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Muslim Cabbies Say 'No' to Passengers With Alcohol

From: 2 below zero
Length: 04:48

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An exploration of how new immigrants struggle to balance religious beliefs in the workplace Read the full description.

Newyorkyellowcabstaxis_small Minneapolis is home to one of the largest concentrations of Somali immigrants in North America. For the past seven months, officials at the airport there have been struggling with how to accommodate the religious beliefs of Somali Muslim cab drivers without inconveniencing certain passengers. Many of the cabbies refuse rides to anyone carrying alcohol. The airport authority wanted those drivers to put special lights on the top of their taxis to identify them as alcohol-free. But that idea was scraped. Now there's a new rule that could put some drivers out of business.

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Piece Description

Minneapolis is home to one of the largest concentrations of Somali immigrants in North America. For the past seven months, officials at the airport there have been struggling with how to accommodate the religious beliefs of Somali Muslim cab drivers without inconveniencing certain passengers. Many of the cabbies refuse rides to anyone carrying alcohol. The airport authority wanted those drivers to put special lights on the top of their taxis to identify them as alcohol-free. But that idea was scraped. Now there's a new rule that could put some drivers out of business.

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Review of Muslim Cabbies Say 'No' to Passengers With Alcohol

This is a very well produced feature that was originally heard on PRI's program series "The World". It reflects the high standards of quality that are heard regularly in this signature program series. It is everything a good feature should be; informative, lively, sound rich, and topical, with a human interest element and multiple points of view. Todd Melby's narration is crisp and nicely edited, and the piece flows well from beginning to end.

Broadcast History

Originally aired on PRI's "The World" on May 7, 2007.