claim: KFC in Dearborn uses separate lines for men and women, a menu written in Arabic, and abides by Shariah Law.
origin: In June 2017, a photograph purportedly showing a KFC operating under â€œsharia lawâ€ in â€œDearbornistan, USAâ€ made the usualÂ rounds on social media: This meme does not show a KFC in â€œDearbornistan, USA,â€ a reference to the city of Dearborn, Michigan, which has been subjected to numerous false rumorsÂ forÂ years because of its large Muslim population. TheÂ photograph was actually taken at a KFC in Saudi ArabiaÂ byÂ ReutersÂ photographer Ali Jarekji in December 2007, and it was originally accompanied by the following caption: < Mecca, Saudi Arabia Muslim pilgrims line up at a KFC restaurant outside the Grand Mosque in Mecca December 13, 2007. Around 1.5 million Muslims from around the world are expected to arrive in Saudi Arabia for the haj pilgrimage. REUTERS/Ali Jarekji (SAUDI ARABIA) > This image really does show a menâ€™s line and a womenâ€™s line (separated by a small dividing wall) at a KFC restaurant in 2007. However, this image was taken in Saudi Arabia, where gender segregation is still common practice, rather than anywhere in the United States. Photographs from the Yelp page of a KFC in Dearborn, Michigan, show that the restaurant does not list its menu items in Arabic or divide its customers based on gender: A similar storyÂ appeared in 2016, when a Starbucks in Riyadh temporarily would not allow women to enter until it reinstalled a â€œgender segregation wallâ€, in turn spawning rumors that the coffee chain had enacted the policy across the board to conform with â€œsharia lawâ€.Â