Burger King Follows Sharia Law, Bans Bacon-Truth! & Misleading!
Summary of eRumor:
Reports that Burger King has pulled bacon and other non-halal products in a nod to Islamic Sharia Law has led to calls for a boycott of the burger chain.
The Truth:
Burger King has operated halal restaurants in predominately Muslim areas for years, and there wasn’t any indication that the burger chain planned to dramatically change course when this rumor went viral in December 2015.
It has been reported in French media, however, that Burger King plans to add about 20 halal restaurants in Europe after acquiring Quick, a Belgian burger chain. That sparked rumors that Burger King planned to go “all halal” and calls to boycott the restaurant for supporting the “Islamificiation” of the west.
Those rumors started after Political Insider published an article headlined, “Burger King Just Announced THEY WILL FOLLOW ISLAMIC SHARIA LAW! – Stop Them!” The article, which was published in mid-December 2015, reports:
Burger King has caved to the pressure from Islam, and they just made an announcement that they will ONLY serve 100% halal meat, under the rules of Sharia Law.
The announcement comes from their chains in France, which is the same country that recently suffered from a deadly Islamic terrorist attack just one month ago.
This rule also means their French stores won’t serve bacon or chicken… The Islamification of the West is spreading, and they are demanding we all live by their rules!
The claim that Burger King had just announced that it will “only serve 100% halal meat” is false. In reality, Burger King has acquired the Quick burger chain (which already had 20 halal restaurants) and it planned to add about 20 more halal locations, French news site The Local reports:
This means all bacon and pork-based meals will be scrapped from the menu and all the beef and chicken used will be certified halal.
The move is understood to be part of Burger King’s continued attempt to take on McDonald’s – the behemoth of the French fast food world with around 1,300 stores.
Quick already has around 20 halal restaurants in France, where all the meat used comes from animals slaughtered in accordance with Islamic law.
Despite calls to boycott Burger King after right-wing American blog sites picked up on the story, the idea that Burger King plans to operate 100% halal restaurants isn’t “breaking” news. The burger chain has operated halal restaurants in predominately Muslim areas of the world for years. There are three all-halal Burger King locations in Malaysia, for example. Also, in 2014, Burger King made waves when it brought a beef and pork free Whopper to India to cater to both Muslims and Hindus. The burger chain introduced a Chicken Whopper, a Mutton Whopper and a Vegetable Whopper there.
So, in conclusion, it’s true that Burger King plans to open about 20 new halal restaurants in Europe (but it’s not clear whether or not they will all be in France). But reports that Burger King will “only serve 100% halal meat” have misled people into believing that the burger chain is making dramatic changes, and that’s not the case.