Bahrain Chamber of Commerce member urges boycott of Danish goods

Comments

1. 
   anonymous

   7 Feb, '06 at 1:39

   Bahrain Chamber of Commerce member urges boycott of Danish goods

   It is all very sad.

   As an American democrat, I looked at it from a “Wag The Dog” angle: This couldn’t have been better for W Bush, as the entire Muslim world (and the American media) has turned its attention from the daily killing in Iraq to a small, non-threatening European country. Most leaders and politicians (like your friend) in the Middle East are busy over some stupid (although ignorant and blasphemous) cartoons.

2. 
   anonymous

   7 Feb, '06 at 1:51

   Bahrain Chamber of Commerce member urges boycott of Danish goods

   هذه و الله حالة

   ما كتبه السيد محمد يوسف المليفي يتضمن عدداً من الأكاذيب التي لا نتوقعها من أحدٍ يتلفع برداء الدفاع عن القيم والأخلاق

   لقد فعلت جريدة يولاندزبوستم فعلاًً مشــيناً تستحق عليه غضب الناس بكل تأكيد. و لكنها أي الجريدة لم تفعل هذا الذي يتهمها به السيد محمد يوسف المليفي . ألأ يستحق الإسلام و نبي الإسلام مدافعاً أكثر صدقاً من هذ ا المفتري ؟ اا
   عبدالهادي خلف

3. 
   anonymous

   7 Feb, '06 at 2:56

   Re: Bahrain Chamber of Commerce member urges boycott of Danish goods

   Traffco is the majority shareholder of Bahrain Danish Dairy. The chairman of Traffco either is or was the Chairman of BCCI. Just thought you should know.

   The Chairman of Trafco is the First Vice-Chairman of BCCI. Also, if you have been following up on the news, “the Bahrain Danish Dairy Company severed its links with the Danish group in 1993 and [it] is a 100pc Bahraini company.”

   As was published in the Gulf Daily News:

   “Eliminating the word “Danish” from the company name is an issue which is long overdue,” said Mr Zainal, the Chairman of BDDI.

   “The matter is not as easy as it is made to look, essentially because of the existence of huge stocks of packing and other material bearing the company name.”

   However, he added that the board of directors was studying ways to drop the word “Danish” in consultation with company management.

   “People should use their logic to distinguish between actual Danish companies and local companies with Danish names before banning any products,” he said.

   Peace!
   Ahmed

4. 
   anonymous

   7 Feb, '06 at 3:02

   Re: Bahrain Chamber of Commerce member urges boycott of Danish goods

   what would we then have is a bunch of the very same Members of the BCCI screaming Blue Murder And that it is an ANTI Muslim Thing.

   It’s member not member(s).. So let’s not just assume that other members just agree with this guy..

   Ahmed

5. 
   [deleted]0.95776700 1099323586.392

   7 Feb, '06 at 3:07

   Re(1): Bahrain Chamber of Commerce member urges boycott of Danish goods

   Mahmood, when I read the correspondence I get the sense of a man trying to sweep the tide back into the ocean. It also gives me the sense that moderate Muslims are few and far between.

   Jasra, Jasra, Jasra, you are misreading the situation entirely if you think the cartoons were a product of racism. If anything the Danes, and most of Western Europe, have bent over backwards to accommodate Muslim immigrants. They are shocked by the round of murders of critics of Islam and the consequent fear of many to voice their opinion. It’s more akin to citizens criticizing the Mafia in Sicily. The cartoons were an assertion that nothing is beyond criticism where free speech rules.

   The media here in the US is making the point that virulent cartoons are part of the daily fare in the Middle East. I saw some examples from Bahrain broadcast. It’s pretty obvious to Americans, even the hard Left, that Muslims are demanding far more respect for their religion than they intend to show for other religions. That has eliminated most of any sympathy for the Muslim grievance. The blossoming violence of the cartoon jihad has sat a lot of Americans back in the chairs. You can feel the mood swing from “What did we do to make them hate us” to “These are unreasonable and violent people.”

   Steve

6. 
   anonymous

   7 Feb, '06 at 3:09

   Bahrain Chamber of Commerce member urges boycott of Danish goods

   [quote]If we are offended by the way the Prophet(pbuh) has been portrayed, then we should write. Thousand upon thousands of letters arriving at Dannish embassies and consulates around the world would make the point more effectivly than burning their flag, or boycotting their goods.[/quote]

   Why can’t this same outrage be directed at the government of Sudan, under whose direction thousands of people are being murdered? If there’s any government that deserves Muslim demonstrations and any embassy that deserves being pelted with tomatoes, this is the one.

7. 
   anonymous

   7 Feb, '06 at 3:22

   Re: Bahrain Chamber of Commerce member urges boycott of Danish goods

   You said ” I looked at it from a “Wag The Dog” angle: This couldn’t have been better for W Bush, as the entire Muslim world (and the American media) has turned its attention from the daily killing in Iraq to a small, non-threatening European country”

   I knew George Bush was behind this somehow!

