An Indian Restaurant in the Muslim-majority kingdom of Bahrain has been shut down by the local authorities after allegedly denying entry to a veil-clad woman. ‘Lanterns’ was a popular Indian restaurant brand in the Island country with branches in four cities including Budaiya, Amwaj, Adliya, Riffa.
The action was taken after several Bahrainian news outlets broke the incident of a veiled woman being stopped from entering the Lanterns restaurant in Bahrain’s Adliya city, the video of which had become viral on social media platforms. Soon after the incident caused a stir, Bahrain Tourism and Exhibition Authority (BTEA) launched a probe asking tourism outlets to comply with the regulations and avoid any policy that violates the laws of the kingdom. As reported by local media outlets, the department issued a statement saying, “We reject all actions that discriminate against people, especially regarding their national identity.”
While the authority is pursuing its legal actions, it has enforced Decree-Law no 15 of 1986 while regulating activities of the restaurant.
Apology from the Restaurant
The Restaurant administration posted an apology on its social media accounts saying that the said incident does not represent its policies. While acknowledging the mistake, the hotel announced that the manager involved has been suspended. “Everyone is welcome to Lanterns as how it has been for more than 35 years that we have been serving all nationalities in the beautiful kingdom of Bahrain. Lanterns is a place for everyone to come enjoy with their families and feel at home. In this instance, a mistake has been made by a manager who is now being suspended as this does not represent who we are.”
As a goodwill gesture, the place opened up itself to have complimentary food for its local patrons on March 29, Tuesday. While the restaurant clarified its official stance, it received many racial slurs directed at the Hindu Indian community living in the country. From Gaumutra slurs to remarks like ‘such people should be kicked out of the country’ were made on the Restaurant’s Facebook page on its apology statement. It should be noted that the Islamic Kingdom of Bahrain holds over 10.2% Hindu population residing in the country for generations.
While several people used this opportunity to target Hindus and the Indian community at large, as per a social media user present at the time of the incident, the manager was a British national. Social media user @Mariam1597, who had earlier posted about the incident from her Twitter account on 26th of March, informed that the manager was British, and not Indian. She posted this after some trolls were blaming the incident on “Hindu right-wing”.
The truth is the manager is British not indian 🙏🏼 https://t.co/QBIb4eO71J
— Mariam naji 👁🇧🇭 (@Mariam1597) March 27, 2022
Earlier on 26th March, Mariam had tweeted about the incident and had said that she was with her friends at the restaurant when the manager denied entry to one of her friends for wearing the veil. She had also tweeted that she is the one in the video viral about the incident.
اي نعم انا الي في الفيديو تكلمت رغم اني مو متحجبه لكن صديقاتي واهلي متحجبات وحز في خاطري لما العامل الي عند الباب رفض دخول صديقتي عشان حجابها اي صحيح مطعم لانترنس في قسمين قسم بار ومعزول عن المطعم والقسم الثاني المطعم المفروض مايمنعها ولكن تمرالامر عشان جذي انا تكلمت ! https://t.co/RkA1wkgm1D
— Mariam naji 👁🇧🇭 (@Mariam1597) March 25, 2022
The decision comes shortly after the Karnataka High Court upheld local colleges’ decision to enforce uniform regulations and thus ban any kind of veils including Hijab or Burqa in the college premises. A Controversy had sparked in Karnataka after Muslim girls demanded the usage of Hijabs to be allowed in the colleges in the state.
Note: The report has been updated with latest information.
