Attempts at compromise appear to have faltered in a clash between Minneapolis airport officials and Muslim cab drivers who refuse to take passengers carrying alcohol or traveling with dogs.

The Religion News Service reported Jan. 22 that a spokesperson for the Minneapolis/St. Paul Metropolitan Airports Commission said it is "time to draw a line in the sand to make sure people are not refused taxi services." Public hearings have been scheduled on a proposal to deny taxi licenses to drivers who refuse to provide service to passengers arriving at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

"We have been working with the Muslim community, trying to find solutions that work for everybody. Frankly, we have not able to," said spokesperson Patrick Hogan. Airport officials had proposed to install special lights on cabs indicating whether drivers would take passengers with alcohol or dogs, but Hogan said there was a "huge outcry against that idea."

About three-quarters of the taxi drivers at the Minneapolis airport are Muslims, mainly ethnic Somalis. A few years back, the drivers began refusing to transport passengers carrying alcohol on grounds that to do so would violate their religion. Passengers with pet dogs or service animals also have been refused rides; dogs are considered unclean in Muslim countries.

The Minnesota chapter of the Muslim American Society issued a fatwa last year saying that requiring Muslims to transport alcohol violated their faith as well as the spirit of the First Amendment. But, "In the case of guide dogs, the need to accommodate handicapped individuals should outweigh the discomfort Muslims might feel in having dogs in their vehicles," said Ibrahim Hooper, communications director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

Cab drivers must renew their licenses on May 11.