8. 
   anonymous

   7 Feb, '06 at 3:43

   Bahrain Chamber of Commerce member urges boycott of Danish goods

   so can I ask you a question Mahmood our anybody with a set of garagals, So I go to the booze shop with my ameriki friend visiting Bahrain on the way to germany he reads the sign muslims
   not allowed to buy booze and asks the indian can I buy booze I am a muslim he says ya sure. So any hypocryte in Bahrain please tell me how they identify a muslim in this country at the booze shop, I told him the only muslim here is a guy wearing a thobe is this true some one enlighten all of us.

9. 
   anonymous

   7 Feb, '06 at 3:47

   Re(2): Bahrain Chamber of Commerce member urges boycott of Danish goods

   Steve my sweet …

   I am attaching a link for you from the Times. It talks about how Jyllands-Postens refused in 2003 to print some cartoons featuring Jesus on the basis that they would provoke an outcry.

   http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,22369-2027876,00.html

   (and dont worry my darling, David Aaronovitch, the writer of the article, does also take the Moslems to task …)

   With much love,
   JJ

10. 
    mahmood

    7 Feb, '06 at 4:04

    Re: Bahrain Chamber of Commerce member urges boycott of Danish goods

    Absolutely true.

    But you miss the point, the Ministry of _________ (fill in the space) did NOT want to kowtow to the bearded ones, they just wanted to increase employment. So they bring out this rule as they know that anyone wearing a thobe is rich, and they would not be too averse to not getting out of their car and for the privilege of lesser individuals (3 Indian and one Bahraini gentleman who are always ready to take the bethobed order) give them a little something if they take their order for them. Better than the drive through they closed you see, and you generate employment opportunities and give out lessons in generosity, as only the dickheaded bethobed person would not generously tip these honest workers.

    You see now how many lessons our enlightened government crammed into just this one simple act?

    And you thought they get paid all that money, given lands, and BD50k every Eid for being stupid? Ha! Think again.

11. 
    chalk66x

    7 Feb, '06 at 5:12

    Bahrain Chamber of Commerce member urges boycott of Danish goods

    A prominent Iranian newspaper said Tuesday it would hold a competition for cartoons on the Holocaust to test whether the West extends the principle of freedom of expression to the Nazi genocide as it did to the caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad.

    The cartoon wars heat up.

    billT

12. 
    mahmood

    7 Feb, '06 at 5:36

    Re: Bahrain Chamber of Commerce member urges boycott of Danish goods

    Yeah, amazing, isn’t it?

13. 
    anonymous

    7 Feb, '06 at 6:05

    Bahrain Chamber of Commerce member urges boycott of Danish goods

    Mahmood,

    That son of a thousand camels insulted you! Are you just going to sit there that let him insult you like that?

    Really Mahmood. What possible impact is boycotting Danish products going to have on anyone’s bottom line. I doubt any Bahrani will lose employment over the boycott.

    You know as well as I do that this joker is just trying to endear himself to the bandwagon. He’s got aspirations. Cut the guy some slack. You are probably the only one who has bothered to question his actions. He’s not beholden to you just because you think so.

    Maybe you can run against him in the next election. Use this episode in your campaign. If you win, great. If not, then you’ll know.

14. 
    [deleted]0.95776700 1099323586.392

    7 Feb, '06 at 6:51

    Re: Bahrain Chamber of Commerce member urges boycott of Danish goods

    [quote]BillT: “A prominent Iranian newspaper said Tuesday it would hold a competition for cartoons on the Holocaust to test whether the West extends the principle of freedom of expression to the Nazi genocide as it did to the caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad.”[/quote]

    That does it. I’ve emailed all my friends and none of us, NOT ONE, is going to buy Iranian products. We are imposing a BOYCOTT on Iran. That’ll teach ’em. We’ve all gone through our homes to make a big pile of Iranian products to burn in a big bonfire but, but, well, we couldn’t find anything. Nothing in our kitchens was made in Iran. We all turned our homes upside down looking for something, anything.

    So we all ran down to the grocery store and demanded that they SWEEP ALL THE IRANIAN PRODUCTS FROM THE STORE! But the grocery store manager couldn’t think of anything on the store shelves that came from Iran. He said that maybe some caviar came from Iran but you’d have to go to some fancy-schmanzy store to buy that. So we said that we’d BOYCOTT IRANIAN CAVIAR but then none of us ever bought caviar, mostly just Cheez Whiz. And I’d never buy any anyway. It’s too salty for me. But if we did buy caviar, we’d stop, believe you me.

    So we decided to all run down and burn down the Iranian embassy but sheesh, we couldn’t find it. After a few hours of looking some guy told us they don’t have one in Washington, only an Iranian Interests Section. We looked around for it, but after a while we got tired. The truth is, some of the guys kinda slipped away after we bought matches and gasoline. One guy called his girlfriend to join us and she told him he was freaking crazy and if he ever wanted to see her again he would give this up right now and come home. So he left. Another guy’s mother called him and told him he wasn’t burning anything down like a damned fool and ordered him home right this minute. So he’s gone, too. And a lot of the people we ran into said they would call the police after they saw our “BEHEAD THE IRANIANS” signs, which we thought kinda infringed on our free speech. People can be really judgemental.

