Restaurants in Malaysia told to rename hot dogs or be banned

[Martinus]

US fast food chain in Malaysia told to change hot dog name

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Hot dogs, or at least the name, will soon be off the menu for a U.S. fast food chain selling the popular snack in Malaysia.

The chain, Auntie Anne's, has been told by Islamic authorities that its popular Pretzel Dog, which contains no dog meat, has to be renamed as it is confusing for Muslim consumers.

The Malaysian Islamic Development Department has told the U.S. company to banish the word "dog" from its menu and suggested that the frankfurter wrapped in a pretzel be called Pretzel Sausage as part of conditions to obtain halal certification based on Islamic dietary laws. Dogs are deemed unclean in Islam.

"It is more appropriate to use the name Pretzel Sausage," the department's halal director Sirajuddin Suhaimee told local media.

The move is not surprising in mainly Muslim Malaysia, where conservative attitudes have been on the rise. A wide range of products have been certified halal, from mineral water to a newly launched Internet browser and household products to appeal to Muslims, who make up about 60 percent of the country's 30 million people.

Auntie Anne's said it will comply with the request. Its halal executive, Farhatul Kamilah, said on her Facebook page that the chain has proposed several new names and was waiting for the Islamic department's approval.

Other food outlets selling hot dogs face similar rules. U.S. fast food chain A&W earlier obtained its halal certification in Malaysia. In return, its famous root beer is simply called RB on its menu and hot dogs are coneys and franks, short for frankfurters.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/us-fast-food-chain-in-malaysia-told-to-change-hot-dog-name/2016/10/18/2f40cc82-95a0-11e6-9cae-2a3574e296a6_story.html

You can't make this shit up.

[Martinus]

Incidentally, wasn't Malaysia supposed to be one of the "good ones", i.e. an exemplary moderate Muslim democracy?

[Hamilcar]

Incidentally, wasn't Malaysia supposed to be one of the "good ones", i.e. an exemplary moderate Muslim democracy?

"Don't worry, they're not the Waffen SS, they're just regular, moderate Nazis whose anti-semitism extends mostly to smashing shop windows and harboring conspiracy theories about the Elders of Zion. They don't really want a final solution."

[celedhring]

If renaming food products because of vague consumer confusion reasons is the best example of Muslim tyranny you can come up with, then yeah, Malaysia is definitely one of the good ones. The EU does this shit all the time.

Some people do actually eat dogs in those corners of the world, you know.

[Hamilcar]

If renaming food products because of vague consumer confusion reasons is the best example of Muslim tyranny you can come up with, then yeah, Malaysia is definitely one of the good ones. The EU does this shit all the time.

Some people do actually eat dogs in those corners of the world, you know.

You have to be brain damages to think that "hot dogs" implies dog meat. This is akin to Muslims refusing to handle alcohol or pork products while working in a regular grocery store, or banning "Peppa Pig" because ugh, gross.

[Monoriu]

Why should we worry about how other people want to call their food? 

[garbon]

Why should we worry about how other people want to call their food? 

Precisely. Who gives a fuck?

[Hamilcar]

Why should we worry about how other people want to call their food?

It's Muslim cultural imperialism. There are significant minorities in Malaysia who are being forced to conform to Islamic beliefs and preferences.

[Martinus]

Why should we worry about how other people want to call their food? 

Precisely. Who gives a fuck?

The restaurant wants to call their food a "hot dog". They are being told by the government that they have to rename this or be banned. This is hardly about "people wanting to name their food" in some way. Quite the opposite actually.

[celedhring]

If renaming food products because of vague consumer confusion reasons is the best example of Muslim tyranny you can come up with, then yeah, Malaysia is definitely one of the good ones. The EU does this shit all the time.

Some people do actually eat dogs in those corners of the world, you know.

You have to be brain damages to think that "hot dogs" implies dog meat. This is akin to Muslims refusing to handle alcohol or pork products while working in a regular grocery store, or banning "Peppa Pig" because ugh, gross.

In Malaysia you can't name your sausage "hot dog" unless it's actually made of dog meat, even though you have to be brain damaged to believe your fast food sausage is made of dog meat.

In the UK you can't name a yogurt "Greek yogurt" unless it's actually made in Greece, even though you have to be brain damaged to believe the cheap strained yogurt you pick at your local Tesco is actually imported from Greece.

Guess what merits a "XXXX are evil" thread by Martinus.

Oh, and I just looked it up and it isn't illegal to eat dog meat in Malaysia. There's apparently a bit of a gray market in selling them to immigrant workers from Vietnam and China.

[garbon]

Why should we worry about how other people want to call their food? 

Precisely. Who gives a fuck?

The restaurant wants to call their food a "hot dog". They are being told by the government that they have to rename this or be banned. This is hardly about "people wanting to name their food" in some way. Quite the opposite actually.

Oh noes.

[grumbler]

The restaurant wants to call their food a "hot dog". They are being told by the government that they have to rename this or be banned. This is hardly about "people wanting to name their food" in some way. Quite the opposite actually.

They are told that they cannot call themselves halal without changing the name.  Reading comprehension fail.  It doesn't help that the journalist doesn't understand this, either, but that's journalism these days.

[Josquius]

I don't know enough about malaysians to comment on whether hot dog is a recognisable name to them
It's not hard to imagine someone with minimal exposure to us culture assuming it is a dog.

[garbon]

The restaurant wants to call their food a "hot dog". They are being told by the government that they have to rename this or be banned. This is hardly about "people wanting to name their food" in some way. Quite the opposite actually.

They are told that they cannot call themselves halal without changing the name.  Reading comprehension fail.  It doesn't help that the journalist doesn't understand this, either, but that's journalism these days.

What a tragedy. I can see why Marti and Hami are outraged.

[Martinus]