McDonald's settles Mich. suit over Islamic diet

McDonald's and one of its franchise owners agreed to pay $700,000 to members of the Muslim community to settle allegations a Detroit-area restaurant falsely advertised its food as being prepared according to Islamic dietary law.

McDonald's and Finley's Management Co. agreed Friday to the tentative settlement, with that money to be shared by Dearborn Heights resident Ahmed Ahmed, a Detroit health clinic, the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn and lawyers.

Ahmed's attorney, Kassem Dakhlallah, told The Associated Press on Monday that he's "thrilled" with the preliminary deal that's expected to be finalized March 1. McDonald's and Finley's Management deny any liability but say the settlement is in their best interests.

The lawsuit alleged that Ahmed bought a chicken sandwich in September 2011 at a Dearborn McDonald's but found it wasn't halal — meaning it didn't meet Islamic requirements for preparing food. Islam forbids consumption of pork, and God's name must be invoked before an animal providing meat for consumption is slaughtered.

Dakhlallah said there are only two McDonald's in the United States that sell halal products and both are in Dearborn, which has one of the nation's largest Arab and Muslim communities. Overall, the Detroit area is home to about 150,000 Muslims of many different ethnicities.

The locations advertise that they exclusively sell halal Chicken McNuggets and McChicken sandwiches and they have to get those products from an approved halal provider, Dakhlallah said. He said there was no evidence of problems on the production side, but he alleges that the Dearborn location on Ford Road sold non-halal products when it ran out of halal.

Dakhlallah said he was approached by Ahmed, and they conducted an investigation. A letter sent to McDonald's Corp. and Finley's Management by Dakhlallah's firm said Ahmed had "confirmed from a source familiar with the inventory" that the restaurant had sold non-halal food "on many occasions."

After they received no response to the letter, Dakhlallah said, they filed a lawsuit in Wayne County Circuit Court in November 2011 as part of a class action.

The AP left messages Monday afternoon for attorneys representing the corporation and the franchise.

In the settlement notice, Finley's Management said it "has a carefully designed system for preparing and serving halal such that halal chicken products are labeled, stored, refrigerated, and cooked in halal-only areas." The company added it trains its employees on preparing halal food and "requires strict adherence to the process."

He said although Ahmed believes McDonald's was negligent, there was no evidence that the chain set out to deceive customers.

"McDonald's from the very beginning stepped up and took this case very seriously," Dakhlallah said. "They made it clear they wanted to resolve this. They got ahead of the problem."

The lawsuit covers anyone who bought the halal-advertised products from the Ford Road restaurant and another Dearborn McDonald's with a different owner between September 2005 and last Friday. Since that would be impossible to determine, Dakhlallah said both sides agreed to provide money to community-based charities that benefit members of this group.

The other location on Michigan Avenue wasn't a defendant or a focus of the investigation, Dakhlallah said.

He said the final hearing will ultimately determine who gets what and how much, but roughly $275,000 is expected to go to the Huda Clinic, about $150,000 to the museum, $230,000 to attorneys and $20,000 to Ahmed.

Dakhlallah said he believes it's the first lawsuit of its kind related to McDonald's and halal food.

In 2002, McDonald's agreed to donate $10 million to Hindu and other groups in the U.S. to settle lawsuits that accused the chain of mislabeling french fries and hash browns as vegetarian. The vegetable oil used to prepare the items had contained traces of beef for flavoring purposes.

http://news.yahoo.com/mcdonalds-settles-mich-suit-over-islamic-diet-210759055.html

They should just have stopped selling when they ran out of Halal stock.

SubhanAllah, there is this store in NY, i used to buy halal chicken from.... After a while, i began to suspect the 'halalness' of their chicken so i restricted myself to buying fish.

To be honest, one has to be very careful when buying meat products.

In Nigeria, I do not eat chicken from any eatery. We are not as careful about such things.... May Allah protect us.

tbaba1234: SubhanAllah, there is this store in NY, i used to buy halal chicken from.... After a while, i began to suspect the 'halalness' of their chicken so i restricted myself to buying fish.

