# British comedy legend John Cleese provides security for Indian restaurant under threat by Muslim mob for not providing halal meats

By Ben Sellers · Published 2026-11-15 · News & Analysis › World · https://humanevents.com/news/british-comedy-legend-john-cleese-provides-security-for-indian-restaurant-under-threat-by-muslim

> Cleese reportedly sent eight private security guards to stand sentry at the Sikh eatery after police arrested its owner for posting offensive content online.

[John Cleese](https://humanevents.com/opinion/im-not-really-sorry-john-cleese-is-right-about-london), famed co-founder of the groundbreaking comedy troupe Monty Python, sent eight security guards to defend a Sikh restaurant in London after Muslim rioters surrounded it to protest the lack of halal-prepared food options.

The angry mob took to the streets outside Singh's Dining, in west London’s Hammersmith district, on Friday evening, chanting slogans such as “Pakistan Zindabad” (the country’s Urdu/Persion motto, meaning “Victory to Pakistan”), according to an X post from the restaurant owner’s wife, Khushi Harman Kapoor.

“Without @JohnCleese’s help, my family might have been killed by Pakistani supporters last night,” she wrote.

[View on X](https://twitter.com/kapoorkhushi31/status/2121511913041408246)

She also said that her husband, Harman Singh Kapoor, had been arrested by British police for daring to stand up to what the Kapoors have characterized as “harassment, intimidation and threats of violence.”

Rather than come to the support of the restaurant owners, police have taken the side of protesters.

“Despite repeatedly contacting the Met Police and raising serious concerns, I was arrested at my own home this morning and am now in police custody,” said a post early Friday from Khushi Harman Kapoor, which she said was a statement from her husband.

“What makes this situation even more frightening is that I am in handcuffs while my family is left outside, facing serious safety concerns on the day of the planned protest,” the statement added. “This protest is not simply about our business selling non-halal food. It is also about the harassment, intimidation and threats of violence that my family and I say we have been experiencing.”

[View on X](https://twitter.com/kapoorkhushi31/status/2121316949313593391)

Harman Singh Kapoor has a history of making provocative posts on social media, including one in October that showed him holding up what appeared to be a thinly sliced ham with the caption “Behold. Bacon can save Western countries.”

A sign posted in the restaurant’s window says “Proudly we don't sell halal,” the Daily Mail [reported](https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16292479/Angry-Muslim-crowd-protests-Sikh-Halal-London-restaurant.html).

Cleese, who recently broke with his leftist colleagues [in support](https://humanevents.com/news/john-cleese-backs-restore-britains-rupert-lowe-i-trust-this-man-more-than-any-of-the-other-leaders) of Reform Party leader Rupert Lowe, weighed in with a post expressing outrage at the situation while condemning the current ruling Labour Party.

“These 'protesters' are so intent of making him serve meat produced by torturing live animals, that they gather to threaten his wife and his livelihood,” Cleese [wrote on X](https://x.com/JohnCleese/status/2121649226950049918). “But he's not there because the police have just arrested him. For making a joke.”

![John Cleese tweet](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/32vnvc6e/production/9aabae9fd1893d4ef7051286a072281a63454cb3-1439x2456.jpg?w=1200&fit=max&auto=format)
*John Cleese addresses the Islamic riots in protest of a London restaurant that refused to serve food prepared according to Sharia law. — Screenshot*

Cleese himself has faced regular threats of cancellation due to [his advocacy](https://humanevents.com/news/john-cleese-mocks-referral-to-uk-anti-terrorism-body-after-comments-against-islamification-of-uk) of traditional British values, including free speech. In September, Muslim activists sought [to block](https://humanevents.com/news/muslim-activists-in-birmingham-try-to-cancel-john-cleese-screening-of-monty-python-and-the-holy-grail) a tour appearance that included a screening of the 1975 classic “Monty Python and the Holy Grail.”

Cleese has demurred in the face of backlash by explaining that his purpose is not to promote so-called Islamophobia but simply to urge “moderate” Muslims seeking to coexist peacefully in western nations to condemn behavior that runs counter to the values of their adoptive homeland.

[View on X](https://twitter.com/JohnCleese/status/2121867926110122390)

Similar protests against restaurants in the US have also sought to pressure or shut down those perceived to be offensive to Muslim demands. On Nov. 8, Antifa-linked groups [targeted several restaurants](https://thepostmillennial.com/news/philly-leftists-boycott-jewish-shops-restaurants-in-center-city-over-zionism) accused of supporting Israel at a takeover in downtown Philadelphia's Rittenhouse Square.