An Indian restaurant named Lanterns in Islamic country Bahrain's Adliya has been closed by the authorities because it allegedly denied entry to a Hijab clad woman.  

On Friday 25th March  a video of a woman explaining that her friend had been turned away from Lanterns was widely shared on social media.  The woman said, “The restaurant Lanterns is telling her you cannot enter because you are wearing a hijab. Can you imagine? The restaurants should not be making these types of decisions, because we are in a Muslim country.”  After the video went viral, Bahrain Tourism and Exhibition Authority (BTEA) launched an investigation. After the investigation they asked all tourism outlets to avoid any policy that violates the laws of the country. "We reject all actions that discriminate against people, especially regarding their national identity.” It also added that they have closed down the hotel. The authority said that it would now pursue legal action, and urged members of the public to report any similar occurrences.  However, a Twitter account belonging to the woman who posted the initial viral video said that the staff member who sparked the incident was British, and not Indian. 

On 26th March, the restaurant put out an apology statement on social media expressing regret for the incident. The duty manager has been suspended, the restaurant said. The restaurant management posted a statement on social media which said, "Everyone is welcome to Lanterns as 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, we welcome all our Bahraini patrons to Lanterns on Tuesday 29th of March to have complimentary food on us."

Tags

• Bahrain
• Lantern
• Restaurant
• Hijab
• ban
• british

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