Dhimmi of Columbia? D.C. Taxi Decal Shaped Like a Crescent

Tyler O'Neil | 1:07 PM on August 03, 2018

*A flag on the Eisenhower Executive Office Building across from the White House in Washington flies beside a crescent moon, Tuesday evening, July 1, 2014. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)*

On Friday, an anonymous photographer sent PJ Media a photo of the Washington, D.C. Department of For-Hire Vehicles (DFHV) decal on a taxi.

Image of the Washington, D.C. Department of For-Hire Vehicles, shaped like a Muslim crescent moon.

The very central part of the image is the Washington D.C. flag with the text “digital taxicab” below it. Yet, surrounding that image is a red crescent, highly evocative of the major symbol of Islam.

In all likelihood, this is a sad coincidence. Even so, the image begs questions.

Were I a conspiracy theorist, I would say the Washington, D.C. government is trying to push Islam, getting the crescent symbol out into the public on government-registered taxi cabs.

The D.C. Taxicab Commission, which regulates more than 6,000 taxis, became the Department of For-Hire Vehicles in 2016.

“It is time for us to reinvent ourselves,” Ernest Chrappah, the old commission chairman who became the DFHV director, announced in 2016. “Not only because the industry has evolved, but also there are tremendous opportunities on the horizon to make sure drivers have access to increased fare opportunities and consumers have choice.”

Perhaps that reinvention involves a secret adoption of a Muslim symbol. A great deal of taxi, Lyft, and Uber drivers in the D.C. area follow Islam, and it might stand to reason that the DFHV would decide that a Muslim symbol would represent it. That said, I’m sure the Freedom From Religion Foundation would have something to say about a religious symbol slapped on government-approved vehicles.