News

NEW YORK, September 23, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – New York’s Muslim taxi cab drivers are celebrating after authorities granted their request for the right to yank prominent advertisements for strip clubs from the top of their vehicles.

The New York Post reported last week that the city’s Taxi & Limousine Commission (TLC) granted cab drivers total veto power over the content of their roof ads, a decision the Post says delighted “scores” of drivers from more than one faith background.

“We are Muslims, and we do not like the ads!” cab driver Mohamed Tahir, 66, told the paper. His vehicle is topped with an advertisement for “Flashdancers Gentlemen’s Club.” “If I had another ad, I’d change it right away! It bothers many of us,” he said.

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The content of the ads is normally determined by the owners of the taxi medallions – the aluminum frames bolted on the cab roof – who earn about $125 a month from the ads.

TLC Commissioner David Yassky strongly endorsed the change. “If you’re a taxi driver who owns his or her own car, you take it home, your neighbors see it,” said Yassky. “This is an appropriate and measured step that gives the driver the authority to screen out ads.”

Another Muslim driver complained that the ad on his vehicle, which is also his primary mode of private transportation, was so embarrassing that he started attending his mosque on foot instead. “People getting out of the mosque would see the disgusting things,” said Osman Chowdhury.

Driver Mohan Singh said the signs even affected his 6-year-old granddaughter, who said she wanted to be a “dancer” after seeing the Flashdancers ad atop Singh’s taxi, something that infuriated him. “We should keep [the advertisement] there to tell the children that it is good?” he asked.

“The most important thing is for the children.”

Read the New York Post article here.