Customer's Facebook post on Wichita restaurant stirs debate

Le Monde restaurant has been in Wichita since 1993, its owners in America since 1988.

Ghassan Hajeh runs the restaurant now. He is co-owner with his brother Mohamad, who Ghassan says is currently an engineer in San Diego.

“I feel we live like a family here in Wichita. I have a lot of customers that love our food and come here every day,” Ghassan Hajeh said.

Bruce Gilder, owner of “A Home Expert”, visited Le Monde for years, but when he found out the restaurant’s owners were Muslim, he took to Facebook to voice his concerns.

In a Facebook post, which he says was removed by Facebook, he says he found out the owner was Muslim, and named Mohamad, and for that reason he wouldn’t be eating at Le Monde anymore.

He goes on to question how far terrorists have infiltrated America. He fears that his money spent at Le Monde would go to terrorist organizations.

He says these comments are not racist.

“To say that I’m a bigot because I have unfair beliefs, no I’m not,” Gilder explained. “Those that would yell racist and bigot at me, those are the ones that are bigoted. They don’t understand my point. They don’t want to hear my point.”

The post received much attention online, as Gilder linked the business to his post accidentally. He says he meant for it to only go to his own page. Much of the reaction has been negative, and Gilder says that caught him off guard.

“No, I didn’t expect and anticipate this kind of reaction, and I think it’s actually a good thing to happen. Now we can have maybe a national discussion about what is racism? What is bigotry, and really what is the purpose of Islam in this country.”

Supporters of the restaurant are rallying to Le Monde’s defense. A Facebook page urging people to dine at the restaurant on Wednesday has been formed.

Hajeh and his wife, who is from Kansas and an Air Force veteran, wishes Gilder would have just talked to them about his concerns.

“Sometimes you find some people who are different. We have to listen to them and ignore them, Hajeh said. “Anybody has any problems, we will forgive him too also, and we will help him too.”