To be honest, one has to be very careful when buying meat products.

In Nigeria, I do not eat chicken from any eatery. We are not as careful about such things.... May Allah protect us.

@bolded, that is a good one.

there was a documentary about macdonalds, kfc, etc in places like india, israel, the middle east, china, etc and these establishments did conform to dietary laws and culture of the respective environments.


they do a lot of research about these things and i wouldnt expect nigeria to be different.

in india, for example, the stores dont sell beef.

in israel, the food is prepared according to kosher laws.

in the middle east, its halal.

not saying you should eat something you're not comfortable with, but in nigeria most people cook their own food anyway, as far as i know.

chicken is mostly sold in specific restaurants, you dont even see many bukas selling it, they just do meat because poultry doesnt keep long.

@Mac,

I have seen this post elsewhere and good for McDonalds for settling the suit but you know this was coming. I dont want to eat Halal meat without knowing what i am eating. If I want to eat Halal meat, I know where to go get it. But I dont, and why then do buthers in UK supermarkets sell me Halal meat but do not label it as such. Why do school lunches use halal meat because of one or two muslim students in school.

Surely this is not a fair deal....Its like one law for you and the rest can push off somewhere

^
I wonder why you christians think we muslims are in some sort of competition with you? We thought all the dietary laws have been nailed to the cross? You guys need to give up on the needless copying.

tbaba1234: SubhanAllah, there is this store in NY, i used to buy halal chicken from.... After a while, i began to suspect the 'halalness' of their chicken so i restricted myself to buying fish.

To be honest, one has to be very careful when buying meat products.

In Nigeria, I do not eat chicken from any eatery. We are not as careful about such things.... May Allah protect us.

Please I wanted to ask what signs did you perceive to suspect the halalness of the chicken?

Wait... Wait..

What's the rulings on our mr Biggs, chicken republic etc.

I tot a simple bismillah b4 eating would suffice.

vedaxcool: ^
Please I wanted to ask what signs did you perceive to suspect the halalness of the chicken?

Well, first of all, there are not muslims. They are from india, selling halal helps business because of the large muslim population from India or pakistan. There is no way to be sure if they are not cheating sometimes.

I just stopped trusting them after a while.

A practising muslim store is always the best place to buy.

In large grocery stores, you can see the halal certificate that came with the meat if you request.

In Nigeria, muslims have to more active to ensure that these eateries always sell halal meat. If muslims were more educated, this would be easy in the south west because they are businesses afterall.

Mai-suya:
Wait... Wait..

What's the rulings on our mr Biggs, chicken republic etc.

I tot a simple bismillah b4 eating would suffice.

Actually, no..

As a muslim, you should only eat halal or kosher. I.e slaughtered in the muslim way or the jewish way.

Christians today have abandoned any rule and would most likely slaugther in Jesus name. This is not acceptable for consumption.

One has to be sure of where they buy meat so that they can be sure it is halal. I understand that the abbatoirs are run by muslims but do they follow the rules of slaughter?

Chicken is more dicey because there are many poultry farms and not all are run by muslims. In 9ja, I only eat chicken slaughtered in my home by me or anyone in the home.

tbaba1234:

Well, first of all, there are not muslims. They are from india, selling halal helps business because of the large muslim population from India or pakistan. There is no way to be sure if they are not cheating sometimes.

I just stopped trusting them after a while.

A practising muslim store is always the best place to buy.

In large grocery stores, you can see the halal certificate that came with the meat if you request.

In Nigeria, muslims have to more active to ensure that these eateries always sell halal meat. If muslims were more educated, this would be easy in the south west because they are businesses afterall.

