Passenger shoots Muslim cab driver in Pittsburgh

A Muslim cab driver in Pittsburgh is recovering in hospital after being shot by a passenger because he thought he was Pakistani.

First reported by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, a Moroccan cab driver was hailed by a passenger outside a casino who then proceeded to question him about his background, ISIS and Islam.

The driver in an interview recalled the passenger asking him if he was a “Pakistani guy”, to which he replied the was from Morocco adding that he was an “American guy.”

The conversation moved from his ethnicity to ISIS killing people and then to Islam. Upon reaching the passengers residence he told the driver to wait while he got his wallet from inside the house, but emerged with a rifle and began shooting at him.

The driver sped away to save his life but received a bullet in the back as he fled.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has taken notice of the issue as evidence of renewed victimization of Muslims in America.

CAIR has asked the Justice Department to treat the incident as a “hate crime”.
As reported in by the Gazette, the Moroccan driver has been in the US for the last five years and had plans to bring his wife to the country once he receives his American citizenship.

“This is due to the person, not the city,” he told the paper. “Pittsburgh is my style, it is like my home town [of Safi] in Morocco. My dream is to be an American. This is my country.”