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In July 2024, several state administrations in India issued directives that owners of hotels, eateries, food stalls, or any similar shops that sell food items should display their names on the signboards of their shops. Though many shop owners willingly chose to put their identities on display, there was a massive outrage among some Muslims and Muslim and non-Muslim Islamic apologists occupying eminent positions in the media, entertainment, and politics. They dubbed the government initiative “anti-Muslim.” Al Jazeera, too, appeared to be all riled up. The Muslim-favoring Apex court soon marched into action and stopped the process. However, the Uttar Pradesh state administration vigorously defended its decision to demand transparency from business owners who deal with food.

This is particularly interesting because the state government bodies asked all business owners to display their identities regardless of their religion. Still, only the Muslim faction was enraged. Eventually, media and social media got busy fighting over this directive and deciding if it was communal or not, and brought to the fore quite a shocking fact about Muslim business owners dealing in the food business.

As Sanatan Prabhat reports, numerous dhabhas (local eateries along national and state highways) in these states are owned by Muslims but display large sign boards with pictures of Hindu deities. The truth about them is known when Google Pay or PayTM makes payment. In Western Uttar Pradesh, on the Meerut, Gajrola, Gad Mukteshwar, and Mudpande Highway, there are numerous dhabhas with boards with names of Hindu deities, but the owners and workers inside them are Muslim.

One may ask why it is a problem if the owner or employees of a dhabha is Muslim. The report adds that a dhabha in Dehradun Dehat had served animal fat instead of ghee.

The above directive was introduced during the Hindu month of Sravan/Sawan. This is a holy month dedicated to the Hindu deity Shiva, and millions of his devotees restrict themselves to pure vegetarian food during this month. They don’t even use garlic and onion, let alone any animal meat, during this time. Thousands of Hindus walk barefoot along the highways to complete a religious journey known as the Kanwar Yatra, and they consume food from these roadside eateries. Now, what if they are fed food contaminated with animal meat, etc, during this penance? To give you a better equivalent, imagine feeding pork to your Muslim neighbor, Abdul. Can you picture a citywide riot by a thousand-strong Muslim crowd, the burning of vehicles, and the tearing down of shops?

In response, all too many Hindus will cry in a corner and blame themselves for not being more careful or not choosing some other dhabha. Now, an informed decision can only be made when you have the correct information. The hapless Hindu here is denied this information, and is left to choose from among misleading hotels and eateries.

Some Muslims all over the world demand that food shops serve halal meat, and mention “halal” clearly on their menu. Even giant fast-food chains that originated in the West have relented in front of an influential and adamant Islamic ecosystem. While they force the entire world to surrender to their choice of food, they find a similar demand from a Hindu in India to be outrageous, unconstitutional, and communal.

Now, one may opine that it is unfair to judge all Muslim-owned restaurants based on the wrongs done by one. Yet it was not just one establishment that was caught contaminating food items.

In the past couple of years, numerous cases of Muslim vendors were caught contaminating food items. India has seen it all, from Muslim cooks spitting on dough, mixing saliva in food items made for sale, picking fruits and vegetables from gutter water, to urinating on food. Again, the basic cooking codes followed by Muslims and Hindus are entirely different.

Even the most hygiene-conscious Muslims use halal products or blow into the food as a religious practice. A food item is known to achieve halal status when prepared following Islamic ways, and one can always transfer spit into the food while blowing. Why should a non-Muslim be misled into consuming such food?

Again, what is perplexing is how some Muslims use signboards flashing images of Hindu deities or open shops in the names of Hindu gods. These Muslims mock Hindu gods as stones and animals, but making money in the name of these very Hindu gods and running their Islamic homes is acceptable. How is this not haram?  The answer lies in the fundamentals of al-taqiyya, the fabled Islamic art of deception.

This deception is not limited to a few states of India. Hundreds of thousands of Indian restaurants operating in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and other parts of the Western world are actually run by Pakistani and Bangladeshi immigrants. These owners are aware of the ill-repute their Islamic countries enjoy, and so, despite endorsing hate for India with a passion, they run their businesses with the blessing of the Indian name. Now, are they blowing in your food? One can only guess.