Good ‘Beurger’: Fast-Food Joint Caters to France’s Muslims

PARIS — Muslims in France are having it their way with “Beurger King” — a new fast-food restaurant that caters to the country’s large Islamic population.

The bright and colorful eatery was launched in July in an eastern Paris suburb crowded with immigrants and dilapidated housing projects. Its name plays on the French word “Beur,” meaning a second-generation North African living in France.

The menu at Beurger King Muslim, or BKM, is standard fast-food fare: burgers, fries, sundaes and doughnuts, and prices are comparable to ones at major chains. But the beef and chicken burgers are halal — meaning made with meat slaughtered according to Islamic dietary laws. Waitresses wear Islamic head scarves.

Mouna Talbi, 24, traveled 55 miles to Clichy-sous-Bois with her husband and two young sons to try it.

“I was so happy to come here that I had tears in my eyes when I walked in,” she said, watching her sons climb on colored blocks in the play area as she ate a halal burger.

{snip}