MADONAL'S IN IRAQ

Madonal is a restaurant located in the town of Sulaymaniyah, Iraqi Kurdistan. It intentionally resembles the fast food chain McDonald’s, both in appearance and menu. For instance, MaDonal’s menu includes “Big Macks”. It Is one of two McDonald’s-like restaurants in the town, the other one, Matbax, claims that MaDonal is “cheap quality”. The owner, Suleiman Qassab, was a fighter in the Kurdish resistance during the 1970s. He became a refugee in Vienna, Austria, where he got a job as a cook at McDonald’s. In the 1990s, he applied for permits to create a McDonald’s in Iraq, but the McDonalds Corporation turned him down, due to economic sanctions imposed during the regime of Saddam Hussein, as well as the controlled economy of Iraq at the time. In response, he established MaDonal Restaurant. Since establishing MaDonal, Qassab has offered free food to U.S. forces, been threatened, and has become a “Kurdish celebrity”.

MADONAL'S IN SULAYMANIYAH, IRAQ