Asking for halal McDonald's? U.S.-based chain says idea is against its policy

The halal life isn't always easy. It requires Muslim foodies to check the product's packaging for a halal-certified stamp of approval, to ask fast-food chains if they deep fry their potatoes in the same oil as pork-based foods, to make sure the list of ingredients doesn't include animal-based gelatin, and so on and so forth. 

But a person can dream of a halal-approved land, right? That's exactly what Twitter user Yusuf was doing when he decided to share an 11-word sentence on the micro-blogging platform. He was minding his own business when he shared his yearnings for a "halal McDonalds" with his few hundred followers ... only to get shot down by the U.S.-based fast-food chain.

You would think McDonald's would respond with something cute, something promising, but no, it was actually quite the opposite. Yusuf hadn't even tagged McDonald's in his tweet but the halal conversation must have reached the fast-food chain sooner than we think. 

McDonald's went above and beyond to explain to the Twitter user that his dreams are just not possible. The chain claimed that they were "honored" that Yusuf thought of them (is it that uncommon for a Muslim to mention McDonald's?) and then asserted that what he is asking for goes against the company's policy. 

It is "against our policies to review your ideas," the fast-food chain wrote in their reply. What exactly goes against their policy? Is it the thought of halal products that stands in their way? Or is it the thought of Muslims in general that has them creeped out? (President Donald Trump has certainly brainwashed McDonald's it seems.)

Many internet users just couldn't fathom that McDonald's actually thought it was a good idea to reply with a statement like that. It also doesn't really make sense that the fast-food chain used its so-called "policies" to justify its response when halal-certified chains exist all around the world. 

Dubai, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia ... do these Muslim-majority countries ring a bell? Well, they better because these countries don't sell products, let alone allow for a restaurant to operate, if they are not made in accordance with Islamic law.

In the U.S., two McDonald's restaurants - both situated in Dearborn, Michigan ... aka the land of Arab-American Muslims - had once offered halal food. But even those two branches stopped selling halal items after a controversial lawsuit against the chain came about in 2011, accusing the chain of selling non-halal items advertised as halal. 

Years after the lawsuit was settled, McDonald's dropped its Halal Chicken McNuggets and Halal McChicken sandwiches off the menu. 

That doesn't settle the most recent reply from the fast-food chain; it's actually not that hard to comply with halal standards if the restaurant wanted to. Halal meat is available in many states across the U.S. and separate heavy pots can be used for halal versus non-halal items. Simple as that.