Islamophobia; Muslim Bus Drivers Slur

Last year a story was splashed over the papers about a Muslim bus driver locks passengers aboard as he stops to pray'.

It tuned out to be a hoax. The driver won £30,000 in damages from the Sun over a claim that he ordered passengers off his vehicle so that he could pray. He did pray on the bus, but he did so during his statutory rest break, as he is of course entitled to do. Not a single passenger was inconvenienced in any way.



Now we are told 'Muslim bus drivers refuse to let guide dogs on board'. LD Norman Baker yesterday weighed in saying bus and cab companies ae "within their rights to ask a passenger to leave if the dog was causing a nuisance, it was ‘much more questionable to be asked to remove a dog for religious reasons’."

Its not just questionable, if it happened at all it was plain wrong. There have been Muslim bus and cab drivers here for decades, yet this is a new story. It may turn out to be a fake. Ot it may be something that has happened once by a single bus driver. If its true that driver needs a strong reprimand, included in his job is carrying blind people and guide dogs. To imply that this is all bus and cab drivers is wrong, I hope they get fined again. You can complain here

In 2006, Muslim minicab driver Abdul Rasheed Majekodumni was fined £200 and ordered to pay £1,200 costs by magistrates in Marylebone, central London, after being prosecuted for failing to comply with the Disability Discrimination Act when he refused to take a blind passenger because her guide dog was ‘unclean’.

The extreme media such as the mail are pushing this story, implying its all Muslim drivers, as part of their Islamophobic agenda.

The PCC says 'All members of the press have a duty to maintain the highest professional standards.' This isnt.

The clause(s) I believe to have been breached
1 Accuracy
i) The Press must take care not to publish inaccurate, misleading or distorted information, including pictures.

ii) A significant inaccuracy, misleading statement or distortion once recognised must be corrected, promptly and with due prominence, and - where appropriate - an apology published.


Hat tip Jane