FIW Works Both Ways

A Muslim police officer in Britain, inspired by the principle of “Freedom—I Won't,” is refusing to guard the Israeli embassy (seen via James Lileks):

PC Alexander Omar Basha - a member of the Metropolitan Police's Diplomatic Protection Group - refused to be posted there because he objected to Israeli bombings in Lebanon and the resulting civilian casualties of fellow Muslims.

I think he has every to right to be excused. Scotland Yard, in turn, has every right to be excused from paying his salary. For example, consider the following incident:

Here in Minneapolis there’s a controversy about Muslim cab drivers who refuse fares who are carrying alcohol. The airport, as I understand the story, is studying whether to implement special lights on the cabs that alert passengers to hooch-friendly or hooch-hostile cabs.

Somehow, I doubt if the cabbies refusing to carry drunks are still insisting on their fares.