.... But such freedom of choice is apparently no longer available in 185 Subway outlets in 'Muslim areas' (probably Bradford, Oldham, Birmingham, Leicester, Slough and parts of London), where ham and bacon are banned and all meat is halal. Non-Muslim customers are somewhat limited in their selection of sandwich filling because, Subway say, of a "strong demand" from Muslims.
Quite how strong isn't entirely clear. But it's obviously an awful lot stronger than the demands of Jews, Christians or Sikhs, all of whom may very well object to eating meat which has been sacrificed exclusively by Muslim butchers beneath the blade-thrusting declaration: "Bismillah Allah-hu-Akbar!" (‘In the name of Allah, who is the greatest’).
.... And so, once again, we come to the place where "strong" religious demands subjugate the rights and ride roughshod over the sensitivities of those who make no religious demand. In the pyramid of competing rights, various groups are vying for hegemony at the expense of others, and in Subway a victor has clearly emerged. The store has become a souk. Or 185 of them, at least. [Archbishop Cranmer] Read more
