Thursday, November 3, 2011

Canucki Popeyes Franchisees in Halal Chicken Flap

File this one, from the Toronto Star, under "remorseless Islamization":
A group of Muslim restaurant franchisees is fighting fast-food chain Popeyes Louisiana Chicken in court over the right to sell hand-slaughtered Halal meat for religious reasons.

The battle in Ontario Superior Court comes after the Atlanta-based franchise moved to replace the chicken supply with machine-killed birds in 14 Toronto restaurants. The company says it’s still Halal-certified; the franchisees claim the machine method is against the beliefs of a majority of Muslims.

“If I begin selling machine-slaughtered chicken, I will immediately lose an enormous segment of my customers,” reads the sworn affidavit from Abdul Haffejee, who owns eight Popeyes in the GTA.

Haffejee, who donates Popeyes chicken to mosques and sponsored Muslim Day at Canada’s Wonderland, said between 50 and 80 per cent of his customers are Muslim.

“All of the members of the Muslim community that I have worked so hard to attract will be gone instantly. They cannot be replaced,” he said in his affidavit, claiming tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of dollars at stake.

Halal is a term used to denote if something is lawful in the Islamic faith.

There are specific requirements for killing animals: a slaughterer who is Muslim or a believer, a blessing, and certain arteries cut before the slaughter.

For over 25 years, Popeyes sold hand-slaughtered Halal meat in all of its 59 southern Ontario stores, according to court documents. This occurred without major incident until January this year, when the long-time supplier announced it would be getting out of the hand-slaughtered chicken business because it was moving on to larger birds, an industry trend.

Thus began an 11-month saga that continues today... 
I had no idea Popeyes was so popular with the halal set—or that Popeyes was halal. Don't you think that little McNugget of info should have been placed front and centre instead of being buried further down?

2 comments:

Carlos Perera said...

Wow, I never suspected that Popeyes was franchised in Canada. It's a popular chain here in the American South, but, of course, you'd expect that, given it's faux-Cajun marketing pitch. (In Jacksonville, it's particularly popular with the African-American demographic . . . even Popeyes shacks in nearly lily-white districts manage to look like Harlem on a Saturday night during mealtimes.)

Personally, I don't care for the Popeyes cuisine much myself--no slur against its fans--so I normally don't give the chain much thought . . . but, after having read this post, I'll have a brand new perspective every time I drive past one of its many outlets here in Jax.

scaramouche said...

I don't eat it either, although the halal designation or lack thereof has nothing to do with it.