Virginia cabbie pursues charges after anti-Muslim rant

McLEAN, Va. — For the second time in as many months, a Muslim civil rights group is pursuing criminal charges on behalf of a taxicab driver who was subjected to an anti-Islamic rant caught on tape.

In the most recent case, an Ashburn, Va., woman unleashed a string of expletives and called 911 to report that she was afraid for her life because she said her cabbie, Abdikar Aden of Alexandria, was “very Muslim.”

Aden says the woman also poked him repeatedly in the back of his shoulder, though that part of the confrontation was not captured in a recording provided to The Associated Press.

The Council on American Islamic Relations, which is representing Aden, wrote Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Raymond Morrogh on Tuesday asking his office to prosecute the case.

“(T)he assault is made even more deplorable because it was based on Mr. Aden’s faith alone,” wrote CAIR attorney Gadeir Abbas, saying Morrogh’s office “can send the message that bigoted acts of violence have no place in Fairfax County.”

Abbas believes the case should be prosecuted as a hate crime.

Associated Press, 18 June 2013