the "fatwa department" of the Muslim American Society, Minnesota chapter, and signed by society officials.
How did the MAC connect with the society? "The Minnesota Department of Human Rights recommended them to us to help us figure out how to handle this problem," Hogan said.
_____________________
1.) The person or persons in charged of the Department of Human Rights should be fired... right now.
2.) The Minnesota Chapter should be closed immediatly and a general investigation be started of the Muslim American Society as a whole.
3.) The cab-drivers should be told that if they will not carry alcohol then they will be dismissed from their jobs and further attempts to implement Sharia law should be used as grounds for deportation back to Somalia.
Posted by: Monkeywho at October 26, 2006 7:50 AMIs the Ikhwan also behind some of them heading back to Somalia?
Posted by: Infidel Pride at October 26, 2006 7:51 AM"How did the MAC [Minneapolis Airport Commission] connect with the society? 'The Minnesota Department of Human Rights recommended them to us to help us figure out how to handle this problem,' Hogan said."
-- from the article above
And so, no hero, Hogan did. And there are tens of thousands of those who credulously accept what this or that "authority" tells them is another "authority." One can have fun guessing the identities and mental makeup of those who at the Minnseota Department of Human Rights -- Muslims themselves, quite possibly, who see nothing at all suspicious about the Muslim American Society, because they agree with it, or would never treat a Muslim organization as doubtful (and from their point of view, they are perfectly correct) or simply uninformed or terminally dumb non-Muslims, innocent of both history and theory.
And that is how, one by one by one, things happen, principles are given up, city land is turned over at suspect prices (who was in the Boston City administration who set that below-market price? Who was it in the City Administration of Boston who flew off to Saudi ARabia to obtain Wahhabi funding for that mosque? And what did Mayor Menino, Islamic scholar, know that caused him to be so enthusiastic about the building of that Boston Mosque to encourage "interfaith harmony" or "diversity" or something?
Is alcohol legal in this country? Yes. Is carrying that bottle of duty-free that you bought at the last minute, trying to use up every bit of foreign change you could on -- what will it be? that Amaretto di Saronno? Or perhaps the Drambuie? What about Courvoisier, that will certainly use up every last cent? -- out of customs, into the fresh air of healthy Minneapolis, legal? Yes. Do you have a right to stand in line and wait for a cab, and when your turn comes, if you are carrying a bottle and not a gun or a bomb, expect to be taken by the driver of that cab? Yes.
End of story.
Posted by: Hugh at October 26, 2006 7:58 AMHugh,
"Muslims themselves, quite possibly, who see nothing at all suspicious about the MAC,"
Did you mean MAS here?
Posted by: PRCS at October 26, 2006 8:02 AMNext they'll ban those "slutty looking womens" from taking a cab. And seeing eye dogs. And people buying pork chops. And....
Why did I ever leave New York for this state?
Posted by: ISLAMSFORLOSERS at October 26, 2006 8:20 AMThis is a no-brainer. Anyone who refuses to pick up passengers with alcoholic beverages should loose their license. Why is all this discussion needed if not to create controversy?
Posted by: Rukia at October 26, 2006 8:23 AMIt turns out that the Somali cabdrivers in Minneapolis who refused to carry passengers with alcohol were inspired by the Muslim Brotherhood, as part of a larger effort to bring Sharia to the United States
That's why this is an issue. A very BIG issue. The muslims made it an issue; and airport officials magnified the issue one hundred fold.
Ahmed Samatar, a nationally recognized expert on Somali society at Macalester College.
Ahhh, Macalester, that amoral subintellectual dump that gave us Kofi Anan.
Just who recognizes Ahmed as an expert on Somalis? And do Somalis have a society? I thought they had chaos.
But it's good to see the Minnesota Department of Human Rights actively engaged in violating Section 363A.14 of the Minnesota Human Rights Act by helping the Jihad war terrorists at the Moslem Brotherhood organize the Somali hacks to discriminate against drunks, who themselves are victims of the dread disease of alcoholism.
Oh, but that's another socialist Department of the State of Minnesota.
I caught mine from a toilet seat.
"and is the name under which the U.S. branch of the Muslim Brotherhood operates"
Outlawed in Egypt, but A-Okay in the US of A.
Posted by: Concerned Citizen at October 26, 2006 9:18 AMI knew it wasn't my imagination that some of the local Somalis here in the Twin Cities have been acting less than amenable
lately. It doesn't suprise me that the Muslim Brotherhood is involved in this controversy. Most of our local Mosques are Saudi or Arab funded and of the Salafist Sunni type. I have tons of locally gathered Muslim material for both Dawah and also "improving" the Islam of those already on the inside; almost all of it imported from Saudi- Arabia.
One interesting side note is that the traditional clothes of Somali women are usually very coloful and I must confess even beautiful. But there seems to be more of them wearing a more extensive and austure black Jelbab type outfit. I have even seen a women with a full veil and gloves at the grocery store.
