In the Bias by Omission department, Laura Ingraham passed on this interesting story Monday showing how far McDonald's will go to make a buck. From the Melbourne Herald Sun in Australia:
McDONALD'S latest bid to attract more customers -- Muslim fast-food lovers -- has caused uproar among customers.
The fast-food chain has introduced halal products at two Melbourne restaurants, significantly boosting sales.
However some non-Muslim customers are furious they were not told their hamburger meat was slaughtered and blessed in accordance with Islamic rules laid down in the Koran.
McDonald's consulted Muslim leaders before introducing halal products at its Brunswick East and St Albans stores.
Halal meat is from animals that have been killed facing Mecca and blessed using the name of Allah.
Brunswick East store assistant manager Nicholas Yacoub said the move had attracted a surge of new customers.
"It has pretty much doubled our sales," Mr Yacoub said.
The store does not tell drive-through customers about the change and has only one small sign inside advertising the move.
Coburg resident Miriam McLennan was stunned to discover the hamburger she bought from the Brunswick East store was blessed.
"Just as a Muslim would not want to eat anything that isn't halal . . . I should have my rights to eat normal, ordinary food that hasn't been blessed," she said.
A Catholic Church spokesman said non-Muslims deserved to know if the food was halal before buying. But he said there was no biblical reason for Christians to avoid halal food.
A McDonald's spokeswoman said customers who did not want halal food should buy from any of its other stores.
—Tim Graham is Director of Media Analysis at the Media Research Center.
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Sounds fair to me, but if you
November 21, 2006 - 07:16 ET by ChemicalOperatorSounds fair to me, but if your going to have muslim food, it really should come with a muhammed toy in every meal. So the kids can play along.
In all seriousness though,I am tired of the world bending over backwards to satisfy and appease muslims.
This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave.
Chemical,I am with you on thi
November 21, 2006 - 07:52 ET by msh1973Chemical,
I am with you on this one. Why is that? I think it is out of fear. It is ok to say hateful things about Christians because they know that Christians won't start bombing places and cutting peoples heads off. We are living in a scary world and I don't see it getting any better for my kids or my future grandkids.
halal food
November 21, 2006 - 13:39 ET by dan naryI eat Hebrew National (tm) Kosher dogs, just cause I trust they're better. Halal and Kosher are so close that muslim students usually eat Kosher. Why the big bru-ha-ha? I say good for Don's supper club! It may improve the quality, but it surely can't hurt.
Besides, we have to recycle the petro-dollars somehow....
I have to admit, this got
November 21, 2006 - 07:53 ET by MyKindaSpamI have to admit, this got to me a little at first, but the more I thought about it, I realized that I don't have a problem with it. Restaurants serve kosher food and grocery stores sell tons of kosher items. A business saw a group of potential customers they could literally serve by accomodating their needs.The problem is that they didn't tell anyone about the new religious rituals and acted like there was no cause for the anger.
Maybe South Park could come up with the design for the toy. Derka, derka, Mohammad Jihad...
This just seems like sensibl
November 21, 2006 - 11:53 ET by TruthMongerThis just seems like sensible niche marketing - like if they offered an Italian sub or an oriental salad or something - but it might be nice to offer kosher food as well...
I don't have a problem with
November 21, 2006 - 08:03 ET by Squalls BladeI don't have a problem with it as long as it's clearly identified as being what it is.
Democracy is not enough. If the culture dies, the country dies. - Pat Buchanan
Fast Food Nation & Supersize Me
November 21, 2006 - 08:15 ET by kwSomeone tell the Muslims to put down the Holy Koran for once, read "Fast Food Nation", and rent the DVD "Supersize Me".
Freewill
November 21, 2006 - 11:01 ET by UnsaneAll three of which deny the existence of freewill.
"Socialism is the philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance and the gospel of envy." -Sir Winston Churchill, British statesman (1874-1965)
Bet they don't have a 'happ
November 21, 2006 - 08:50 ET by heldmywBet they don't have a 'happy meal' though...
Silly people, every halal m
November 21, 2006 - 09:14 ET by happyuscitizenSilly people, every halal meal is a happy meal because in addition to the meat being slaughtered facing Mecca, one must be facing Mecca while eating it as well or else..................YOU WILL ALL BE SLAUGHTERED LIKE THE INFIDELS YOU ARE!
All kidding aside who cares as long as they inform there customers what they are doing. Plus I have always been a Burger King fan, Hungry Jack's as it is called in the Land Down Under, something about the flames makes for a better burger, yep that's it.
On Hungry Jack's
November 21, 2006 - 11:03 ET by UnsaneWhen I saw Hungry Jack's down under I found myself curious as to why it wasn't called Burger King like everyplace else. Perhaps they are owned by anti-monarchists who are campaigning (still) for Canberra to sever its last links to the crown in London?
"Socialism is the philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance and the gospel of envy." -Sir Winston Churchill, British statesman (1874-1965)
Whatever...
November 21, 2006 - 09:28 ET by Wineguy13I don't care if my meat is slaughtered by a clown wearing a John Kerry mask, as long as the food is safe to eat. I do wonder how the business could have gone up so much, with just a small sign inside. Being offended because your meat has been blessed to Allah, the God of Abraham, should only offend hyper-sensitive Christians, and Vegans.
