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ZamZam Cola!
jannah
05/22/02 at 23:16:04
Hmm wonder if we should make a new icon :)


Iran has replaced U.S. products with “Zamzam-Cola�
MANAMA, May 21 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Iran's version of Coke has hit the shelves of Bahrain's supermarkets as residents of the Gulf kingdom increasingly express their frustration at U.S. policy on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by boycotting American products.

"There is growing demand for substitutes to American soft drinks, which is what prompted us to import Zamzam-Cola," Iran's alternative to Coca-Cola and Pepsi, said an executive at the Bahraini-owned "Zamzam Soft Drink Drops".

"Consumers' response has been as good as anticipated," said the executive, who requested anonymity.

The Iranian beverage takes its name from a spring in the Saudi holy city of Mecca.

Millions of Muslim pilgrims who visit Mecca every year, either on the annual hajj or on other religious occasions, use large quantities of water from Zamzam, reportedly the world's oldest running spring, because it is holy and has healing properties.

In marked contrast with the close relations at official level between Washington and Manama, home to the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet and a "major non-NATO ally" of the United States, anti-U.S. sentiment spread like wildfire in Bahrain after Israel launched a massive military offensive in the West Bank in late March.

Bahrainis staged scores of anti-Israel and anti-U.S. demonstrations at the peak of the Israeli offensive, in one case triggering a crackdown by security forces when protesters hurled stones and petrol bombs at the U.S. embassy in Manama.

One man died and more than 100 people were injured during the April 5 demonstration, in which some 20,000 mostly Bahraini protesters took part.

Five days later, around 500 students were treated in hospital after riot police fired tear gas to stop 2,000 pro-Palestinian students from reaching the embassy.




Iranian Sara




With the boycott of U.S. products picking up momentum, the Jawad Trade Group, which holds the Bahraini franchise of the "Burger King" U.S. fast-food giant, recently put out a paid advertisement in the local press in an effort to persuade Bahrainis that it is linked to the American company only by name.

Bahrain's Burger King "does not pay any money to any American company, and 50 percent of its staff are Bahrainis," the ad said.

But the firm's PR blitz, which also featured posting boxes draped in Palestinian flags for the collection of donations in its various outlets, is only starting to bear fruit.

"At one point, I really feared for my job," said Abdullah Mohammad, who works at a Burger King restaurant in Sanad village, 16 kilometers (10 miles) south of Manama.

"The campaign is now beginning to pay off, with customers returning gradually," he told AFP, though a glance at the restaurant early Sunday evening did not bear out his optimism.

Local operators for McDonald's would not take AFP's questions, but the company's director told a newspaper here last month that its sole connection with the U.S. fast-food chain was the payment it makes to use the brand name, and that its operations were pumping money into the Bahraini economy.

The effect of the boycott was evident during what was supposed to be peak hour Sunday evening at the McDonald's branch located near the U.S. embassy, whose windows were also the target of protesters' wrath along with the embassy itself on April 5.

"The boycott might not be painful for U.S. companies given that Bahrain is a small market," said economic analyst Khaled Abdullah, referring to the population of 650,000.

"Yet, it does send a direct political message," and thus seems to be more a means of making a point than a way of inflicting damage, he told AFP.

Meanwhile, vehicles traveling near the U.S. embassy, as in many other places, drive over the word "USA" written on the road - yet another way for Bahrainis to make clear how they feel about Washington's perceived bias for Israel.

Earlier this year, Iran came up with a new substitute for Ken and Barbie. Dara and Sara, the Muslim dolls, have been developed by an Iranian government agency to promote traditional values, with their modest clothing and pro-family backgrounds, BBC's online news service reported.

Marketed by the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults - a government agency affiliated with the Ministry of Education - Dara and Sara were born as characters in school books and their lives have also grown in stories that are being sold on cassette along with the dolls. The siblings help each other solve problems and turn to their loving parents for guidance.

Dara and Sara are supposed to be eight years old, young enough under Islamic law for Sara to appear in public without a headscarf. But each of the four models of Sara comes with a white scarf to cover her brown or black hair.