Truly it just made me realize the seriousness of this halal issue, and it seems I have been living in a fantasy that all chicken especially is halally done forgetting that there is the complexity of this country to grapple with. Really a lot more need to be done in educating people on this issue especially when it comes to purchasing frozen chicken!

vedaxcool:

Truly it just made me realize the seriousness of this halal issue, and it seems I have been living in a fantasy that all chicken especially is halally done forgetting that there is the complexity of this country to grapple with. Really a lot more need to be done in educating people on this issue especially when it comes to purchasing frozen chicken!

Nigerian muslims are very negligent over some issues. Maybe it is because of the large muslim population. If you live as a minority, you will be very conscious about these things.

It is safer in the north but in the south west, muslims need to do a lot more.

tbaba1234:


In 9ja, I only eat chicken slaughtered in my home by me or anyone in the home.

end of discussion, or is there more?

tbaba1234:


Actually, no..

As a muslim, you should only eat halal or kosher. I.e slaughtered in the muslim way or the jewish way.

Christians today have abandoned any rule and would most likely slaugther in Jesus name. This is not acceptable for consumption.

One has to be sure of where they buy meat so that they can be sure it is halal. I understand that the abbatoirs are run by muslims but do they follow the rules of slaughter?

Chicken is more dicey because there are many poultry farms and not all are run by muslims. In 9ja, I only eat chicken slaughtered in my home by me or anyone in the home.

I don't think u need to be perfectly sure. In instances where u are not sure bismillah was pronounced before the slaughter,saying bismillah before eating can suffice. I agree wv mai suya on that.

There is a lot to d rules on halal eating beyond d saying of bismillah before the slaughter. How about how it was slaughtered and if the meat was dead before it was and the type of meat that should or shouldnt be eaten. The bismillah part is d least of it all.

nuorlah: I don't think u need to be perfectly sure. In instances where u are not sure bismillah was pronounced before the slaughter,saying bismillah before eating can suffice. I agree wv mai suya on that.

There is a lot to d rules on halal eating beyond d saying of bismillah before the slaughter. How about how it was slaughtered and if the meat was dead before it was and the type of meat that should or shouldnt be eaten. The bismillah part is d least of it all.

Where did you get that ayah from?

Why do you not say Bismillah and eat pork?

Just like pork is prohibited, meat slaughtered to other than Allah is prohibited, dead meat is also prohibited....

AS much as it is possible, try to eat halal... You can not disobey a direct rule and say bismillah before eating thinking it is ok... Provide the evidence that that is ok.

Why do you think the muslims in the story, insist on halal meat?

Why do they not say just bismillah before eating?

It is chicken after all..

tbaba1234: Why do you think the muslims in the story, insist on halal meat?

Why do they not say just bismillah before eating?

It is chicken after all..

Tbaba, you can do better, there is a lot that goes into a Chicken Sandwich that is more than chicken. I am also in agreement with the Bismillah rule.

Do you have contrary evidence?

maclatunji:

Tbaba, you can do better, there is a lot that goes into a Chicken Sandwich that is more than chicken. I am also in agreement with the Bismillah rule.

Do you have contrary evidence?

What bismillah rule Where did you get bismillah rule from??

There is no such thing as a bismillah rule... Again provide evidence for this..

The reason they rejected eating from the Mcdonalds is because of the chicken... Not because of lettuce, onions and tomatoes... Most of the other things are vegetables.

Many muslims in the US only eat in stores that sell halal meat,... Like i said earlier, Nigerian muslims are very careless with these things... If you can control where you buy your chicken then do so..

tbaba1234:

What bismillah rule Where did you get bismillah rule from??

There is no such thing as a bismillah rule... Again provide evidence for this..

The reason they rejected eating from the Mcdonalds is because of the chicken... Not because of lettuce, onions and tomatoes... Most of the other things are vegetables.

Many muslims in the US only eat in stores that sell halal meat,... Like i said earlier, Nigerian muslims are very careless with these things... If you can control where you buy your chicken then do so..

Yes there is according to Dr. Al Qardawi's book. The lawful and Prohibited in Islam.

tbaba1234:

What bismillah rule Where did you get bismillah rule from??