Why should any religion be gi
November 21, 2006 - 11:40 ET by winston smithWhy should any religion be gi
November 21, 2006 - 11:41 ET by winston smithWhy should any religion be given importance at all when it comes to fast food? I think those furious customers have a point. Let's see, McDonald's sells egg mcmuffins with ham and sausage, cheese burgers with bacon -- since they've been so gracious about blessing the food in the muslim tradition, maybe they can be so gracious as to discontinue selling meals that contain pork, too ------ in accordance with the muslim tradition, of course.
Has there been any instances
November 21, 2006 - 11:46 ET by JoeBobHas there been any instances of McDonald's accommodating the Jewish faith with kosher foods? I know that Wendy's doesn't usually offer fish sandwiches except during the Lenten season (They don't advertise that they're offering it because of that; it's just "Back for a Limited Time!").
Without recognizing the ordinances of Heaven, it is impossible to be a superior man. - Confucious
.....Political correctness
November 21, 2006 - 12:19 ET by ww thumper.....Political correctness when dealing with Islam will kill america....ww .....
ww, What's your point
November 22, 2006 - 10:55 ET by JoeBobww,
What's your point? Just as I won't be seen scarfing down a quarter-pounder on a Friday during Lent, I might be seen partaking of a fish sandwich at the same establishment. If a company wants to make money by catering to people's religious beliefs, more power to them. What I think is hypocritical is the effort to hide that catering from other customers in order not to lose business. If you decide that giving customers what they want (in this case, halal food) is good business sense, promote yourself doing it. If it's not good business sense (people won't eat a burger with Allah's stamp of approval on it), don't do it. But be open about it and let the customer decide.
On the topic of political correctness, religious tolerance for everyone is charity and justice, not political correctness.
Without recognizing the ordinances of Heaven, it is impossible to be a superior man. - Confucious
More power to McD's, and in
November 21, 2006 - 12:21 ET by Dan The Man 2More power to McD's, and in the bible it asks if meat slaughed and blessed to idols was proper to eat. Pausl replied it was permissable and there was nothing wrong with it. All meat is blessed by God, not Allah, but the one true God of the Bible.
Nuke em til they glow then shoot em in the dark. -- save my gun, shoot a liberal.
...
November 21, 2006 - 17:05 ET by MalcorPermissable does not equate to preferable. I can easily see even non-extremist types being upset at the idea of eating something consecrated in the name of a deity they could well consider non-existant or even false.
As it is, McD's is a business and this is the United States. If people are upset by it, they can let their pocketbooks speak for them. Apparently it's doing well if its sales have increased so much, and more power to them. They'd just better not start whining if their sales go down because their 'normal' customers prefer to eat something different... or, in this case, the same (what they had before).
Still, your words are a comfortable reminder to many, I'm sure.
The thing that angers me is t
November 21, 2006 - 12:33 ET by mattmThe thing that angers me is that the West is bending over forward and backward to accomodate these 7th century fanatics, yet they have no respect for other faiths. They kill or subjugate people simply for being of other faiths.
If Muslims are doing this out of ignorance and against the true teachings of Islam, then they need to be corrected, but if they are acting according to true Islam, then they need to be opposed on every front... even McDonalds...
Jesus says "do unto others as you would have others do unto you..." but what does the Qur'an say?
"Therefore, when ye meet the unbelievers, smite at their necks, at length when ye have thoroughly subdued them, bind a bond firmly (on them) ..." Sura 47:4
Just Say NO
November 21, 2006 - 12:33 ET by acumenWe demand this, we abhor that. I'm starting to see a pattern here. Look closely young Americans as you wave bye-bye to your culture and greet your future:
'Jihad' Threat Forces Burger King to Change Ice Cream Logo
In the latest example of Western business interests giving in to pressure by offended Muslims, Burger King reportedly has withdrawn an ice cream product after complaints that a label design looks like the Arabic script for "Allah."
Other business interests that have run afoul of Muslim sensibilities in similar circumstances include sportswear giant Nike, Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld and food and homecare manufacturer Unilever.
In 1997, Nike pulled tens of thousands of basketball shoes after it was told that the logo - the word "air" in flame-like letters - looked like "Allah" in Arabic when viewed from a certain angle.
Newsweek reported in July of that year that Nike had launched a program of "sensitivity training on Islam" and gave a donation to an Islamic school.
A year later, Unilever scrapped a new logo it had begun to use on Walls ice creams in the Middle East - again after Muslims said the intertwining red and yellow hearts looked like "Allah" in Arabic, when viewed upside down and backwards.
In 1994, Lagerfeld designed a dress incorporating a pattern he had copied from Arabic lettering on India's Taj Mahal monument. The lettering included the phrase "They are the ones who found guidance," used a number of times in the Koran.
German supermodel Claudia Schiffer received death threats after wearing the dress, prompting her mother to make a public plea for her safety. The designer apologized and burned the garments. He also destroyed photographs and negatives of the dress.
Coca Cola has for years struggled to dispel the rumor that the soft drink's trademark swirly-writing logo, when seen at a particular angle, looked like the Arabic script for "No Mohammed, No Mecca."
Ahhhh, the good ole' days before we bought into the mythological population explosion and the all too real legalized abortion. The good ole' days when all we had to worry about was playing albums backwards, wondering if Paul was actually dead. Fast forward to the present and we know that Paul is very much alive but wonder if our culture is actually the deceased victim. And the band played on, while young Americans abandoned their sinking culture in search of........ themselves?
Meh- whatever- their saoles w
November 21, 2006 - 13:49 ET by NazarethMeh- whatever- their saoles will drop off during Rhamadahn
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