Sharia talks, Dhimmis walk
American Thinker
USA Today has publicized the refusal of many Muslim cab drivers at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport to transport riders who have closed liquor bottles, often gotten at duty-free shops or in trips to California wine country. Muslims make up about half the cab drivers at the airport. Airport officials are making these drivers go to the end of the long cab queue if they refuse all riders.
Even this article states that many Muslim gas station owners sell beer and ham sandwiches. And they mention a Muslim scholar who states the transport of liquor is not a violation of sharia law, just drinking it. And gas stations are open on Friday, the Muslim sabbath, as well.
And then there is this article from techie news service ZDNet. It seems that Muslims are offended by the tall glass architectural cube in front of/atop the Apple Computer flagship store on 5th Avenue in New York because its shape somehow allegedly mocks the Ka'ba, Islam's most holy shrine in Mecca. It appears that some Muslims believe the store's "iPod bar" serves liquor (it does not) within this "Ka'aba-like cube." Has anyone ever been in a computer store that serves liquor anywhere in America or the rest of the world? I would think it quite rare or nonexistent. Although no Islamic protests are called for the NY Apple Store, the article on Islamic websites reinforces the perception that the West disrespects Islam and the Muslims are victims of religious prejudice.
It seems a number of people are not waiting for Iran to get a nuclear bomb to declare a World Caliphate. They are looking to impose Sharia and stamp the whole world with an Islamic cultural style today, because they believe the West's culture is corrupt and inferior. And the multiculturalists in places like ultraliberal Hennepin County (Minneapolis and the main airport location) are afraid to be perceived as offending anyone.
It would seem that if Wiccans started a protest against having to drive cabs to the airport on Halloween or the four soltices, a committee would be formed to see if Hennepin County was being fair to them as well. Come to think of it, what would happen if Muslim cab drivers refused to drive people to "idolatrous" Halloween parties? Or to the Hormel (huge pork producer) offices or factory in Minnesota? The Sixties are over. Singing Kumbaya and saying "Why can't we all just get along?" are dead. Multiculturalism has just met Zero Religious Tolerance.
I experienced this sense of foreigner entitlement one night at the cab stand in New York's La Guardia Airport. I say "foreigner" because I cannot assume this cab driver had any desire to become an immigrant to the United States, just make some money here. But I also cannot claim I knew his country of origin or religion because I spent so little time with him. After getting into his cab after a long flight, I told him my address. He then said, in a demanding tone, "I don't know how to go. You have to show me." To this, I replied I was not in show business and immediately got out of his cab. Since New York cab drivers are legally required to know the area and carry maps, the dispatcher could not come to his defense and got me into another cab. Jack Kemp
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