Muslims Win Ruling Allowing Religious Taxi Drivers to Remove Immoral Ads From Cabs
Muslim taxi drivers in New York have won a landmark ruling giving them the right to take down ads for strip clubs from the roofs of their taxis.
According to a rule, taxi drivers were not allowed to take down certain ads, even if they owned the taxis themselves. However, yesterday, New York’s Taxi & Limousine Commission ruled that the owners do not have to display ads if offensive to their faith.
“'We are Muslims, and we do not like the ads,” said Mohamad Tahir to the New York Post. “If I had another ad, I’d change it right away. It bothers many of us.”
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The ruling should apply equally to Christian taxi drivers, who should not be able to reject ads if contrary to their faith.
The issue came out after a group of Muslim cab drivers got together to demand that the rules be changed. In particular, they highlighted the shame they were being forced to feel in displaying the inappropriate ads.
One driver, Mohan Singh, told the board that his 6-year-old granddaughter saw the ad on his cab and said she wanted to become a dancer.
“We should keep [the advertisement] there to tell the children that it is good?” he asked.
Afterwards the board agreed to change the rules.
“The law is now on our side!' said Osman Chowdhury, a taxi driver and leading member of the Bangladesh Society in Queens. He was so ashamed of the ad for a strip club above his cab that he did not drive it to his mosque for services.
“I had to walk to mosque,” he told the Post. “People getting out of the mosque would see the disgusting things.”
