A Red Lobster restaurant in Minnesota is being accused by a Muslim group of discriminating against a fasting family during Ramadan.
The Minnesota Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MN) claims a fasting family endured civil rights violations during a recent visit to a Red Lobster in Rochester. The group is demanding compensation for the incident, sensitivity training by a CAIR-approved instructor and updates to the company’s harassment policy.
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“The family requested water to break their Ramadan fast but did not receive any for at least 30 minutes after several requests to different servers were made,” CAIR said in a statement. “When the family complained to the restaurant manager and raised the issue of possible bias in their treatment, they were reportedly told: ’You people love to play the race card whenever you can.’ ’’
A manager on duty when contacted by a local CBS affiliate said that she recently arrived from Illinois to replace another team.
“We welcome everyone in our restaurants for a great seafood dining experience,” Red Lobster said in a statement provided to a local radio station. “All our guests should be treated equally and given the respect they deserve. Since this is an open legal matter, I can’t share any additional information at this time.”
CAIR-MN Civil Rights attorney Ellen Longfellow called the alleged behavior “unconscionable.”
Video: #CAIR-Minnesota Defends Muslim Family Mistreated at Red Lobster https://t.co/X40HKxJwhM
— CAIR National (@CAIRNational) June 14, 2018
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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