publishing of the infamous Danish cartoons of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in 17 Danish newspapers on Feb. 13, many in the Muslim world have started a new boycott campaign but with a twist. Serial numbers and pictures of Danish products were sent out via text messages and emails along with messages urging Muslims to boycott imported Danish goods. Ahmad Al-Jamal, spokesman of Ministry of Commerce, said it is up to the Saudi private sector to join the boycott or not. “It is a social decision to boycott Danish products – people preferred to do that,” he said. “But the Ministry of Commerce has left the matter to the private sector companies – whether they want to keep dealing with Danish companies or not– we don't interfere in that.” Danube supermarkets' support for the boycott by halting the sale of any Danish products within its branches, said Safwan Al-Omar, a customer relations representative of the chain. “We stopped selling Danish products to keep our customers,” he said. “People give great importance to whether our stores have Danish products or not. If we sell it they leave, that's why we made an administrative decision to stop selling any of these products.” Al-Omar said their overall sales were not affected because they offered alternative products. Danish newspapers re-published the offensive caricatures after two Tunisian men attempted to murder one of the artists responsible for creating the caricatures. The cartoons were first published in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten on Sept. 30, 2005, enraging Muslims around the world. The crisis escalated when the cartoons were reprinted in newspapers in several other countries, leading to protests across the Muslim world and police firing on crowds, which resulted in more than 100 deaths, altogether. The Muslim World League (MWL) considers the latest re-publishing as an insistent desire to affront the Prophet (pbuh). “We support the boycott campaign, but we can't require this officially. We have to do that (support the campaign) in order to advocate the Prophet,” said Abdulhakim Saleh, assistant manager at the MWL. Private citizens are supporting the Danish boycott this time around. “Since the Danish newspapers republished the caricatures of our Prophet, peace be upon him, I stopped buying any of their products because they don't respect Islam and Muslims,” said Abdul Alla Al-Ali, a teacher. Ashwq Al-Harbi, a university student said she joined the boycott because she saw better alternatives available in the supermarket. “I got many e-mails calling for support of the second boycott. I joined. There are many cheaper and better quality products instead. I won't pay money for a nation to insult my religion and prophet,” Al-Harbi said. - Diana Al-Jassim contributed to the report. __
