Of Muslim Insanity and the Obligation Not to Capitulate

It is now a fact of life in the West to be confronted with increasingly sweeping and deranged demands by Muslims, both immigrant and native-born. Last year there was the installation of basins for foot-washing at the University of Michigan at Dearborn after Muslim students requested them for pre-prayer ablution. When criticized, the foot-bath lobby hilariously said the sinks were for all students, not just Muslims, as if Lutherans, Jews, and agnostics will find any use for them.

The latest Muslim challenge to the West's long-established constitutional traditions occurred recently in Britain. A blind man, Alun Elder-Brown, was denied entry to a restaurant because he was accompanied by his guide dog, Finn, which offended the Muslim owners. It was a terrible ordeal for him:

Mr. Elder-Brown was taking his girlfriend out to celebrate her birthday with her five year-old daughter last week when he was told he would have to leave his dog, Finn, tied up outside. He showed a card issued by the Institute of Environmental Health Officers certifying he and his dog were allowed into any premises but an argument ensued and the owners threatened to call the police if he did not leave.

"It was humiliating and degrading, especially as there were a lot of people around me," he said. "I was made to feel like a piece of dirt. They told me I couldn't come in because it was against their religious beliefs to have a dog in the restaurant. "They then said I could leave Finn tied up outside. I stayed calm but when they threatened to call police I left." He added: "It was horrible. It put a dampener on the whole celebration."

It is important to note that the restaurateurs' action was illegal under the Disability Discrimination Act, and, though one of them apologized, they should still be prosecuted for violating the rights of the blind. Sadly this is not an isolated incident in Britain. In October 2006 The Daily Mail reported:

A Muslim minicab driver refused to take a blind passenger because her guide dog was "unclean".

Abdul Rasheed Majekodumni told Jane Vernon she could not get into his car with the dog because of his religion.

Islamic tradition warns Muslims against contact with dogs because they are seen as impure.

Ms. Vernon said:

"This experience was very upsetting. . . . I was tired and cold and just wanted to get home but this driver made me feel like I was a second-class citizen, like I didn't count at all. . . . The owner of the minicab firm, Niven Sinclair, was also very insensitive, telling me that what had happened to me wasn't really very important, and I should have more respect for other people's culture. They have shown very little respect for my rights as a disabled person and have never once offered me an apology."

Worryingly, similar incidents in Minnesota were reported last year by The Washington Post:

A large number of taxi drivers in the area of the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport are Muslim Somali immigrants. Many say they feel the faith's ban on alcohol consumption includes transporting anyone carrying it.

Some also have refused to transport dogs, both pets and guide dogs, saying they are unclean.

Gratifyingly, the airport authorities imposed strict penalties on drivers who refused to pick up blind or alcohol-carrying passengers. (Is it tangential to mention that "Muslim Somali immigrants" find guide dogs and booze repugnant while their homeland, according to UNICEF, has a female genital mutilation "prevalence of about 95 percent. . . and [it] is primarily performed on girls between the ages of four and 11"?)

The ability of the blind and of disabled people in general to live fulfilling, normal lives is one of the great, compassionate advances in our history. Public accommodation and legal protection for them is essential and is not to be compromised, especially to mollify some insane medieval religious tenet. We must hold the line on our civilization's accomplishments. One doesn't have to be a soothsayer to see that challenges to the equality of the sexes are upcoming on the roster of Muslim demands. We have an obligation not to capitulate.