Saturday, March 21, 2009

Hopkins officials and muslims to meet to resolve prayer issue

Cleveland Hopkins International Airport officials will hold a meeting Monday to try to resolve an issue with Muslim taxi drivers over a mandate the cabbies said banned them from praying as they wait to pick up passengers.

The call for a meeting came a day after a religious advocacy group, the Cleveland Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, issued a news release that said they wanted to meet with Mayor Frank Jackson over an order a city-contracted group sent to taxi owners that banned drivers from praying in the taxi queue. The agency worked on behalf of 60 Somali cab drivers who work at the airport who are Muslim.

Airport spokeswoman Jackie Mayo said the memo misstated the issue and said prayer is not banned. But she added that rules are in place to ensure safety at the airport.

Mayo said Transportation Security Administration regulations require that drivers can't leave a car within 300 feet of the airport or impede traffic flow. She said Ricky Smith, airport director, would meet with the taxi drivers "to find a way to bridge a gap and work within the confines of federal rules."

In an e-mailed statement, Smith said the rules have been set in place since the Sept. 11 attacks and are to ensure safety for people who work and travel at the facility, including taxi drivers.

Source: Cleveland.com

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