    So there was just two of us left, me and Joe, and we dodge into this Italian joint and Joe says to me over ravioli, “Ya know, maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all.” I could hardly believe my ears. How could running through the streets like madmen to burn down an embassy to protest a cartoon NOT be a good idea? I lost a lotta respect for Joe when he said that.

    So we go to pay the bill and the owner is at the cash register with a sign behind him: Maghsoud Baktiar. He’s Persian. I just felt so defeated. I went back to my table and took my tip back, even though we got pretty good service. That will teach ’em.

    Steve

15. 
    anonymous

    7 Feb, '06 at 6:52

    Re: Bahrain Chamber of Commerce member urges boycott of Danish goods

    Dear Mahmood, as an infidel I am regrettably not well-versed enough in the language of the glorious Qur’an to quite understand this comment. If it is not something nasty or bigoted, I hope you or someone else conversant in Arabic will take the trouble of summarizing it.

16. 
    anonymous

    7 Feb, '06 at 6:57

    Bahrain Chamber of Commerce member urges boycott of Danish goods

    To Kill an American
    To anyone who hasn’t figured it out yet…yes, I am an American lover. Wanna know why? Well, it’s all summed up pretty well in the words of a very wise Aussie…

    Passed on by the great Nickie Goomba… http://nickiegoomba.blogspot.com/

    You probably missed it in the rush of news last week, but there was actually a report that someone in Pakistan had published in a newspaper an offer of a reward to anyone who killed an American, any American.

    So an Australian dentist wrote the following to let everyone know what an American is… so they would know when they found one. (Good on ya, mate!!!!)

    An American is English, or French, or Italian, Irish, German, Spanish, Polish, Russian or Greek.

    An American may also be Canadian, Mexican, African, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Australian, Iranian, Asian, or Arab, or Pakistani, or Afghan.

    An American may also be a Cherokee, Osage, Blackfoot, Navaho, Apache, Seminole or one of the many other tribes known as native Americans.

    An American is Christian, or he could be Jewish, or Buddhist, or Muslim.

    In fact, there are more Muslims in America than in Afghanistan. The only difference is that in America they are free to worship as each of them chooses.

    An American is also free to believe in no religion. For that he will answer only to God, not to the government, or to armed thugs claiming to speak for the government and for God.

    An American lives in the most prosperous land in the history of the world.

    The root of that prosperity can be found in the Declaration of Independence, which recognizes the God given right of each person to the pursuit of happiness.

    An American is generous. Americans have helped out just about every other nation in the world in their time of need.

    When the Soviet army overran Afghanistan 20 years ago, Americans came with arms and supplies to enable the people to win back their country!

    As of the morning of September 11, Americans had given more than any other nation to the poor in Afghanistan.

    Americans welcome the best, the best products, the best books, the best music, the best food, the best athletes. But they also welcome the least.

    The national symbol of America, The Statue of Liberty, welcomes your tired and your poor, the wretched refuse of your teeming shores, the homeless, tempest tossed. These in fact are the people who built America.

    Some of them were working in the Twin Towers the morning of September 11, 2001 earning a better life for their families. I’ve been told that the World Trade Center victims were from at least 30 other countries, cultures, and first languages, including those that aided and abetted the terrorists.

    So you can try to kill an American if you must.

    Hitler did.

    So did General Tojo, and Stalin, and Mao Tse-Tung, and every bloodthirsty tyrant in the history of the world.

    But, in doing so you would just be killing yourself. Because Americans are not a particular people from a particular place. They are the embodiment of the human spirit of freedom. Everyone who holds to that spirit, everywhere, is an American.

    Author unknown

    Pass this around the World

    Augrwell

    PS You ever see some of the crap about Jesus or Budda in “Hustler” Mag. I am free to boycott.

17. 
    anonymous

    7 Feb, '06 at 7:06

    Re(3): Bahrain Chamber of Commerce member urges boycott of Danish goods

    Personally I’d publish the lot. But his decision is understandable: this is a DANISH newspaper and Denmark is a nominally Christian country, which means that most of Jyllande Poste’s readers are nominally or truly Christian. What newspaper wants to risk offending a major part of its own readership? It’s not an editor’s job to be some sort of hero of meticulous objectivity; it’s his job to provide news coverage, current affairs commentary, and so on that will be of interest to that individual newspaper’s readership constituency. It’s completely unsurprising that the editor of a Danish paper in Denmark would be more concerned about offending Christians than about offending Muslims, just as the reverse would be true in most Muslim countries (if, of course, any of them actually had a free press in the first place).

18. 
    anonymous

    7 Feb, '06 at 7:16

    Re(1): Bahrain Chamber of Commerce member urges boycott of Danish goods

    Right on, Steve. I have an Ayatollah Khomeini doll with flashing yellow eyes and a creepy voice that says “Salman Rushdie must die!” when you tug its beard. I think it was made in Taiwan but it’s Iranian enough for me. I’m gonna boycott it until it cries like girl. Also, from now on I’m boycotting Iranian beer, Iranian hashish, Iranian cars, Iranian Big Brother and Iranian meat-and-potato pie. Screw ’em.

