London:
A Muslim cab driver in the United Kingdom has been fired from his job after he evicted a family from his taxi for carrying a bottle of wine. The driver has been sacked as he threw out a family carrying an unopened bottle of wine, of which he said, "it's against my religion."
Adrian Cartwright, 46, had hired the taxi to take his family out for dinner at an Indian restaurant near Oldham, Greater Manchester.
But before they could make the five-minute journey, the driver, in his 20s, spotted the bottle of white wine and promptly refused to take them, the Daily Mail reported. The family was turfed out on to the pavement and he drove off.
"We all got inside the car and the driver said: Is that alcohol? When I said 'yes' he replied: I am sorry but I can't allow it in my cab, it's against my religion," a furious Mr Cartwright wrote on his Facebook page.
"I knew it wasn't worth arguing so we had to get out," Mr Cartwright added.
He also complained to the driver's employer Borough Taxis, who have around 70 Muslim drivers, and within half an hour he was sacked.
The company's former chairman, Fazal Rahim, who has also driven for them for almost a quarter of a century, said the driver's attitude was unprofessional.
"I am a practicing Muslim, like a lot of the drivers. This was not a decision based on race or religion, however, but about being a professional taxi driver," Mr Rahim said.
The taxi company has apologised to Mr Cartwright and his family and explained why the cabbie must be sacked. The identity of the driver was not disclosed.