Islamophobic Abuse, Food Tampering at Michigan Pizza Outlet Spark Complaint

IQNA – A civil rights complaint has been filed with the Michigan Department of Civil Rights against a Domino’s Pizza location in Waterford, following claims of religious discrimination and food tampering involving two Muslim women and their children.

The alleged incident occurred on the evening of March 11, when the women, both Lebanese-American Muslims, arrived at the store to collect a carryout order. According to the complaint, one of the women and a young girl in the group were wearing hijabs, which reportedly prompted a hostile response from an employee at the store.

A fellow customer informed the group that the employee had made derogatory and Islamophobic comments. When one of the women confronted the employee, tensions escalated, the complaint states.

After returning home and beginning their meal, the family discovered that one of the pizzas was topped with pork—an item forbidden in Islam. They also claimed to find a hair embedded in the cheese of another pizza. The family reported the issue through Domino’s corporate website and reached out to the store's management.

Although the store manager and a regional supervisor acknowledged the incident and said an internal review would be conducted, they denied any wrongdoing due to a lack of clear evidence, the complaint says.

In addition to the civil complaint, the women filed a report with the Waterford Township Police Department. The police have since completed their investigation and forwarded the case to the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office for a decision on potential criminal charges. As of Monday, no response had been received from the prosecutor’s office.

A letter was also sent to Domino’s corporate headquarters in April requesting a formal investigation into the incident. The complainants say they have not received a response.

“This was not a benign mistake or a customer service failure, but rather a deliberate act of religious discrimination that humiliated and endangered a Muslim family,” said Dawud Walid, the executive director the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which filed the complaint.

“We are demanding accountability from Domino’s Pizza, and we urge the Michigan Department of Civil Rights to conduct a full investigation into this troubling incident.”

“This complaint is about more than a mishandled food order,” said staff attorney Amy Doukoure. “It’s about holding corporations accountable when they enable or ignore blatant Islamophobia.”

Source: Agencies