Muslim Woman Told to Remove Headscarf from McDonald’s Refused Entry in UK

By Gary Nguyen --
04 Dec 2017 --

An unnamed woman was refused entry at a London branch of McDonald's for wearing a hijab.

The complete incident was recorded in a cellphone video. She was with her friend who had accompanied her for a snack. Both came away shaken and without ordering anything.

Muslim Woman Told to Remove Headscarf from McDonald’s Refused Entry in UK[/tweetthis]

The 19-year-old student, a Muslim of Middle Eastern descent, said the security guard at the U.S. fast-food chain's Holloway branch in North London stopped her while she was about to order. He then asked her to remove her hijab as according to him the clothing represented a security threat. The guard, according to her, appeared shocked when she refused. He, however, continued to ask. She then shot the whole incident on her phone. The video was uploaded to Twitter by her friend Sabrina.

Here is the video of the incident, occurring at McDonald's on Seven Sister's Road in Holloway, London. pic.twitter.com/07acmBYdjB
— Sabrina (@south_sab) December 1, 2017

The video has a clear recording of the hijabi student asking the guard why she cannot gain entry into the fast food outlet. She then proceeds to ask whether she was denied entry only for wearing the hijab, and requests the guard to say what he has said earlier. The McDonald's security guard then said to her that he only requests her to take the thing off.

The student, originally from the Middle-East, then was heard to reply that it is simply not the matter of taking off the headscarf. She wears the garment for religious reasons and not ashamed of it. The unnamed woman then said that she will stand in the queue and get the food she wanted. She also told this kind of behavior is not expected.

Shame on you @McDonaldsUK
Please stop this hate crime especially in a big city like London. https://t.co/RTwIeT48Ns
— Diver Manja GengHafizMahmud (@HelmyNurFirdaus) December 2, 2017

At this juncture, a member of the public tells the security guard that he has no authority to ask the woman to take off her hijab, the latter retorts that its none of that person's business. The hijabi student's voice is again heard at this juncture, asking the guard who is responsible for implementing this overbearing policy. She uses a swear word when asking this query. Other voices can be heard at this time, asking her to stop swearing. A staff member then requests her to stop the filming of the incident-to which her reply was she is completely within her rights to film the proceedings. When the hijabi student is allowed to place her order, she was heard to reply that she does not want to order anything anymore. The student told a British newspaper that she has been living in the UK for 19 years now and this is the first time she was being discriminated against. She also told the media she was shocked by the incident. McDonald's has since apologized for the incident. The company reiterated that it has no such policies which limit anyone wearing any dress from entering its franchises.