19. 
    secretdubai

    7 Feb, '06 at 9:07

    Re: Bahrain Chamber of Commerce member urges boycott of Danish goods

    Here in the UAE people in national dress (ie kandoora/dishdash/thobe) are banned from entering nightclubs, and possibly bars, though you see quite a few in there.

    Allegedly this is for the Emiratis’ own “protection” – because otherwise people might photo and film them drinking and dancing, and send these pictures to various newspapers humiliating them/the UAE. (And this would happen too – tabloid editors must be desperate for compromising photos to juice up their “Dubai – City of Sin”-type articles).

    I have never heard anyone being stopped at the door because they had a muslim name on their ID card though. It may happen, but not to any great extent. People are more likely to be barred by race or gender (males, because there are more of them).

    And in a way, by “disguising yourself” – ie wearing western dress so you could fairly be mistaken for a Lebanese christian – you are also preventing the alcohol seller from knowingly having to sell a haram product to a muslim.

20. 
    anonymous

    7 Feb, '06 at 9:21

    Bahrain Chamber of Commerce member urges boycott of Danish goods

    You write well.

    thinker

21. 
    Madsen

    7 Feb, '06 at 9:31

    Bahrain Chamber of Commerce member urges boycott of Danish goods

    Hi Mahmood

    I wrote an entry over at qatar cat and she said that you and your readers might be able to help me with some questions…You can read my entry here (http://qatarcat.blogspot.com/2006/02/political-post-2.html) if you feel like it 🙂

    I work as a teacher here in Denmark and one of my pupils (an 8.th grader) asked me this:

    “Why haven’t we seen global muslim demonstrations/boycotts etc. when muslim fanatics: behead innocent civilians/ cuts off heads of e.g. Nepalese workers/kill 300 spaniards on their way to work…All in the name of Islam and/or The Prophet (pbuh). Surely the Prophet would not condone such actions and it taints a peaceful religion. I really don’t understand it! Doesn’t that hurt Islam and offends the Prophets name and legacy more than those cartoons?”

    I said: “ehhh….now that’s a really good question…unfortunately I don’t know the answer to that, but I’ll look into it!”

    Could some of you guys perhaps help me come up with a good answer?!

    Best wishes my friend…and good luck getting rid of those slugs 😉

    Madsen

22. 
    anonymous

    7 Feb, '06 at 9:34

    Bahrain Chamber of Commerce member urges boycott of Danish goods

    Mahmood ..

    I have been following the whole cartoon affair .. and I have actually come to the conclusion that the real culprits here are the arab governments and the religious leadership that have actually condoned some of the violence in the protests. What happened in Syria and Beirut and Tehran is much more destructive than a boycott. If the BCCI want a boycott, let them have it. At least it is not a violent and destructive means of protest.

    I think the people who have the most to prove here are the religious leaderhship – because it is obvious that they are not capable or able to do anything to defend Islam .. and by ‘defending Islam’ I actually mean enable to make it part of the 21st century. And the reason for it is because they want to hold on to their political power at any expense – even at the expense of their own religion.

    If the BCCI want to take a position, I actually dont have an issue with it. Most business interests usually have some kind of an agenda. AIPAC, etc. What I do have an issue is with the deafenening silence of our governments and our media. I am more upset by the fact that they fired two Jordanians than I am about anything else. If one reads some of the western newspapers, there is some soul searching going on. And there is more than a tacit agreement that the Danes were spurred to action with some element of racism and non Daneophobia. (not necessarily Islamophobia). But – look how the Christian Lebanese reacted to the burning of the church and Danish embassy in Ashrafia .. they stood strong and silent. And refused to be dragged into battle and spark off another civil war. And ,to be fair, the EU has done more than its fair share of actually trying to manage the situation.

    The Moslems need to get a grip. This is the 21st century. And we are in our dark ages. And, we cannot justify everything and anything in the name of Islam. There is a civil war going on in Islam and the moderates need to start speaking out. Even at the risk of being ostracized. the current leadership of the Moslems need to be challenged from within, not without. We need to get some ijtihad going and we need to start tolerating different thoughts and ideas and allow people to express themselves.

    I actually think that we are just paying the price for what the Saudis did .. funding Wahabbi Islam for years, and generating ‘pigs’ in the sense that they have helped breed some very narrow minded extremists who think they speak for God and everyone else. We need to wait this out .. and start developing some very different role models for our kids.

    Having said that the chamber can do what it wants, I wish they would focus on investing in industries that will hire Bahraini’s. That is really the best vaccination against political islam .. be it the sunni extreme (ala wahabbism)or the shia variant (ala muqtada al sadr).

