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By Aisha Gawad February 25, 2010 Oh France, you have done it again. After attempts to ban the hijab, the burqa, and the niqab - as visible symbols of the “Islamification” of the precious French (i.e. white) identity - there is a new controversy that finds French Muslims unwillingly pitted against their non-Muslim countrymen. Here’s the story: Quick, a French fast food company, is testing out an emerging market - halaal meat. In eight of its stores that serve a sizable Muslim population, the company is serving only halaal meats and has removed all pork products from its menu. The company has been conducting this “marketing exercise” since November, and nobody cared until right-wing party leader Marine Le Pen started making a fuss about “halalburgers” being an “Islamic tax” on French consumers, according to an article in the Independent.  There is only one scenario where Le Pen’s ridiculous ranting would make sense - if the so-called “halalburger” was infused with a magic “Muslim convert” potion and if it cost non-Muslim patrons more to purchase it. I wonder if Le Pen knows that halaal meat is still in fact meat from an ordinary cow - the only difference being the manner in which the cow was slaughtered. It’s not like the food will suddenly taste “Muslim.” But of course, this isn’t about the way in which cows are slaughtered. This is a political movement tied to all other previous efforts in France to make French Muslims feel unwelcome and decidedly “un-French.” Right-wing French politicians are even claiming that the serving of halaal meat at some Quick locations amounts to “discrimination” against non-Muslim customers. But these customers can still choose from non-halaal options such as beer. And talk about discrimination - what about the way French Muslims (and many other French people of color for that matter) are treated by their own government officials! They are pushed into slums, isolated socially, politically and economically, and generally treated as if they are not quite worthy of the title of being “French.” If a French company can’t even offer its 8 million Muslim customers a hamburger without cries of “Islamification of the West,” then the racist hysteria over Muslims in Europe is even worse than I thought. It’s a hamburger people...get over it. Other sources:  BBC News, Al Jazeera http://www.elanthemag.com/index.php/site/blog_detail/wtfatwa_can_i_get_fries_with_that_racism_sil_vous_plait-nid368483924/