No Pork on Menu at Australian Hospital, Muslims Might Be Offended

From the Sunday Times, a story about how an Australian hospital has banned pork on its menu, out of deference to Muslim patients.

A WA hospital has scrubbed baked ham from its Christmas menu, fearing Muslim patients could be offended.

It has also overhauled its entire menu so that all meals are now halal – containing only meat and other food prepared according to Muslim customs.

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The hospital’s nursing director, Judy Davis, said though ham was not on the menu, Christian patients would not miss out on festive cheer.

“We’ll still make Christmas special – we’ve got prawns and all sorts of other special treats,” she said.

But one long-time Port Hedland hospital worker told The Sunday Times the menu change was “unAustralian”.

“It’s going to be a boring old Christmas lunch for the patients,” he said.

“After all, what’s Christmas without a ham, or Sunday morning without bacon and eggs?

“The management of the hospital are unable to stand up to a minority and keep our Australian way of life intact. They are bowing to the pressure of a select few.”

He warned that the only politically correct fare would soon be “a bowl of rice and a cup of tea”.

“No wonder the true-blue Australians are getting angry,” he said.

“Now all we need is for someone of the Hindu faith to jump up and down and we’ll have no beef.

“Before we know it, if you’re sick in Port Hedland, you will have to be happy with a diet of boiled rice and a cup of tea.”

The Marquette Warrior Blog contacted a spokesperson for the Western Australia Department of Health in East Perth who confirmed the policy.

She did add, however, that ham is available on Christmas for non-Muslim patients as a special accomodation. It cannot be prepared in the hospital kitchen, however. On other days, pork simply won’t be available.

We are all for accomodating the relgious practices of all faiths. The problem comes when some get preferential treatment. In Australia, Islam appears to get preferential treatment.