    Let the Chamber start flexing power where it counts .. in Bahrain. Let it fight for the right to serve alcohol, let it fight against segregation in schools and universities, and, for god’s sake, let them start running for office in parliament. Its easy to take a position on global affairs when you are not held accountable or responsible for deliverables. Let them take a position internally where it counts, and have them fight for the fabric of this country. Now – thats a real challenge…

    As for the cartoons? Who the f**k cares? Do people realize that they were first published a while ago? And has anyone really wondered why it all flared up now? And has anyone asked questions about how ‘spontaneous’ these protest marches really are? This isn’t about the cartoons or about Islam or even about freedom of speech. This is about power and a battle by proxy against the local Arab/moslem governmets by the religious clergy.

    JJ

23. 
    anonymous

    7 Feb, '06 at 9:39

    Bahrain Chamber of Commerce member urges boycott of Danish goods

    I’m sick of these attempts to bully a small Western country with official and unofficial boycotts. My view now is that any country engaged in boycotting Denmark should have all Western aid to it cancelled with immediate effect. Some countries don’t receive Western aid but those that do: no more. Why the hell should we continue to bankroll people so hostile and cretinous? I’d start with Palestine, a country that has guzzled and squandered billions of our money over the years and has now sunk to electing terrorists to its government and destroying the Danish embassy – the embassy of a country that has contributed far more than its fair share in aid all around the world for decades. Muslim fanatics like to rant and rave about their “honour”. Where is the “honour” in repaying generosity with such venom?

24. 
    anonymous

    7 Feb, '06 at 9:42

    Bahrain Chamber of Commerce member urges boycott of Danish goods

    Well said.

25. 
    anonymous

    7 Feb, '06 at 9:58

    Bahrain Chamber of Commerce member urges boycott of Danish goods

    I found this on Haaretz, I thought it was interesting …

    An honesty test: Are you enjoying the Danish caricature affair?
    Monday, February 6; 12:36 A.M. EST
    Some thoughts about the Danish newspaper caricature debacle .

    1. You won’t find this in the official statements by Jewish or Israeli leaders, or by Israel supporters or Jewish sympathizers. But the truth of the matter is, a lot of people are watching European media outlets, European diplomats, and European public opinion polls with some amusement. Those naive, peace-loving, good-hearted, wishy-washy darlings. Isn’t it nice to see their astonishment as fundamentalist outlaws burn their embassies and scare them away from the places they came to save? Well, let’s admit the obvious: as long as nobody gets killed, it is a joy for many.

    2. All this talk about the freedom of the press is nonsense. Newspapers do not print everything ? that’s exactly the reason why we have editors. Simplistic by nature, caricature tends to generalize, provoke and offend without explanation. Caricatures need editing ? not a journalistic editing, but one of common sense. It’s perfectly OK to think that a racist caricature should be censored.

    3. The problem with the Muslim protesters is not that they don’t understand the meaning of freedom of the press. The problem is that they don’t share the rest of the world’s understanding that violence is a last resort. It’s only for situations serious enough to put the lives of others in danger. Printing a nasty caricature in 200 newspapers will not teach them a lesson. And it is not the lesson they should be taught. Come to think of it, the violent rioters aren’t the ones who need the lesson ? the media do. In a nutshell, they need to learn to stop deluding themselves about the motives of hatred and terror.

    4. The saddest truth about this affair, and about the sometimes nasty nature of caricatures in general: The most outrageous cartoons often tell us the truth. Not the truth about the subject, but about those doing the drawing and the enjoying. Are Jews really ugly, blood thirsty, greedy, and sneaky? Yes they are, in the minds of many Arabs. Does Islam ? the religion of Mohammed ? promote violence, terror, fear, ignorance? Yes, in the minds of many Westerners it does.

    5. But were these doodles too vicious and racist to print? Nobody should really care. Talking about the nature of this caricature plays to the hands of those who are trying to frame this mess as one that pits freedom against restraint and racism. It’s all spin. The cartoon affair is a case study of ways manipulative leaders can use an insignificant publication to gain some political points. Give it a rest.

    6. There’s an old and famous saying – I think it’s Jewish, but if someone knows better, I’d like to learn – that fits this situation: There’s no joy like joy at someone else’s expense, and no hatred like baseless hatred.

26. 
    khaled

    7 Feb, '06 at 10:09

    Bahrain Chamber of Commerce member urges boycott of Danish goods

    I think this is seriously important. Either the BCCI constitution is expanded to include members personal opinions in respect of Religion, or the current wording is reiterated to the honourable member, with a reminder that his duties are about the expansion,propogation and development of local business to the benefit, not detriment, of Bahrainis.
    He has been swept along in this latest wave of Islamic fervour to such a degree, that it has blinded him as to his function at BCCI.
    Traffco is the majority shareholder of Bahrain Danish Dairy. The chairman of Traffco either is or was the Chairman of BCCI. Just thought you should know.
    Our latest collective reaction in the Arab world has created a greater division between us and the West.
    If we are offended by the way the Prophet(pbuh) has been portrayed, then we should write. Thousand upon thousands of letters arriving at Dannish embassies and consulates around the world would make the point more effectivly than burning their flag, or boycotting their goods.
    Furthermore,and more importantly in my opinion, we would not be portrayed as reactionary and militant.
    If Denmark has shot itself in the foot, they need to know why, how, who. Instead, “Death to Denmark” has been the constructive critism from our neck of the woods!
    Al Shammary is behaving in a way reminicent of an ambitious local politician, jumping on the bandwagon to make himself appear more pious than the rest of us. In assuming higher moral ground he has compromised himself to such a degree that I will not vote form him either.
    He is clearly too immature to hold his post, as is evident by his final email [quote]Thanks for your kindness, and wish u all the best, take care[/quote] Sarcastic, petulent and out of his depth. He needs to go.

