While visiting Decatur from New York, a family ordered 14 sandwiches at a local McDonald’s, according to AL.com. As they began eating, they were shocked to discover bacon—an ingredient strictly prohibited in Islam.
Khaula Hadeed, head of the Alabama chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), explained that the family, regular McDonald’s customers, immediately noticed the unusual taste. “They eat McChicken all the time at McDonald’s. They knew exactly what they ordered and what should have been in their sandwiches,” Hadeed said.
To Hadeed, this was more than just a mistake—it felt like a deliberate act. “It doesn’t seem like an error, especially across 14 sandwiches,” she said, calling the incident a clear example of “intentional religious and ethnic bigotry.”
Now, Hadeed is calling for a thorough investigation, revealing that one of the adults in the family vomited twice after eating the sandwiches. “They’re deeply disturbed by what happened,” she shared. “McDonald’s needs to investigate this incident, identify and hold accountable the employees involved, and take immediate steps to address this family’s concerns, starting with a formal apology.”
The incident sparked intense debate online, with many expressing sympathy for the family and backing their claims.
“I’ve certainly seen ‘good Christians’ doing some nasty things to those who are different,” commented one AL.com reader. “I don’t know exactly what happened here, but I can believe someone intentionally put the sandwiches together in a way they knew would be offensive. I tend to believe the Muslim family and think some ignorant person deliberately added bacon to humiliate and harm them for being ‘other.’ That’s Un-American in my book.”
