18 February 2010

Halal Hatred: French Pols Claim Discrimination Over Pork-less Muslim-Friendly Menus

A French town filed a legal complaint Thursday accusing a branch of a mainstream fast food chain of discrimination because it only serves burgers prepared according to Islamic dietary law.

The mayor of the northern town of Roubaix, Rene Vandierendonck, told The Associated Press that he wants the Quick burger restaurant to "propose a new, diversified" menu that satisfies a broader clientele. [Huffington Post] Read more

French fast food chain Quick sparks halal burger appeal A French council has lodged a complaint against a fast food chain that serves only meat that conforms with Islamic dietary laws at a local branch.The mayor of Roubaix, in northern France, said the halal menu constituted "discrimination" against non-Muslims.

The Roubaix branch is one of several restaurants at which the chain, Quick, took non-halal products and pork off the menu in November. [BBC] Read more

Pork-dodgers are delighted with French food chain’s new halal menus I AM not quite sure which annoyed me more … the news that a French fast food chain has gone all halal at some of its branches, or the fact that the French have given up bulldozing fast food outlets. Instead – quelle horreur – they are even encouraging them to take root in places like the Louvre in Paris.

Leaving aside my utter disdain for Big Macs, Burger Kings and the like, there’s a bright side to the report that the popular Quick chain has replaced bacon with smoked halal turkey at several of its outlets – it has infuriated some Catholics, and anything that annoys the Catlicks must have some merit. [The Freethinker] Read more

Hubbub over halal in France After the noise over the niqab, now there’s a hubbub over halal in France. Police in the northern city of Lille launched an investigation on Friday into claims that a fast food restaurant was discriminating against non-Muslim customers by dropping bacon burgers from its menu and using only halal meat. The public prosecutor ordered the probe after the Socialist mayor of the nearby town of Roubaix sued the Quick fast food chain for switching to follow Muslim dietary laws in eight of its 350 branches. [Reuters Blogs - FaithWorld] Read more