There is no such thing as a bismillah rule... Again provide evidence for this..

The reason they rejected eating from the Mcdonalds is because of the chicken... Not because of lettuce, onions and tomatoes... Most of the other things are vegetables.

Many muslims in the US only eat in stores that sell halal meat,... Like i said earlier, Nigerian muslims are very careless with these things... If you can control where you buy your chicken then do so..

Hold on a second with your 'Nigerian Muslim' comments.

Tbaba, it is a matter of opinion not absolute fact as you want to claim: http://www.missionislam.com/health/halalhealthy.htm

No doubt what you are trying to promote is the best but don't be absolute with your delivery.

And Allah knows best.

maclatunji:

Hold on a second with your 'Nigerian Muslim' comments.

LOl... I am Nigerian too, no hard feelings...

You say bismillah before eating but not before eating something prohibited.... A good discussion on this can be found here:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiMlT6NYbXI

No one here talks of a bismillah rule.

The video would address the two positions and why the second position might not be valid in our context...

Have you read my link? I says it is a matter of opinion, you don't determine what is prohibited, do you?

maclatunji: Have you read my link? I says it is a matter of opinion, you don't determine what is prohibited, do you?

t

I know about that, watch the video and tell me which is more valid in our context

maclatunji: Have you read my link? I says it is a matter of opinion, you don't determine what is prohibited, do you?

t

I know about that, watch the video and tell me which is more valid in our context..

tbaba1234: t

I know about that, watch the video and tell me which is more valid in our context..

My internet connection is awful so I can't watch your video. What do you mean by "our context"? No need for long arguments now, it has been established that there are 2 opinions on the matter- you choose the one that you are at ease with.

maclatunji:

My internet connection is awful so I can't watch your video. What do you mean by "our context"? No need for long arguments now, it has been established that there are 2 opinions on the matter- you choose the one that you are at ease with.

Now let's examine it:

Now the major contention here is what is the food of the 'people of the book"?

For me, i can eat at a kosher restaurant because i understand, they slaughter their animals according to their book... It is not enough to assume that the animal is food from the people of the book...

That is the bone of contention... With all due respect, Dr. Qardawi (from saudi Arabia) view does not take into contention what goes into meat production in the US. Many of the things, that go meat production are not halal to begin with... That is what yasir Qadhi (an american) highlighted in the video.

I think the really knowledgeable scholars in the south westo have to discuss and deliver a clear view on this issue.

Few points here:

1. I'm not muslim but i'll still post on the thread

2. Imo, if there's any element of doubt no matter how miniscule, which will prevent you from enjoying what you eat outside your house, the best thing is to stick to meals which you're absolutely certain have been prepared according to your guidelines- meaning dont eat outside at restaurants which cater to the wider demographic. There are many halal restaurants which have chicken on the menu.

In nigeria, most people eat their own freshly prepared chicken as was pointed out before. Frozen chicken may be more convenient these days, since its available, but at the same time its not a must to buy it when you can make your own.

3. Most of these issues, to me, seem more like turf wars than religion based.

Its not like there's no other option?

Is all this chicken even conducive to healthy eating?

tbaba1234:

Where did you get that ayah from?

Why do you not say Bismillah and eat pork?

Just like pork is prohibited, meat slaughtered to other than Allah is prohibited, dead meat is also prohibited....

AS much as it is possible, try to eat halal... You can not disobey a direct rule and say bismillah before eating thinking it is ok... Provide the evidence that that is ok.

It is obvious you did not understand what I said. You can't eat pork and say bismillah. I mean once the others are met, the bismillah part is simple.

And pork can even be eaten if there is no means of halal food nearby.

If u live where no one cares about your halal rules, would you not eat ever and get malnourished?

Islam is simpler than you are making it seem

And do the people of the book say bismillah before the slaughter @tbaba?

I havent seen d video but that some people in it have some opinion doesnt make it right. Do you mind summarising what the video is about?