What it looks like here is we have Arab cultural imperialism. We should encourage the Somalis to stay Somali.It is better for us and them if Arab influence is checked. Maybe even some day we can point out to the Somalis that the entire Islamic venture is nothing but Arab imperialism. (Btw the number of Arabs here is increasing. The city of Rochester has lots of both East Africans and Arabs and they are building a huge Saudi funded mosque with a Al-Azar trained Imam. )
And as for the Airport, revoke the taxi liscenses of all those who refuse legitimate passengers. And get a clue the MAS is not a reputable help in solving problems involving Muslim workers.
Posted by: abdulalshirk at October 26, 2006 9:25 AMI wonder what they have to say about muslim shopkeepers who actually SELL alcohol? Probably not much since shop keepers are in a much better position to "pay tribute" to the "brotherhood".
Posted by: Mr Ape Pig at October 26, 2006 9:35 AMIsn't Civics taught in the high schools anymore? You know, where the basics of the democratic form of government, majority rules/minority rights, separation of Church and State, etc. are presented? Political correctness, the willingness to endlessly accommodate, is by no means the same as good citizenship.
If cab drivers do not want to transport alcohol or anything else, that's their call, but one which calls into question their suitability for this line of work. Even allowing them the choice of going back to the end of the queue to await a chance match-up with a customer sharing their world view is a potential and unnecessary inconvenience to those who are (to them) non-compliant customers. Why should any customer be imposed upon in this way? It's their right to be served, irrespective of their race, ethnicity or religion. Cab drivers or any other service provider that refuses their service to any customer acting lawfully deserves disciplinary action.
The Minneapolis Airport officials should know that much from their high school education, or were they sleeping during class?
Posted by: Chatillon at October 26, 2006 9:57 AMNone of this comes as a surprise. Minnesota has long been a lefty state. It was only a matter of time before the Islamaniacs planted themselves in that well fertilized land. When Ellison gets elected the local lapdogs will point with pride at their groundbreaking handiwork. One day the land of 10,000 lakes will become the land of sharia thanks to Ellison, his lapdogs and those Somalis who love sharia.
Posted by: ISLAMSFORLOSERS at October 26, 2006 10:20 AMMinnesota: The Land of 10,000 Mosques
Posted by: TheOmegaMan at October 26, 2006 10:39 AM""This is one of those new concoctions."It is being foisted on the Somali community by an inside or outside group," he added. "I do not know who.""
A muslim blaming SOMEONE ELSE, what a shock, I never heard that!
BTW, I think we missed an opportunity here, and a big one: to be able to discriminate LEGALLY on which taxi to go. We could have given very good business to all the NON-MUSLIM drivers and make a huge STATEMENT of it.
Posted by: StillFedUp at October 26, 2006 10:50 AM10 muslim taxi drivers could never pack their taxis with explosives and level an airport could they they could never get that orginizied.
Posted by: KAOSKTRL at October 26, 2006 10:54 AM"Jama Dirie said, 'If a driver doesn't pick up everyone, he should get his license canceled and get kicked out of the airport.'" from the article above.
------
"The person or persons in charged of the Department of Human Rights should be fired... right now." posted by Monkeywho
Monkeywho is absolutely correct! However, since Minnesota is such a politically correct liberal state, they should annnounce that the fired person is being repalced by a Somali. Then after all the liberals congratulate them on their open-mindedness, announce that the new person in charge is.... Jama Dirie!
Posted by: Provoslavni at October 26, 2006 10:57 AM"Hassan Mohamud is vice president of the society's Minnesota chapter.***He emphasizes...that Muslims must follow shari'a, or Islamic law, in every aspect of their lives. "There are two conflicting systems here -- two ways of life -- that want to live in the same place and respect each other," he says. The society aims to facilitate conciliation between the two."
***TWO-TIER SYSTEM, from housing to contractual arrangements |(whatever that means) to the workplace:***
"Mohamud adds that Americans need to learn about Islamic law because the Muslim population here is growing. That's why the proposed two-tier system for airport cabdrivers is important, he says. It could become a national model for accommodating Islam in areas ranging from housing to contractual arrangements to the workplace"
http://powerlineblog.com/archives/015649.php
Good thing this sort of thing isn't about religion. At least that's what CAIR"s ad campaign aimed at Minnesota claims on behalf of Keith Ellison.
Insane!
Posted by: ISLAMSFORLOSERS at October 26, 2006 11:14 AMLet them go back to subsistence farming in Somalia. And while we are at it, send the arab 5th column back-at their expense-as well. They are not wanted here.
Posted by: lonewolf at October 26, 2006 1:10 PMWhat you need is for all taxis there to carry advertising for Johnnie Walker Red
Posted by: Voyager at October 26, 2006 1:46 PMThe Islamist-minded taxi drivers probably already bypass blind people with guide dogs and anyone else they deem to be not Sharia-compliant all over the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. The only time they could not be Sharia-compliant without penalty was at the airport. This had to be fixed somehow.
The taxi two-color light scheme would have been a beacon all over the Minneapolis-St. Paul area saying: "Dear Muslim, use my taxi because no guide-dog or anything against Sharia law has ever ridden in this cab."