"Dara and Sara are strategic products to preserve our national identity,� said Mehdi Hedayat, another toy seller. "And of course, it is an answer to Barbie and Ken, which have dominated Iran's toy market."

Speaking on the issue of Barbie dolls, Dr. Fu'aad Mekheimar, professor of Islamic Studies at Al-A-Azhar University in Cairo, described Barbie as "purely American".

"It embodies popular American culture, displaying sexual attractions and being fashion conscious. It promotes an un-Islamic way of dressing, and rather encourages materialism and brushes aside spiritual values. Thus, it negatively affects female Muslim children who are supposed to be brought wearing hijab and guarding their chastity," said Mekheimar.      


NS
Re: ZamZam Cola!
mujaahid
05/23/02 at 06:09:55
[slm]

"Hmm wonder if we should make a new icon :) "

Yes, yes YEEEEESSS!!!!!!

And get rid of that Pepsi one, because Pepsi are on the list of boycotts!!

And the Success of that new drink is proof that the boycotts work!!

So inshallah if there were brothers and sisters, and non-muslims who want justice, who felt bboycotts were a waste of time, well, heres the proof it works  :)

Keep up the good work people!

Wasalaam

Mujaahid  ;-)

P.s. Jannah, can i ask a special favour? Can we also have a new icon of a dancing brother?

Jazaakullah, i knew i could rely on you  ;)
Re: ZamZam Cola!
mujaahid
05/23/02 at 06:11:47
[slm]

Is there any way we can import that drink to the west? I'm sure it would go down well with our local communitites!

We could advertise it as "Drink this to free Palestine"!
Re: ZamZam Cola!
Kathy
05/23/02 at 08:50:06
[quote author=mujaahid link=board=ummah;num=1022123765;start=0#1 date=05/23/02 at 06:09:55] P.s. Jannah, can i ask a special favour? Can we also have a new icon of a dancing brother?[/quote]

...only if we can get one with a woman falling off her chair- laughing!



[quote]Jazaakullah, i knew i could rely on you  ;)[/quote]

[i]Please note everyone- it is a first! Mujy is brown nosing![/i]
05/23/02 at 08:50:55
Kathy
Re: ZamZam Cola!
Mohja
05/23/02 at 17:58:13
[quote]
Mujy is brown nosing!
[/quote]

what is brown nosing? sorry i'm not very familiar with all this slang  :P
Re: ZamZam Cola!
ltcorpest2
05/23/02 at 19:03:19
you really really do not want to know
Re: ZamZam Cola!
mujaahid
05/24/02 at 07:46:33
[slm]

Now i wanna know!! Mike what does it mean?
Re: ZamZam Cola!
Dawn
05/24/02 at 08:17:10
[quote author=mujaahid link=board=ummah;num=1022123765;start=0#6 date=05/24/02 at 07:46:33] [slm]

Now i wanna know!! Mike what does it mean? [/quote]

Hypertext Webster Gateway: "brownnose"
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
brown-nose (verb) : flatter with the intention of getting something [syn: {butter up}]
Re: ZamZam Cola!
mujaahid
05/24/02 at 08:33:27
[slm]

Dawn that dont make sense to me!
Re: ZamZam Cola!
Dawn
05/24/02 at 08:37:58
[quote author=mujaahid link=board=ummah;num=1022123765;start=0#8 date=05/24/02 at 08:33:27] [slm]

Dawn that dont make sense to me! [/quote]

Then try [url]http://work.ucsd.edu:5141/cgi-bin/http_webster[/url] and type in the word "brownnose".  Some of the formatting gets lost in the copy and paste.  And the usage is only given in the last line -- the first two lines are source info, I think.
05/24/02 at 08:39:10
Dawn
Re: ZamZam Cola!
ltcorpest2
05/24/02 at 11:31:04
if you want to know,  if you kiss somebody in the place where the sun don't shine, what happens to your nose,  sorry for not speaking plainly, hopefully you can figure it out
Re: ZamZam Cola!
muqaddar
05/24/02 at 11:46:46
[slm]

 Mujy brown nosing?! Nah this brothers too idealistic! his heads in the clouds !

 anybody know where i can buy zam zam cola? i know loads of businesses that would like to import it


                  Jazakalla


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