I trust that no one here will make rude comments, or think rude thoughts.
;-)
Posted on 05/30/2002 3:01:19 PM PDT by Korth
SCOTLAND’S biggest dairy company has had to scrap its World Cup advertising campaign after offending thousands of the country’s Muslims by printing the Saudi Arabian flag on its cartons.
Muslims regard the verses from the Koran written on the flag as sacred and are horrified at the thought of the cartons being thrown away in Scottish rubbish bins.
Robert Wiseman Dairies has halted production of the cartons, which featured flags from countries competing in Group E of the World Cup.
The 12,000 cartons that have already come off the production line have had stickers put on them asking users to dispose of them "respectfully".
On Friday an apology was read out from Wiseman at mosques across Scotland to try and appease the community. But some Islamic religious leaders are so incensed, they have demanded the East Kilbride-based company recalls every last remaining carton in Scottish shops.
Individual Muslim shopkeepers are also offering up to 20p for empty cartons so the words can be saved from the dustbin.
Muslims believe the words on the Saudi flag, which state: "There is no God but Allah. Mohammad is the messenger of Allah," are so sacred that any image of it can only be touched by those who are cleansed - Muslims who have washed their hands, arms, face and feet.
Shami Khan, from the Edinburgh Pakistan Society, said the company should recall the cartons regardless of the cost.
"They have deeply offended the Muslim community and the only way to rectify this is for them to recall all the offensive cartons. We don’t want this to create any sort of religious tension in the community, we just want them to show our religion the respect it deserves."
The controversial cartons are adorned with flags of the World Cup Group E, which includes Saudi Arabia, Cameroon, Germany and Ireland.
Glasgow shopkeeper, Ijaz Mohammad, is offering 20p for people returning an empty carton to stop them being put in the bin. He plans to cut out the flags with the sacred wording and keep them in a safe place.
"It’s the only thing I can do to try and salvage this situation myself," he said.
Edinburgh Islamic community leader, Jalal Chaudry, explained why the cartons had offended so many Muslims.
"According to the Muslim belief you can’t touch verses from the Koran without complete purification of the body and these cartons are going to be thrown in the dustbin. People are going to be very upset," he said.
The firm was bombarded by complaints when the cartons hit the shelves last week.
Mohammed Aslam, leader of the Annandale Street mosque and Pakistani Association chairman said: "The Arabic writing on the flag is very important for the Muslim faith.
"We knew people would be throwing the cartons away, which is obviously controversial. There are very strong feelings within the community and a lot of shopkeepers returned their milk to the company.
"Wiseman said they were just trying to raise the profile of the team. They have been very apologetic but what is done is done."
A spokesman for Robert Wiseman Dairies said: "As soon as we became aware of the concerns we approached key figures within the Muslim community to seek guidance and we are working with them to find a solution."
The spokesman described the situation as a "genuine oversight". He added: "We had just been trying to ensure every nation playing in the World Cup was represented."
Got towel?
My response would have been: if you purchase my product, you can save the image. If someone else purchases the product, you have no cause for compliant. Further, the Saudi flag is in the public domain; take the issue up with them.
I trust that no one here will make rude comments, or think rude thoughts.
;-)
That symbol represents what Islam is all about.
"They have deeply offended the Muslim community and the only way to rectify this is for them to recall all the offensive cartons. We don’t want this to create any sort of religious tension in the community, we just want them to show our religion the respect it deserves."
These endless grievances are intended to intimidate the general population, starting with its leaders. Those who show weakness exacerbate the problem.
Exactly! Moslems are obsessed with humiliating non-Moslems. Bad enough, that they pull this crap in their own countries, but they are increasingly getting away with in Christian countries. These idol-worshippers are saying that a company should go out of business, just to please their vanity. if the company's bosses are so spineless then they deserve to go out of business.
My response would have been: if you purchase my product, you can save the image. If someone else purchases the product, you have no cause for compliant. Further, the Saudi flag is in the public domain; take the issue up with them.
Oh, but they want to dictate what is and is not in the public domain. Since they recognize no private sphere, and no separation of church and state, they can argue that any refusal to bow down to their demands, violates their religious freedom.
I hope Christian Brits buy up as many of the cartons as possible and very publicly fil them up with nice things like feces, and all manner of pig product, including dung.
Note the sword across the bottom of the flag.
Yes.
"There is no other god but Allah, and Mohammed is His prophet, and those who don't submit will be hacked to pieces."
Excellent marketing move! They will buy up all the milk! :)
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