27. 
    anonymous

    7 Feb, '06 at 10:30

    Re: Bahrain Chamber of Commerce member urges boycott of Danish goods

    [quote]Thousand upon thousands of letters arriving at Dannish embassies and consulates around the world would make the point more effectivly than burning their flag, or boycotting their goods.
    [/quote]

    What “point”, exactly, do you think this would make? Jyllands Poste broke no law when it published the Mohammed cartoons. The Danish government does not control the press. No Western government controls the press. Freedom of the press is a cornerstone of democracy. What do you expect the Danish government to do when it gets all these letters from cross Muslims? Abolish democracy?

28. 
    anonymous

    7 Feb, '06 at 10:41

    Bahrain Chamber of Commerce member urges boycott of Danish goods

    Hi Mahmood,

    Great letter to the right (dis)honerable member of the BCCI.
    I totally agree with everything that you said, but sadly was not suprised by his responce.
    when are the Arab people gonna learn that there should be a seperation of “church & State” not everything that happens in one state of life should be reflected in another.
    Now lets imagine that the GDN, Akhbar Al Ahaleeg, Al Ayam or the Bahrain Tribune were to publish such cartoons deflaming something that the Danish people held dear.
    Do you think we would have Danes rioting in the streets or demanding apoligies from our King?
    NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO…………
    1. The Danes have better things to do.
    2. An apoligy from the Newspaper would have done the trick.
    3. Our King would not be apoligising.

    Next, if a Bahraini were to insult the Danish Government or their Queen or Anything Dainish, we in theory should expect the Danish Government to Boycott Bahraini Goods(Not That we produce anything of note, But thats beside the Point)
    what would we then have is a bunch of the very same Members of the BCCI screaming Blue Murder And that it is an ANTI Muslim Thing.
    when will these people grow up, Because until they do we as a people are DOOMED if this is the best representation that we have got.
    Also what is with all this violence, i was brought up to believe that Islam is a Religion of Peace.
    if Burning buildings and destruction is deemed peace, i would hate to see violence.
    also From a personal point i was brought up to believe that is one used Violence it was because HE/She knew they were losing it was the best way to vent their fustrations and get others to see their point of view thru Fear.

    your views please,
    Thanks.

29. 
    [deleted]0.95776700 1099323586.392

    7 Feb, '06 at 10:52

    Re: Bahrain Chamber of Commerce member urges boycott of Danish goods

    Madsen,

    Muslims divide the world into Muslim and infidel parts, the House of Peace and the House of War. Jihad is a duty of every Muslim so as to conquer the House of War and make the whole world Muslim.

    The Verse of the Sword in the Koran commands Muslims to “slay the idolaters [ie non-Muslims] wherever you find them, and take them [captive], and besiege them, and prepare for them each ambush.” Muslims don’t object to mass murder done for Islam because it is part of their religion, a religious imperative.

    Likewise, beheading is commendable to Muslims. Mohammed, himself, would send assassins to behead people he didn’t like, such as poets who had criticized him. Ibn Ishaq’s Sira (689) writes that Mohammed rounded up the Jews of Banu Quraysh and had them beheaded as he watched, some 600 of them. Beheading non-Muslims is a good thing in Islam. Those Muslims who behead civilians they capture are simply following Mohammed’s example.

    That’s why you often see Muslims celebrate murders, such as Sep 11 and the Tube bombings, but rarely condemn them. That’s also why you see Muslims call for the beheading of the Danish cartoonists. That is the approved solution in the Koran for dealing with criticism.

    Steve

30. 
    anonymous

    7 Feb, '06 at 11:36

    Re: Bahrain Chamber of Commerce member urges boycott of Danish goods

    The Verse of the Sword in the Koran commands Muslims to “slay the idolaters [ie non-Muslims] wherever you find them, and take them [captive], and besiege them, and prepare for them each ambush.” Muslims don’t object to mass murder done for Islam because it is part of their religion, a religious imperative.

    Hey Madison,
    After looking at Steve’s anti-semitic remark, I urge you to check out this link: http://www.beliefnet.com/story/111/story_11172_1.html

    Way to go Steve.. Keep on spreading the hate ;)!

    Take it easy Y’All!

    Ahmed

31. 
    mahmood

    7 Feb, '06 at 12:12

    Re: Bahrain Chamber of Commerce member urges boycott of Danish goods

    True JJ. But this twit needed to be stopped in his tracks, otherwise who know what he will take upon himself “in the defence of the religion” next.