Also, there is the issue of vandalism and riots. In France in 2005 it was well-known that if you had a little Koran hanging from the mirror or a Koran in the back window ledge or whatever, you're car was safe. Otherwise, the car was burned and the traumatized owner was using mass-transit the next day. Call it ethnic cleansing of certain neighborhoods. So, basically marking cars as being Muslim makes them safer from Muslim vandals and rioters.
Posted by: markjames at October 26, 2006 2:24 PM"The taxi two-color light scheme would have been a beacon all over the Minneapolis-St. Paul area saying: "Dear Muslim, use my taxi because no guide-dog or anything against Sharia law has ever ridden in this cab.""
read it the other way around
Dear non-muslims, use my taxi because no filthy terrorism supporter or anything pro-sharia law has ever ridden in this cab
Posted by: StillFedUp at October 26, 2006 3:22 PMIt is customary practice among cabbies that a potential customer is always directed to the first taxi in the line. The cabbie is free to reject that customer for any reason or no reason, but must then leave the line, go to the rear, and wait his turn again.
It is established practice for this Texan that if the cabbie is rude, unhelpful, or does not give appropriate thanks for a tip, Texan's exit is made from the door most distant from the driver, and the door is LEFT OPEN for the driver to deal with. This usually means that the driver has to unfasten his seat belt, take the vehicle out of gear, and lean way over the seat to reach the open door's handle, or get out and walk around to the far side of the taxi. This is a small victory, but every cabbie knows it is a "f*** you!"
That technique should suggest possible ways to deal with "otherwise obnoxious" cabbies, such as those who won't transport you if they know you are carrying alcoholic beverages.
I gave up booze a long time ago, but I am resolved to tell all taxi drivers that I am carrying a bottle in the briefcase, or a "flask of whiskey" in my jacket. If they don't like it, due to religious reasons, then they can put me out. I will respect their religion by not drinking my non-existent booze in their taxi. Of course, they will still receive the "back door" treatment.
I suppose I could tell them I'm carrying a pork sausage and would they like some.
In some cities you can also report drivers to the licensing authorities, which is usually something like the Department of Finance, or Department of Administration. Sometimes, they can be fined or censured in various ways depending on the jurisdiction. Look on the meter for a name and license number. Complaining is probably more effort than it is worth. But the "back door" treatment is cost-effective and immediate.
Of course, for those who actually do have a bottle, spilling some will be very satisfying, like "Christening" a vessel before its maiden voyage. This is an appropriate ritual, especially during wartime.
Bourbon has a particularly strong and repelling after-odor when soaked into the car seats and carpeting. And the absolute worst is a sickeningly sweet concoction, a brand called Southern Comfort. That will make the driver gag for a week. In addition, his passengers will complain and not be inclined to tip.
Apologize profusely and submissively if you spill Southern Comfort in a muslim's taxi. Keep apologizing. You score extra War Points if you distract him so much he fails to notice you left the door open until you're too far away to curse at.
And the war goes on.
fist its not carrying pasangers with booze on them and them it was not taking the blind with seaing eye dogs because the quran says they are unclean what next not taking sigle woman unless the were the chador and have a male relitive with them well if they do not want to live by the rules and laws of the socity they have come too if they will not send them home btw i am blind so the dog crap is personal to me even though i dont use a dog
Posted by: islamakapigeaters at October 26, 2006 4:00 PM"a proclaims that "Islamic jurisprudence" prohibits taxi drivers from carrying passengers with alcohol, "because it involves cooperating in sin according to the Islam.""
It is the similar mindset with which many Jihadists claim that by killing infidels who refuse to accept Islam, they are bringing an end to the infidel's sin of not believing in Allah and in a way helping her/him.
I'll tellya one thing about these Mohammedan cabbies in the Twin Cities: they're always on the cell phone. Going real slow in the left lane. Talking about what, I wonder.
I've taken to pulling up next to them on I-494, capturing their attention, and giving them the finger. What's remarkable is their reaction to this, which is a total absence of surprise.
I think that some of these Moslem transportation service workers already know that a portion of Infidel men living in this Marxist Paradise are not gonna be subdued without a fight, lawyers or no lawyers.
Posted by: Alarmed Pig Farmer at October 26, 2006 11:05 PMConcerned Citizen said (about the Muslim Brotherhood)
Outlawed in Egypt, but A-Okay in the US of A.
I believe that is correct, the Muslim Brotherhood is not on the U.S. list of terrorist organizations. That is a mistake. A huge mistake, an unforgiveable mistake.
Real steps we could be taking in a real war against jihad, but we are not. Instead, our focus is being misdirected to our nation-building projects in Iraq and Afghanistan, and to the "stalwart efforts" of our "staunch allies", Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, in the "war on terror".
Posted by: special_guest at October 27, 2006 2:21 AMsolution..........fire the muslim cab drivers and replace them with Illegals.
Posted by: Truthseeker at October 27, 2006 7:16 AMI've got contraband: A six pack of Heineken, a tin of Danish butter cookies and a Virginia ham. Guess I'll hafta' walk.
Posted by: MP at October 27, 2006 1:16 PMComments are turned off and archived for this entry.
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