Posted on 09/02/2010 9:59:44 AM PDT by markomalley
Note to big companies hoping to tap into France's lucrative but long-neglected Muslim consumer market: Pitfalls may await, and not only in the form of complaints from the far-right.
As of this week, 22 outlets of popular French fast food chain Quick are serving burgers it says respect Islamic dietary law. And while many Muslims are delighted, the powerful main Paris Mosque complained Thursday that Quick's criteria aren't all-encompassing enough, and that the operation is meaningless.
Quick's meat is certified as halal, but Cheikh Al Sid Cheikh, assistant to the rector of the Paris Mosque, said the burger chain should have had the other ingredients checked as well, from its mustard to buns to fries.
"The rest must be validated too, or else there's no point," he told The Associated Press. Quick responded that it has no intention of making any of its restaurants halal through-and-through — beer is still served there, for example, said spokeswoman Valerie Raynal.
Such cultural sensitivities are new territory for many French companies. Until recently in France, a country obsessed with secularism, companies were hesitant to reach out to France's Muslim population, estimated to be 5 million, the largest in Europe.
Quick, the No. 2 burger chain in France after McDonald's, is the latest group to enter the expanding French market for halal food, which has an estimated euro5.5 billion ($7 billion) in annual sales, according to a study by France's Solis marketing agency.
Both the Casino supermarket chain and the Fleury Michon line of cold cuts have halal offerings. The Paris Mosque has high praise for Kentucky Fried Chicken France, which it says spent four months consulting with Muslim officials recently about its fare. The chain is a rarity in that it has offered halal food for years — though it never trumpeted the
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Cooked on the same grill that cooked the bacon cheeseburger a few minutes before I hope.
Why does anyone even attempt to work with these people?
Unless you are willing to bow down to them and become their slaves, nothing you do will be enough.
Even then, it probably won’t be.
Coming to a neighborhood near you. Look, if I don’t like what a restuarant serves, I don’t eat there. I go someplace else.....as most of us do. If these people don’t like eating there, they need to do the same thing. One of these days they will demand car dealers start selling camels.
Would you like bacon with that burger, Muzzie?
Last year we had one ONE Muslim woman who complained at our Ward’s 4th of July BBQ that her children could not eat the food because all the food was cooked on the same grills. She was holding about $50 in free toys in her arms while she is complaining to us.
This is perhaps one of the most important things about halal meat that many in the west are unaware of.
Halal meat comes ONLY from a Muslim butcher and/or slaughterhouse.
No diversity in suppliers there. That means no Christians and no Jews may supply meat to these outlets.
I don’t give a rats ass about their Halalalalalalalala whatever.....
No doubt that Cheikh Al Sid Cheikh will propose that the chain pay him $50,000 to consult on, and certify, that all ingredients are indeed Halal. That doesn’t cover travel or other expenses, of course....
Obviously we can’t please them. In the interest of tolerance, they should just leave.
Is this anything like me going to a FORD franchise and demanding they sell me a new GM, Cadillac Escalade, from THEIR inventory?
Next thing they’ll demand that they lay off all of those infidel pigs who work there, and hire certified Muslims.
“Why does anyone even attempt to work with these people?”
They are cultural and historical ignoramuses.
Most of them never heard of Copts or Zoroastrians, or Maronite Christians or Assyrian Christians. All of the latter are forced to try and merely SURVIVE in an Islamic society.
I go someplace else..
I would also go somewhere else but it makes me wonder why some enterprising muslims don’t fill this void and open fast food restaurants of their own, catering to muslims.
“Halal meat comes ONLY from a Muslim butcher and/or slaughterhouse.”
Well, at least Christians can still eat food that the muzzies sacrifice to their idols, so even if they do manage to takeover all the restaurants, we won’t starve.
The muslims want to change us and everyone else. Opening their own business doesn’t accomplish this. Sharia law is their goal and if people don’t start paying attention, we will have it here. France, Germany and Great Britian are staring it in the face now and if they don’t stand up against it, they are done.
F them.
Do they intend to "bless" the tomatoes, ketchup, onions, mustard, mayo and cheese as well? Oh and don't forget the buns, will they start with the wheat as it is raised in the field? For heaven sakes, they put so many obstacles in their own way that they accomplish NOTHING.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.