Heads are butting in Minneapolis between Muslim cab drivers and passengers trying to get a ride. USA Today has a story on the situation saying many Muslim drivers are refusing service to passengers carrying wine, spirits, or any type of booze what-so-ever. Many of the cab drivers in the Minneapolis area are Somali Muslim and have stated that driving passengers with alcohol is against their faith and Islamic law. Additionally, they’ve also told dispatchers not to call them to pick up passengers heading to liquor stores and bars. Not all Muslims agree that Muslim cab drivers are not allowed to transport alcohol – the main ban is against drinking. Passengers have complained that they’ve been turned away by up to four cabs before finding a ride home from the airport. Bummer. Sounds like a major clash in cultures and hopefully they’ll be able to make some middle ground. In the end I’m sure the taxi drivers will lose out (perhaps not in faith), but in deals that pay bills. Someone will come along and fill the void for passengers that just want to go to Italy and come back with their fine wines in peace. Read the full story at USA Today.
Cultures: Divorce While Sleeping
I
didn’t know things like this could happen, but what’s more interesting is the what was supposed to happen afterwards
and what actually happened. Pology, an amazing blog covering
cultures from all over brings our attention to an unusual case of
divorce in eastern India. Under Islamic law a husband only has to say "talaq," the Urdu word for
divorce three times to secure a permanent end to his marriage. Well, while Aftab Ansari was asleep and under the
influence of medicines to help him sleep better, the 30 year-old uttered "talaq" three times causing
his wife to worry and discuss with friends. The husband said he did not mean to divorce his wife of 11 years and that it
was an accident, however when word got around to the Village Elders their solution was this:
In order to
remarry the couple would have to be apart for at least 100 days and that the wife would have to spend a night with
another man and then be divorced by him. The couple not wishing to obey the rules have now been ostracized according to
the Yahoo
news piece.
Now is that crazy or what? It’s almost like the Wizard of Oz with a twist where Dorothy and Toto are at ends and
"talaq" three times gets them their wish to be free from one another and Toto speaks instead of
barks.