Opinion: The Problem is Discrimination, Not Religion

The Twin Cities’ diverse community can come into conflict at times. Signs posted last week by a transgender group claiming discrimination by Muslim taxicab drivers put the Twin Cities culture clash in a new light. How real is discrimination by Muslim cab drivers? And is the GLBT community absorbing some of the xenophobia spewed by right-wing America?

In the past year, there have been three news stories of discrimination against GLBT people by cab drivers.  Two of the three mention Muslim drivers. WCCO story mentions that Minneapolis has a lot of Muslim cab drivers, but neither the story nor the witness interviewed actually go so far as to connect a muslim faith with the discrimination. A Fox 9 News story (not archived) tells the story of transgendered woman Paula Hare who claims Muslims have been the primary discriminators against her. Hare is also likely the person behind the group posting signs in Loring Park that cast Islam in a less than flattering light. the Imams at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and Dennis Prager’s Constitutionally suspect theories about Rep. Keith Ellison choice of holy book. It’s disturbing, but not surprising that members of the GLBT community would overlook the real issue of discrimination, than the side issue of religion, and create a flyer that burns bridges, not builds them.

To see where our two communities come together, we need look no further than our political leaders. Keith Ellison and Farheen Hakeem are both Muslims, they’re both high profile Muslims, and they’re very, very committed to equality for GLBT people. Their faith commands them to fight for justice for all people. Hakeem had this to say last year when speaking about bringing the two communties together:

“It’s a difficult bridge to build,” she admitted. “But just imagine if I can pull it off. We’d have George Bush’s greatest nightmare. We’d have the terrorists and the perverts working together.”

In speaking with Muslims about the GLBT community, including cab drivers, it’s clear that many in the Muslim community see the GLBT community as important allies. We’re progresssive, and we understand the challenges of being loathed by conservative Christians and the right wing of the Republican Party.

We need to fight discrimination when we see it, not each other. In the United Kingdom,
the GLBT and Muslim communities are engaging in a dialogue about homophobia and Islamophobia in the GLBT community. The Twin Cities, in my opinion, is already ahead of the UK in this respect. We have great leaders, like Hakeem and Ellison leading the way.