Mumbai-based advocate Chandni Shah has filed a complaint with the cyber cell of Delhi against Delhi-based lawyer Rizwan Nizami for allegedly sharing a Photoshopped image of the Jain Bakeries and Confectionaries store in Chennai claiming that the store does not employ any Muslims and hence it is religious discrimination. On 8 May, Nizami had tweeted an image expressing anger that a Chennai-based bakery had said it does not employ Muslim bakers.
Jain Bakeries, No Muslim Staff. Welcome to a new normal 😡@varungrover @khanumarfa @advsanjoy pic.twitter.com/ei1UzRmhs0
— Rizwan Nizami (@rizwannizami) May 8, 2020
After the image went viral on social media platforms, police arrested Prasanth, the owner of the bakery, and booked him under various sections of the IPC. The shop owner has been booked under sections 153 (provocation to cause riot), 153A, 505 (inciting commission of an offence against another community) and 295A (insult a class of people) IPC.
As per Advocate Shah, the original advertisement of the bakery did not have the ‘No Muslim Staff’ on it but the image was circulated by the bakery to those who questioned who were employed in the kitchen.
No, this photoshopped image was circulated by the bakery but not as an advertisement. It was given out on whatsapp in answer to the queries whether spl community ppl are working there ? But this man here, posted the image on twitter portraying that the bakery is discriminating.
— Adv. Chandni Shah (@adv_chandnishah) May 11, 2020
As per Advocate Chandni Shah, the original advertisement did not have the ‘No Muslim Staff’ text.
The incident comes close on heels of multiple incidents where Muslims have deliberately indulged in spitting on food. Many videos exposing Muslim vegetable and fruit-sellers spitting on their produce, presumably to spread coronavirus had gone viral recently.
Just a few days back, an equally appalling incident has come to light from a bakery in Maharashtra’s Amravati. The viral video is from a bakery in the Amravati district of Maharashtra where an individual, Abdul Nazim Sheikh Mahmood (29), was seen slicing the loaves of bread and spitting on them.
Earlier in March, a video of a certain Sheru Miyan, licking the fruits which he displays in a cart for sale went viral on social media. In the video, the fruit vendor in Raisen, Madhya Pradesh, is seen arranging a variety of fruits on his cart, which he parks in the middle of a marketplace.
Such viral videos have left everyone wary of the community.
Halal is mainstream
It may be noted that nowadays many food products are label as Halal certified, which means not only that the products are manufactured according to Islamic practices, but many times it also means that only Muslims are employed in the entire production and packaging chain of such Halal certified products. For example, the guidelines for preparing Halal certified meat make it abundantly clear that only Muslim employees are allowed to participate in the entire process at every stage from slaughtering to packaging, and if any non-Muslim is involved in the process, the product becomes Haram, or not allowed as per Islam.
