“This Is My Jihad�

A Brief ReCap of Symbols Lately ‘Offensive to Islam.’ Div: Corporations and Charities.

Burger King

THE fast-food chain, Burger King, is withdrawing its ice-cream cones after the lid of the dessert offended a Muslim. The man claimed the design resembled the Arabic inscription for Allah, and branded it sacrilegious, threatening a "jihad". The chain is being forced to spend thousands of pounds redesigning the lid with backing from The Muslim Council of Britain. It apologised and said: "The design simply represents a spinning ice-cream cone." …He was not satisfied by the decision to withdraw the cones and has called on Muslims to boycott Burger King. He said: "This is my jihad. How can you say it is a spinning swirl? If you spin it one way to the right you are offending Muslims."

Red Cross

Red Cross officials have been meeting in Switzerland to decide upon a new logo — and presumably, by implication, name — for their fine organisation. The logo in question is the red cross. And the problem with the cross is that it enrages Muslims. In the theatre of war, when most combatants see the red cross, they put their weapons down. Muslim combatants, though, have a tendency to pick theirs up and start shooting with even greater avidity… They want a secular, neutral symbol and have hit upon the idea of a red ‘crystal’, or diamond.

And in case you missed ‘em, a pair of favorites from the files:

Nike

A logo on samples of upcoming Nike products appears to contain the word "Allah" written in Arabic. The Council on American-Islamic Relations is demanding an apology for what it considers a tremendous insult toward Muslims. Nike insists that the perception of Allah's name in the graphic design is strictly coincidental.

Coke

For several days the rumours have been circulating that if the Coca Cola logo is viewed in a mirror or upside down, it appears to read in Arabic: "No to Mohammed," "No to Mecca."
It does require a leap of the imagination, but Coca Cola, which has huge sales in the Middle East, has apparently been sufficiently alarmed by the possible consequences of the perceived insult to seek help from Egypt's mufti.
According to the weekly, Rose Al-Yousef, magazine, Coca Cola contacted him after pamphlets appeared calling on Egyptians to boycott the drink on the grounds it is destroying their religion.

Again, this is only the weekly update to your ‘Corporations and Charities' files and is not inclusive of potentially offensive holidays, dictionary entries, soccer balls, school mascots, or other physical objects, visual representations, communications (verbal or otherwise), not receiving prior sanction.

Thank You. The management.

posted by Dr. Reo Symes at 09:45 PM

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