Whole Foods: Ramadan Kerfuffle?

The past day, there has been flurry of commentary about some rather old news concerning a planned (or not planned?) Ramadan promotion by Whole Foods, purveyors of toothpaste that doesn't fight cavities and other paycheck absorbing goods. The problem supposedly began some two years ago, when Debbie Schlussel blogged about imaginary links to terrorism through Whole Foods' halal supplier, Saffron Roads. It may be possible that Ms. Schlussel believes that any Islamic company is suspect a priori. I'm not Debbie Schlussel, so I can't answer for her. What I can say is the obvious: this was a business decision on the part of Whole Foods and not some grand Islamic conspiracy to alter the way vegans eat.

Criticism of Muslim dietary habits is not uncommon in the counter jihad domain of the blogosphere. Robert Spencer has criticized attempts by businesses to cater to Muslim customers with halal here, here, here, and here. He's not alone, of course, stories like this are often picked up as an example of the changing demography found in the West laden with fears about no longer being able to purchase pork at your favorite eatery. Fair enough. I suppose from reading these blogs one might imagine that this is new ground, never before trodden by the West. However, the existence of chain restaurants that serve foods with supervision for religious dietary concerns is nothing new at all.

Consider the existence of numerous kosher Dunkin Donuts outlets. These are largely private franchises who have made a smart business decision to appeal to Jewish customers. However, Dunkin' Donuts held a double standard for a Muslim franchisee who didn't want to carry pork products. Huh? I just don't get it. Incidentally, that Muslim lost his suit with Dunkin' Donuts.

Consider also the fact that a large amount of products on U.S. shelves are certified kosher. According to one source I found, it's as high as 50%, though more reliable sources from kosher supervision providers themselves offered figures of closer to 25 to 33%. This is completely a nonissue. The sky has not fallen because the average person pays .00001 cents a year more due to the costs of kosher supervision. As a Muslim, I'm HAPPY that such supervision exists because it helps me to make food choices. While I would certainly like to have halal supervision for foods as well, that's something that Muslims will have to convince businesses is every bit as smart a business decision as kosher certification. Of course, these facts and considerations are moot to the other spectrum of anti-Semitic conspiracy theorists.

Muslims really do exist as a minority population in the West and we have dietary considerations that we're willing to support with our paychecks. If that's an issue for some people, I really cannot fathom it. A stance against Muslims adopting free enterprise while clamoring for our assimilation is nonsense.