Muslim Women
Veiled Muslim Moroccan women walk along the Oued Charrat beach, near the capital Rabat. Photo: Getty

A high end restaurant in Paris refused service to Muslims customers amid growing tensions linked to fears about potential terrorism, the Independent reported Monday. The two Muslim women were told to leave La Cenacle in Tremblay-en-France because the restaurant chef argued, “All Muslims are terrorists.”

One of the women recorded the incident and posted the video on Twitter. The site reported that the chef accosted the women telling them that he doesn’t want people like them in his workplace and accused them of planting bombs and killing people. The women eventually told him that they “don’t want to be served by a racist” and left the eatery.

Le Parisien reported that following his verbal attack against the veiled Muslim women, the chef was interviewed by the police on suspicion of “racial discrimination.” He later told the media that he was sorry for his actions and explained that he was emotionally worked up after losing a friend in the Bataclan terror attacks that unfolded across Paris in November.

The chef insisted that his harsh words were not a reflection of how he truly feels about the Muslim community. According to the Telegraph, the owner of the restaurant later apologized for the chef’s actions as members of the local Muslim community began to gather outside of the establishment and boycott.

Tensions have been high in France following the attacks and the recent “burkini ban” which prohibits the use of a certain modest swimwear, typically worn by Muslim women on beaches. So far, the Riviera resort of Cannes, Villeneuve-Loubet and Sisco on the island of Corsica, have expressed their desire to ban the “burkini.”

The Telegraph reported that conservative leaders are pushing for a nationwide ban on the “burkini” to be written into law, in an effort to protect France’s secular values.