source: http://www.startribune.com/local/28053724.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc...

Muslim cabbies whose religious beliefs go against driving passengers
who carry alcohol have lost another round in Minnesota courts.

The Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday against the cabbies'
latest attempt to block penalties from being imposed when they refuse
to transport passengers because they're carrying alcoholic beverages.

An ordinance adopted by the Metropolitan Airports Commission last year
revokes a cabbie's license for 30 days for refusing to pick up a
passenger for any reason at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International
Airport. A second refusal brings a two-year revocation.

A large share of the cabbies who serve the airport are Somali Muslims,
and many of them believe that Islamic law prohibits them from giving
rides to people carrying alcohol. Since the commission began keeping
track in 2002, there have been over 5,200 recorded instances of
cabbies refusing service to passengers at the airport, including a
"significant percentage" of passengers carrying alcohol, the appeals
court noted.

The issue had simmered for several years before the commission decided
the penalties were needed to ensure that customers would get reliable
taxi service at the airport, and that compromises proposed by the
drivers were impractical.

The drivers, who say the airport rules infringe on their religious
freedom, appealed a lower court's refusal to grant a temporary
injunction blocking those penalties from taking effect.

The appeals court affirmed the lower court's decision. The legal
standard for granting a temporary injunction requires that the parties
seeking it must show they would suffer irreparable harm if it's not
granted. The appeals court agreed with the lower court that cab
drivers who face suspension don't suffer irreparable harm because they
can appeal their suspensions to the airports commission and keep
working while their administrative appeals are pending.

The nine-page opinion by Judge Jill Flaskamp Halbrooks was designated
as unpublished, which means it doesn't set a precedent for future
cases.