Muslems attempt Boycott of American & Israeli Products

Subj:    IAP-Net: Muslim Scholars spearheads campaign to boycott Israeli and 
American products
Date:   11/29/00 1:58:55 PM !!!First Boot!!!
From:   iapinfo@iap.org (Islamic Association For Palestine)
Sender: owner-iap-net@iap.org
To: iap-net@iap.org

Assalamu'alaikum

Muslim Scholars spearheads campaign to boycott Israeli and American products

Occupied Jerusalem: 29 November

by Khalid Amayreh 

Muslim scholars in the Middle East have been urging Arab and Muslim masses
around the world to boycott American and Israeli products in reaction to
Israel's continued killing of Palestinian protesters and American backing
of Israeli aggression.

The Mufti of Egypt, Dr. Naser Farid Wasel, issued a religious edict earlier
this week, ruling that it was inadmissible for Muslims to buy Israeli and
American products.

Wasel said boycotting Israeli and American products was a "religious Muslim
duty" and "a from of Jihad against oppression."

Wasel pointed out in an interview published in the Egyptian weekly paper,
al-Arabi, on Monday, that Muslims who buy or consume American and Israeli
products are considered "sinful" and "criminal."

The edict doesn't cover Muslims living in the United States and Occupied
Palestine who have no choice but to consume Americana and Israeli products. 

Another Muslim scholar,  Sheikh Yousef Qaradawi, also strongly urged
Muslims to put up a real boycott of American and Zionist products.

Speaking during an interview with the Qatari Satellite television, al
Jazira, Wednesday,  Qaradawi said it was incumbent upon Muslims to help
their Palestinian brothers.

"Every dollar paid for these products is translated into a bullet fired at
the heads and hearts of Palestinian children," said Qaradawi, who has
devoted much of his weekly popular show "al Sharia'a walhaya" to supporting
the intifada.

In Beirut, Sheikh Muhammed Hussein Fadlulah also added his weight to calls
for boycotting American and Israeli products.

"This is the simplest expression of support for the Palestinians…it is
morally unacceptable to continue to consume American products while the US
government is helping the Zionists murder our brothers and sisters in
Palestine."

Fadullah pointed out that the United States was the "most sinister enemy of
Islam and Muslims," adding that boycotting American goods and products was
"an Islamic duty and a form of self defense."

----------------------
             EGYPTIAN CLERICS DENOUNCE IMPORTS
                     By Mariam Fam

CAIRO, Egypt (AP - 27 November) - Egyptian Muslim clerics this week said 
importing 
Israeli and U.S. products is forbidden in the light of Israeli-Palestinian 
violence, 
giving momentum to calls for boycotts. 

Arab countries have blamed Israel for the Israeli-Palestinian clashes, in 
which 
280 people have died - the vast 
majority Palestinian - since September. Arab demonstrators have burned U.S. 
flags, 
venting their anger at what they call the U.S. bias in favor of Israel. 

Egypt's chief Muslim cleric, Grand Mufti Nasr Farid Wasel, told the 
opposition 
Al-Arabi newspaper that importers of Israeli and U.S. products are committing 
"a great sin" and that "all imported Israeli and U.S. goods are haram 
(religiously forbidden)." 

Egypt - which in 1979 became the first Arab country to sign a peace treaty 
with 
Israel - recently recalled its 
ambassador to Tel Aviv to protest Israel's role in the violence. But the 
Egyptian 
government has frowned on trying to wield an economic weapon - President 
Hosni 
Mubarak's chief political adviser, Osama el-Baz, said last week the boycott 
was 
not encouraged by the government. 

Sheik Wasel added in the interview, which was published Sunday, that both the 
public and the government should be 
boycotting U.S. products. He was unavailable for comment Monday. 

U.S. products are widespread in Egyptian markets - from cars to jeans and 
from 
wheat to franchises of hotels. 

Boycott calls have been widely circulated through e-mails and flyers handed 
out 
in the streets. The calls were causing a sales drop of about 20 percent at 
many 
fast food restaurants, said Mahmoud el-Kaissouni, vice chairman of the 
Chamber 
of Tourist Establishments. El-Kaissouni's organization runs more than 400 
franchises 
of U.S. chain 
restaurants in Egypt. 

El-Kaissouni said U.S. chain restaurants employ 80,000 Egyptians and boycott 
calls are hurting Egypt and its 
economy without having any effect on the mother companies in the United 
States. 

Hisham Fahmi, executive-director of the American Chamber of Commerce, said 
boycott 
advocates should be aware 
that they are hurting Egyptian investors and employees and that "there are 
much 
more effective ways of getting the attention of those in power in the United 
States." 

U.S. investments in Egypt - a key U.S. ally and major mediator in the Mideast 
conflict - are estimated at $2 billion, with over 1,000 U.S. companies 
working 
in the country, Fahmi said.