Coke accused of blasphemy Muhammad Mursi Special to the Middle East Times
In response to an incredible rumor claiming that the omnipresent Coca-Cola logo reads la Muhammad, la Mecca, (no Mohammed, no Mecca) when reflected in a mirror, Cairo Governor Abdel Rahim Shehata has ordered the company to purge all Cairo streets of the advertisements.
The rumor, which started some two weeks ago, quickly crossed the country's borders to other Arab and Islamic countries provoking further religious wrath and resulting in the circulation of statements throughout Egyptian mosques urging Muslims to boycott Coca-Cola products
Company sales, which normally begin to rise at the start of the summer, have fallen by 15 to 20 percent, said Mahmoud Omran, a distributor of Coca-Cola products in downtown Cairo.
The letters of Fanta, another Coca-Cola culprit, have also been interpreted to reveal the defamatory la Allah (no God) when reflected in a mirror, added Omran.
He said that people usually believe any rumors going around, but expressed his surprise by the reaction in this instance as Coca-Cola is the favorite soft drink of Egyptians.
It seems that certain religious figures have also played a role in making Egyptians believe the rumor, thinking that some international companies intend to defame Islam's symbols by using language tricks.
Outspoken Islamist Sheikh Youssef Al Badri, famed for his lawsuits against intellectuals, gave an example of a previous attempt to debase the religion of Islam. "God's name 'Allah' was once written on shoes and carpets produced by some Chinese companies," he said.
"As religious people, we should expose such tricks and deal with them by notifying the public and encouraging them to boycott the companies' products," added Badri.
As for Coca-Cola, the sheikh said he was demanding that the company change its logo to avoid any dubious thoughts by Muslims.
To put an end to the rumor, the Egyptian Ministry of Trade and Supplies has formed a committee to investigate the matter. According to Adel Badawi, deputy minister of supplies, the committee is aware that Coca-Cola had created its logo some 114 years ago and that no one had complained until now.
"It is an economic war against Coca-Cola products. Since the ministry always makes sure of the quality of the drinks, creating such a scandal was the only way of damaging the company's sales," explained Badawi.
Despite the stance of some religious figures against the company, Egypt's Grand Mufti, Nasser Farid Wassel, asked the Ifta (religious opinions) committees to study the logo. Since they found nothing in it that might defame Islam, the mufti announced that Coca-Cola is innocent.
"The committees studied the logo from all aspects and reached the conclusion that it doesn't harm Islam since it is written in English," commented Wassel.
The mufti accused the rumor-mongers of acting without any consideration for either their country or religion. "Such rumors can cost thousands of Egyptians their jobs in the company and Muslims desperately need to protect their economy," he added.
Supporting the mufti's statement, the Saudi Kingdom's governmental committee of religious scholars who studied the logo also denied that it was harmful to Islam.
Meanwhile, the Coca-Cola company issued a statement condemning what it termed as a campaign designed to create problems between the company and its Muslim consumers.
According to the statement, the logo was designed in the 19th century when Coca-Cola sales were limited to a small town in the US state of Georgia, and no one expected it to become the most famous logo worldwide or that the products would be sold in 200 countries around the world.
"The logo was created in the English language, and should not be read in another language using a mirror. It has to be read as it is," the statement said.
The statement also drew attention to the fact that marketing and certain stages of the manufacturing process are done locally in all countries where Coca-Cola is sold. In Egypt, for example, 10,000 Egyptians work for the company. The statement added that the Cairo governor had retracted his order to remove Coca-Cola advertisements from Cairo streets.
The "war of rumors" has become one the characteristics of Egypt's business community in recent years, and such accusations are weapons used by businessmen against each other. It is quite common to hear a rumor about a businessman who died in a car accident, and another about the same businessman who left the country after he went bankrupt. Some of them, it seems, such as the latest attack on Coca-Cola, end up abusing religion in their attempt to wage economic wars.