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Yes, Muslims have changed US culture

Reader comment on item: Muslim Populations in European Cities
in response to reader comment: But what does it really mean?

Submitted by MaryAnne Evans (United States), Dec 31, 2007 at 14:54

Andrew posted: "Dearborn, Michigan has a lot of muslim immigrants but does that change the US?"

Yes, I'm afraid it has. For example, Muslim cab drivers at the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport refused to transport passengers who were carrying alcohol (e.g., that they had purchased at a Duty-Free shop). There were also reports of Muslim cab drivers refusing to transport blind people with seeing-eye dogs (since many, though not all, Muslim clerics teach that dogs are unclean and therefore "haram", or forbidden, in Islam).

Only after a lot of non-Muslim citizens protested to the airport management did they force the cab drivers to comply with airport regulations. Target stores in the Midwest have also allowed Muslim cashiers to refuse to ring up pork products for non-Muslim customers--yes, there have been Muslim Target employees who've refused to ring up customers' bacon, pork chops, etc.

In my own town, I personally know of a hair salon (which I used to patronize) where a Muslim hair stylist tried to kick a customer's elderly (at least in his late 60s) husband out of the salon while he waited for his wife to get her hair done. This woman wanted to practice her skills and earn money in an American salon but wanted to impose Islamic values on the mostly non-Muslim clientele. (The customer's husband refused to leave, incidentally, but the arrogance of that stylist still stuns me.)

While you might say, "What's the big deal?", I have no doubt that had the cab drivers in Minneapolis gotten away with their boycott of alcohol-carrying passengers or people with guide dogs, they would next have refused to transport gays, lesbians, unescorted single women, Orthodox Jews, etc., etc. Why not?

As far as the Target cashiers, can you imagine the outcry that would arise if, say, a Christian, Jewish, atheist, etc. refused to ring up an Islamic item (say a copy of the Koran) for a Muslim customer? Or if a non-Muslim stylist in a salon were to say, "I don't want to spend time creating a nice hair style for you since you're just going to cover it up with a headscarf afterwards?"

Finally, I live in an area with a substantial Muslim minority but a far larger Hindu population; however, I've yet to hear of a Hindu employee anywhere refusing to ring up meat products for a non-Hindu!

Just because things are not nearly as bad here as in Europe with regard to Muslim immigration, please don't think your civil liberties can't or won't be impinged upon at some point.

Submitting....

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Reader comments (17) on this item

Title Commenter Date Thread
europeans had better convert to islam [22 words]pniniSep 14, 2012 00:53198607
europeans had better 'converted to isalm [25 words]pniniSep 14, 2012 00:46198606
Muslimische Bevölkerung auch etwas südlicher [30 words]SelcukJul 22, 2012 04:22197352
the Brussel Antwerpen divide [147 words]mythJan 25, 2010 12:42167896
why "other than Marseilles, they are all northerly." protestant-catholic divide ? [153 words]mythJan 25, 2010 12:33167894
Not really reliable statistics [114 words]DurendalJan 13, 2008 21:33118098
Mosque attendance and flippant maths [270 words]bosJan 14, 2008 09:12118098
Interesting [9 words]MysticSaintJan 2, 2008 00:43117316
incomplete survey [234 words]Rebecca MouldsDec 31, 2007 21:10117249
Stop Illegal Immigration here in Amercia [104 words]Barbara FreemanDec 31, 2007 12:48117224
2Prevention is better than cure! [681 words]Nick4693Dec 30, 2007 19:00117157
Well Done Nick4693. [722 words]Maura Collins.Dec 31, 2007 07:31117157
Wake up !!! [67 words]danaAug 27, 2008 14:00117157
Why Muslims go North [23 words]Irish SavantDec 30, 2007 16:32117143
But what does it really mean? [77 words]AndrewDec 30, 2007 14:01117133
1Yes, Muslims have changed US culture [424 words]MaryAnne EvansDec 31, 2007 14:54117133
Poor comments [140 words]TahaApr 8, 2010 18:22117133

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