Beurger King Muslim

Beurger King Muslim (or BKM) is a fast-food restaurant launched in July 2005. The restaurant aims to mimic American fast food restaurants. It first set up a branch in the suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois, Paris (France), offering hamburgers, French fries, sundaes, cola and doughnuts. The beef and chicken used in their burgers are halal - meaning they are made with meat slaughtered according to Islamic dietary laws. It is located in the eastern Paris suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois, where many locals are first- or second-generation Muslim immigrants from former French colonies.

Name

The word "Beur" is a French slang word for the second generation of North Africans living in France. "Beur" means "Arab". The word Beurger, therefore, is a play on words, appropriate as the majority of the clients and owners of BKM are from North Africa.

Menu and customers

Beurger King Muslim's significance stems from the fact all the food served is halal. Halal - meaning fit to eat - has to be prepared in specific ways as deemed by Islamic laws. This is part of the Muslim ritual rules for food, that include a prohibition on pork. The restaurant substitutes pork-related dishes with other meats, for example, the bacon cheeseburger is made with smoked turkey. Various sauces and spices used by the restaurant are monitored to ensure that they are not made with alcohol or fats from animals prohibited from Islamic laws. Representatives from an independent certification services come to the restaurant every week to ensure that the restaurant uses halal ingredients.

The restaurant's interior is designed to make customers feel welcome. The toilets are fitted with hoses for people not accustomed to using toilet paper, and the menu has Arabic lettering. There is a children's playground. The restaurant closes on Friday, the Muslim Day of Prayer. On Friday, the restaurant re-opens at 4 P.M. and closes at midnight.

Aside from serving burgers, fries, sundaes and doughnuts, the restaurant also serves specialties like 'Bakon Halal', 'Double Koull Cheeseburger' (Koull is a play on the American word "cool". Koull can also mean "to eat" in Arabic), the BKM burger (a burger similar to McDonald's Big Mac), and several types of "koull" burgers.

As a result of the halal food, more than 80% of the restaurant's customers are Muslim. While this is responsible for the business' success, it also has a downturn. During Ramadan, the Muslims' annual fast that lasts for a month, the revenues drop. According to Ibrahim Dar, the profits can drop 40 to 50 percent.

Economic effect

The opening of the restaurant has given a boost to the local economy of the Parisian suburb. Project manager Mourad Benhamid says that BKM had provided 28 new jobs. As one in four people of working age in the area are unemployed, Benhamid says the restaurant "ended a long period of unemployment". He also pointed out that the restaurant will allow the hiring of young people who have no diplomas.