A Muslim man in Michigan is suing Little Caesars for $100 million after they served him non-halal pizza with pork inside.
According to Mohamad Bazzi’s complaint, the pizza shop sold him a pizza in a box that said “halal,” the Muslim equivalent of Judaism’s kosher, but the pizza actually contained pepperoni twice, on March 24 and May 24, CBS News reports.
After eating the pizza, Bazzi says his family “became sick” to their stomachs when it dawned on them they had consumed pork, reports the Detroit Free Press.
Bazzi’s attorney, Majed Moughni, explained that eating pork is one of the “one of the worst sins” a Muslim can commit. Islamic law forbids such consumption.
“There’s different schools of Islamic law that allows for the eating of chicken and beef, but there is no such thing as halal pork,” he added. “The pork itself is forbidden.”
Moughni says his client quickly filed the lawsuit on May 25 — the day before Ramadan — so no other Muslims would accidentally commit the sin during the sacred time. The lawsuit accuses the company of breach of contract, negligent misrepresentation, unjust enrichment, and fraud.
However, Little Caesars denies any wrongdoing.
Jill Proctor, a spokeswoman for Little Caesars, says the claim “is without merit.”
“Little Caesars cherishes our customers from all religions and cultures, and the communities we serve are very important to us,” Proctor said. “While we can’t comment on pending litigation, we take this claim very seriously.”
News of the lawsuit provoked mixed responses on social media.
Many expressed anger at the Muslim man.
“Tell me is it worse than blowing up little girls at a concert?” said one user.
Others did not condemn the man’s religious orientation, but were still skeptical he deserved the compensation he is asking for.
“$100 million??” added another. “Give me a break. Give them the money they spent on the pizza plus $500 to say we are sorry and move on.”
Others defended the man.
“If he were Jewish, he probably wouldn’t be getting remotely as much hate as I see in the comments here,” chimed in another reader. “Or are you seriously telling me that you would say that he should never have gone to an eatery that serves non-kosher food? Or that you think we should start sneaking pork into food marked as kosher? Or that he needs to leave the country and go back to where he came from, even if he was born here? Or that he and other people of his religion are greedy and trying to ruin our country?”
Sources: CBS News, Detroit Free Press
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