By Xinhua,
Amman : The “Messenger of Allah Unites Us”, a Jordanian media campaign defending Islam and Muslim, plans to renew boycott to Danish and Dutch products with an eye on a universal law against defaming religion, local Jordan Times reported Wednesday.
“Following our initial launch, we scaled back our boycott efforts after receiving complaints from local traders. We gave the traders ample time — until June 10 – to sell their stock after which the campaign will be in full force,” campaign spokesperson Zakaria Sheikh said.
“Full force,” according to Sheikh, means highway billboards, more posters, printed T-shirts and the like, to call on consumers not only to boycott foods but everything linked with Denmark or the Netherlands, including airlines and shipping agencies.
However, “the boycott is a means not an end. We are not aiming for collective punishment, but when the Danish and Dutch people put pressure on their governments to support the creation of an international law— we are achieving our goal,” Sheikh added.
The long-term objective is to enact a universal law that prohibits the defamation of any prophet or religion, similar to the international legislation that bans anti-Semitism, said Sheikh.
Campaign organizers also decided to take legal action against those involved in “demeaning the Prophet Mohammad”, arguing that the actions violated the universal declaration of human rights and several articles of the Jordanian Penal Code.
The court is expected to decide this week whether to proceed with the case.
The campaign also offered a way out to local businesses suffering from the boycott. Those who sign on to the campaign and meet conditions including publicly denouncing the Dutch and Danish actions and supporting the lawsuit, will be removed from the boycott list, according to campaigners.
The campaign started in late February after Danish newspapers reprinted an offensive cartoon of the Prophet wearing a turban shaped like a bomb. The image, which was first published in 2005 as part of a series, sparked global protests at the time.
Danish and other European publications reprinted the cartoon one day after three people were arrested for allegedly plotting to kill the artist who drew the cartoon.
Late in March, a short film featuring the same image was released on the Internet by Dutch MP Geert Wilders, making Netherlands a second target of the campaign.