Faith and work collide for Somalis in Minn.

MINNEAPOLIS -- "Get over it!" urged the posting on an online bulletin board. "You are in America, act like an American!"

The anger was directed at Somalian immigrants who have roiled this city by declaring certain jobs offensive to their Muslim faith. Many Somalian cabdrivers -- who dominate the airport taxi business -- refuse to transport passengers carrying alcohol. Some Somalian cashiers will not handle pork products; instead, they've begun asking customers to scan their own bacon.

To the immigrants, it's a question of religious freedom -- and protecting themselves from sin.

"This is not something we are choosing to do. It's part of our religion," said cabdriver King Osman, 37. "It's forbidden to carry drink. Forbidden!"

This attitude has outraged many longtime Minnesotans. The widespread response: This is America, and you're free to practice your faith. You're not free to inconvenience others because of those beliefs.

"If they don't want to do that work, they shouldn't be in that business," said Christine Benson, 58, who owns a knitting store in a largely Somalian neighborhood. "They can stuff it."

At least 40,000 Somalis have settled in Minnesota since the early 1990s, fleeing civil war in their East African homeland. The Twin Cities is home to the largest Somalian immigrant community in the nation.

Thousands live in an eclectic Minneapolis neighborhood known as the West Bank. Tucked next to the University of Minnesota, the community is a mix of tattooed punks, long-haired hippies, and Somalian families, including women wearing full veils with just a slit for their eyes.

Marian Psihos runs a pharmacy on Cedar Avenue. She gets her hair cut at the Muslim-owned beauty shop upstairs; she hands candy to the Somalian children who peek shyly in her store. But the idea of cabdrivers turning away passengers spikes her blood pressure.

"You can't come over to this country and think you're going to have it your own way," said Psihos, 72. "The whole world isn't going to change just because you're Muslim."

Jon Wohlwend, punching his code into the pharmacy's ATM, looked up, sharing her outrage. "You call a cab, but he can't give you a ride," he started.

"Because you have alcohol on your breath," Psihos said, finishing his thought.

"I mean, that's why I need the ride!" said Wohlwend, 39. "Because I'm hammered!" He left shaking his head.

Federal law requires employers to make reasonable accommodations for religious beliefs -- so long as that doesn't place an "undue burden" on the business. Defining undue burden, however, can be tricky. The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission handled 2,541 complaints of faith-based discrimination last year, up nearly 50 percent from a decade earlier.

Last fall, the Minneapolis transit authority cited the reasonable accommodations law in promising not to assign a driver to buses that carried ads for a local gay and lesbian magazine called Lavender. The driver had objected to the ads on religious grounds.

The law also has been used to aid Muslim employees. Managers often allow Muslim workers to schedule their breaks to coincide with the five-times-a-day prayer. Target recently reassigned its Muslim cashiers to jobs that don't require handling pork . Other chains also have made accommodations.

But the taxi driver dispute has resisted easy solutions.

Under current policy, drivers who refuse a fare are sent to the back of the taxi line, where they may wait hours for another passenger. Much tougher penalties will be up for a vote next month.