32. 
    anonymous

    7 Feb, '06 at 12:21

    Bahrain Chamber of Commerce member urges boycott of Danish goods

    I personally find the whole affair quite silly, burning the flags of another country is to be honest quite childish. Considering it was a Newspaper that printed these cartoons and not a goverment agency, boycotting a whole country because of it is abosolute nonsense.

    We had protests in the UK and I really think the whole Islam thing is out of control, it seems just an excuse for teenagers with little else to do other than start riots.

    Maybe it’s time as has been said in the posts here to have someone involved with the religious section of Islam to come out and really preach peace and love etc, as I don’t believe I have ever heard many voices come out to condem this attitude.

    You were spot on asking him to step down, it’s completly wrong of someone in a position of authrority to ask for a boycott on a country for the stupidity of a newspaper!

33. 
    anonymous

    8 Feb, '06 at 1:06

    Re(2): Bahrain Chamber of Commerce member urges boycott of Danish goods

    Hey Skribe,
    I’m not trying to convince you of anything. That’s the last thing I want to do. What I’m doing though is showing the other side. I’m sorry if you don’t agree, but this is a free world and we are all entitled to free speech. 🙂

    God Bless All,
    Ahmed

34. 
    skribe

    8 Feb, '06 at 1:38

    Re(3): Bahrain Chamber of Commerce member urges boycott of Danish goods

    Sorry Ahmed, I should have been clearer (pre-coffee). I see a lot of similar articles to the one you posted. The ‘you’ I was referring to was aimed at the writer, not you you =). There’s a lot of spin about how Islam is a peaceful religion. It isn’t and hasn’t been at least since about 624. It just seems a waste of time to try and convince anyone otherwise.

    BTW, I applaud and encourage FoS, but the real brownie points go to those that encourage Freedom of Listening. Sadly, I have had only limited success in reaching that high ideal.

35. 
    anonymous

    8 Feb, '06 at 2:04

    Re(4): Bahrain Chamber of Commerce member urges boycott of Danish goods

    Hey Skribe,
    Well thanks for clearing that up. I am one who is welcome to any thoughts and ideas, and love to hear all points of view. Although I may not agree with what you have to say, I very much understand and respect your perspective. I was brought up in Bahrain, and received an American education, so, I try to acknowledge the middle eastern crises from all sides. I am not saying my point of view is not biased.. All of our views are biased, because thats the nature of our being, but I try to be neutral which is extremely difficult!

    Take Care man,
    Ahmed

36. 
    chalk66x

    8 Feb, '06 at 2:56

    Re(1): Bahrain Chamber of Commerce member urges boycott of Danish goods

    Spoken like a true liberal. Theres hope for you after all.

    billT

37. 
    skribe

    8 Feb, '06 at 5:29

    Re(5): Bahrain Chamber of Commerce member urges boycott of Danish goods

    You think there are crises in the ME now? Wait until the Indian superpower stretches forward its hand and deposits several million Hindus into the region. Then the fun will really begin =).

38. 
    anonymous

    8 Feb, '06 at 5:56

    Re(1): Bahrain Chamber of Commerce member urges boycott of Danish goods

    The gasoline you bought was from Iran.

39. 
    anonymous

    8 Feb, '06 at 6:27

    Bahrain Chamber of Commerce member urges boycott of Danish goods

    As a Dane, I appreciate your point of view on this matter. I thought I’d note that many danes do not agree with the intolerant mood which lead our newspaper to start this mess in the first place.

    See

    [url]http://www.anotherdenmark.org[/url]

    regards
    Carsten Agger
    Ã…rhus, Denmark
    [url]http://www.modspil.dk[/url]

40. 
    anonymous

    8 Feb, '06 at 8:05

    Re: Bahrain Chamber of Commerce member urges boycott of Danish goods

    [quote]The root of that prosperity can be found in the Declaration of Independence, which recognizes the God given right of each person to the pursuit of happiness.

    An American is generous. Americans have helped out just about every other nation in the world in their time of need.
    [/quote]

    Childish bull-shit.
    it’s no use even 2 try 2 explain 2 u. Open your eyes, or u r being paid for that?

41. 
    anonymous

    8 Feb, '06 at 9:02

    Bahrain Chamber of Commerce member urges boycott of Danish goods

    “2. All this talk about the freedom of the press is nonsense. Newspapers do not print everything ? that’s exactly the reason why we have editors. Simplistic by nature, caricature tends to generalize, provoke and offend without explanation. Caricatures need editing ? not a journalistic editing, but one of common sense. It’s perfectly OK to think that a racist caricature should be censored.”

    I agree with everything you said anon, but I have to nitpick on this one. A newspaper has the right to decide for itself what it wants to print. It is not censorship if it deliberately leaves something out without any outside pressure.

    Tariq Khonji
    http://www.tariqkhonji.com

42. 
    Hesham

    8 Feb, '06 at 9:13

    Bahrain Chamber of Commerce member urges boycott of Danish goods

    Just a side note…Im actually impressed that a member of chamber of commerce actually responded to your email….my experience in the past lead me to believe that they never respond to direct emails, even if they are actually about business..

    [url=http://www.amiri.info]Hesham[/url]

43. 
    [deleted]0.95776700 1099323586.392

    8 Feb, '06 at 9:47

    Re: Bahrain Chamber of Commerce member urges boycott of Danish goods

    Carsten,

    Do those Danes agree with knives stuck in the chests of critics of Islam?

    Curious,

    Steve

44. 
    [deleted]0.95776700 1099323586.392

    8 Feb, '06 at 10:41

    Re(1): Bahrain Chamber of Commerce member urges boycott of Danish goods

    Ahmed: “Way to go Steve.. Keep on spreading the hate !”

    Ahmed, if you click on the link in my original post it will take you to a statement where Osama bin Laden cites the Verse of the Sword to justify his attacks. He, in turn, is using the interpretation taught by the Wahhabis and favored by the Islamists. These radicals all believe the Verse of the Sword, and other verses in the Koran, justify war against non-believers in Islam, though you may believe otherwise. However, this is the interpretation used by Saudi Arabia in its institutions, spread by its missionaries, and demanded in every mosque it builds around the world.

    The article you cite interprets the Verse of the Sword as telling Muslims to slay the idolaters only in self-defense. However, Muslims are full of phony grievances that they use to justify any terrorist act as self-defense. The Danish cartoons can be used to justify another Madrid bombing as self-defense. If no other reason is at hand, Muslims can use Israel as justification for any terror attack anywhere in the world, calling it self-defense. Muslims can justify bombing a McDonald’s in Cairo as self-defense because its happy meals threaten Islamic culture.

    Steve

45. 
    anonymous

    8 Feb, '06 at 12:18

    Bahrain Chamber of Commerce member urges boycott of Danish goods

    I have read your email exchange with great interest and also great respect for your ability to seperate your personal beliefs from your work. Though I do believe that these two sometimes overlap, I agree with you that in this specific case they should stay seperated. Especially when it concerns an official. Someone who can be expected to not just set an example, but also to speak the voice of reason instead of (cartoon)war.

    I will most certainly add this weblog to my favourites.

    Xaviera

46. 
    skribe

    8 Feb, '06 at 12:31

    Re(1): Bahrain Chamber of Commerce member urges boycott of Danish goods

    [quote]After looking at Steve’s anti-semitic remark, I urge you to check out this link: http://www.beliefnet.com/story/111/story_11172_1.html

    Way to go Steve.. Keep on spreading the hate[/quote]
    Hmmm. I’ve had Muslims quote the same passages at me claiming their duty to enslave the rest of the world. The article you quote (and others like it) are just political spin. Like the ones that quote that Mohammed’s wars of conquest to take over Arabia only killed 1000 people and they all died quick painless deaths.

    Stop wasting your time trying to convince us that your religion is nice and decent and peaceful. We’ll never believe you as long as the loonies keep killing and maiming us. If you want to do something constructive then stop the loonies.

47. 
    [deleted]0.95776700 1099323586.392

    9 Feb, '06 at 2:56

    Re: Bahrain Chamber of Commerce member urges boycott of Danish goods

    Carsten,

    Of course, I agree with equal application of the law but is that what’s happenning? People who burn down mosques should be slapped in jail. Are people who advocate burning down Denmark prosecuted?

    The experience in Australia is that Muslims will congregate swiftly at the scene of any arrest or conflict, summoned by pagers, so that thirty or forty of them quickly turn a confrontation into a riot. The police have even been forced to walk away from an arrest of a Muslim because the situation becomes too dangerous and the rioters too violent. That has led to a slacking off of law enforcement in the Muslim community, which has encouraged widespread uncivil behavior and bigger riots.

    The cartoon jihad is that same flash mob tactic writ large. If you concede to Muslim censorship of your media now, more concessions will be demanded later for even sillier things.

    Steve

48. 
    anonymous

    9 Feb, '06 at 8:19

    Bahrain Chamber of Commerce member urges boycott of Danish goods

    To Steve:

    No, of course they don’t – why would they?
    But then again, the vast majority of Danish (or, case in point: Dutch)
    don’t either – so why would they have to pay for the individual actions of a few?

    After van Gogh was killed on the street in Holland, several
    mosques and Muslim schools were burned down. Two wrongs
    don’t make a right.

    I’d say we need to restrain the hotheads and prosecute those committing
    that sort of violence, regardless of faith or nationality.

    regards,
    Carsten

49. 
    anonymous

    9 Feb, '06 at 9:28

    Bahrain Chamber of Commerce member urges boycott of Danish goods

    Sorry, I made an omission.
    I meant to say:

    “But then again, the vast majority of Danish (or, case in point: Dutch)
    Muslims don’t either – so why would they have to pay for the individual actions of a few?”

    And, as I continued, some Muslims, many of them probably also against the idea of
    murdering anybody, actually were made to pay:

    “After van Gogh was killed on the street in Holland, several
    mosques and Muslim schools were burned down. Two wrongs
    don’t make a right.”

    Bigotry and intolerance should be opposed anywhere – in the Muslim world, and
    in Europe, where it is but all to abundant.

    Anyway, once again I’d like to congratulate Mahmood on his civilized stance in this
    sorry business.

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