Merita Ilo of the Canadian Press thinks that concern about Islamic supremacism can be sneered away. "Soup and nuts: Canadian soup feeding Jihad?," by Merita Ilo in The Canadian Press, October 18 (thanks to all who sent this in):
TORONTO - The controversial Ground Zero mosque in New York and Campbell's Canadian-made tomato soup have nothing in common, one would think.Yet they're being stirred in the same pot by some conservative bloggers in the U.S., who say Islamic terrorists are behind both projects.
Actually, no one is saying that Islamic terrorists are behind either project. Islamic supremacists and stealth jihadists are not terrorists, although they share the terrorists' goal of imposing Sharia upon non-Sharia states.
Pamela Geller, who runs a widely read anti-Muslim site called Atlas Shrugs, is calling for a boycott of some 15 soups made by the Canadian subsidiary of New Jersey-based Campbell Soup Co..
It is not "anti-Muslim" to stand for human rights -- the freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, and equality of rights of all people before the law -- against the Sharia.
The soups are certified as halal food, meaning they're prepared according to Islamic dietary laws.Sold in Canada, the soups are certified by the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), which has been certifying halal foods since 1988.
But Geller claims ISNA has ties to terrorist groups, including Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood.
"No one is suggesting they not have halal food. I'm not against halal food any more than I'm against kosher food. My issue is who's doing the certifying," Geller told The Washington Post Sunday.
A number of conservative groups, including JihadWatch.org, have joined Geller's call for the soup boycott. A Facebook page called Boycott Campbell Soup counted more than 3,500 members as of Sunday night.
"But Geller claims ISNA has ties to terrorist groups, including Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood" -- as if she made it up. In reality, in July 2008 federal prosecutors refused to remove ISNA's status as an unindicted co-conspirator in a Hamas funding case. Hamas defines itself as the Muslim Brotherhood in Palestine.
What seems to be lost in the American blogosphere is the fact that Campbell's halal soups are not offered in the U.S., and the company says it's not planning to.
So what?
The company says ISNA was selected after consultations with professionals in the field of Islamic foods and nutrition, and with Islamic scholars.ISNA has denied any ties to Hamas and has specifically condemned religious extremism and violence, the Washington Post said in a story headlined "A Canadian line of Campbell's soups has activists stewing over Islamic connection."
And the Muslim Brotherhood, a fundamentalist political movement founded in Egypt in the 1920s, is not included in the U.S. State Department's list of foreign terrorist organizations, the report said.
The Muslim Brotherhood "must understand that their work in America is a kind of grand Jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within and 'sabotaging' its miserable house by their hands and the hands of the believers so that it is eliminated and Allah's religion is made victorious over all other religions."
That's from "An Explanatory Memorandum on the General Strategic Goal for the Brotherhood in North America," a 1991 presentation by Muslim Brotherhood operative Mohamed Akram.
The New York Times has also published a profile of the 52-year-old mother of four, who critics say is spreading fear of Islam and a dehumanization of Muslims.
Apparently it is now "dehumanization of Muslims" to report on what they say and do. And of course Merita Ilo doesn't think that Nidal Hasan, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, Faisal Shahzad and all the rest had anything to do with spreading "fear of Islam."
According to the NY Times report, Geller's Atlas Shrugs, which gets about 200,000 unique visitors a month, helped draw thousands to protests against the Ground Zero mosque project earlier this summer. She's also the leader of an organization called Stop Islamization of America.It is not the first time Geller looks north for inspiration.
In 2008, she issued an appeal to raise $4,000 for a headstone for a Muslim-Canadian girl who was killed by her family for refusing to wear a headscarf, the NY Times reported.
Aqsa Parvez, a 16-year-old woman from Mississauga, Ont., was killed by her father and brother after a dispute over her choice of dress, her friends and other issues. The two men were sentenced to life in prison after guilty pleas last June to second-degree murder.
As for the impact the boycott calls have had on Campbell's soup business, the company says it has not noticed any effect on its sales.
Apparently Merita Ilo cares nothing for Aqsa Parvez or others like her. To care for them wouldn't be multicultural.
The source article for this ridiculous Canadian Press piece is "A Canadian line of Campbell's soups has activists stewing over Islamic connection," by Paul Farhi in The Washington Post, October 18. Farhi sneers as well, but not as much as Ilo -- and it's noteworthy that Farhi includes material about the Justice Department designating ISNA an unindicted co-conspirator in a Hamas terror funding case, but Ilo ignores it.
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In the same 1991 Muslim Brotherhood Memo, ISNA is the very first organization listed on the memo's last page as [translated from the Arabic] "A list of our organizations and the organizations of our friends" and a subheading of "[Imagine if t(sic) they all march according to one plan!]"
Yes, Muslim Brotherhood was founded in the 1920's. Another shifty attempt to marginalize the group by making its age soften its impact. The memo was from 1991, Ilo. This group's work is not some chicken-soup goal of having someone pray over soup cans so Muslim consumers can feel good. This is an attempt to begin to integrate policy and personnel into the regulatory agencies of Canada! Are you that stupid?
On another note, Campbell's has its own problem in the United States by reducing the salt content in their regular kids' canned soups even though they also still carry their low-sodium/Healthy Request varieties. Who asked them to do that? More cowing to pressure from special-interest groups rather than their consumers.
My kids wouldn't finish their soup and I ate the rest of what was in the pan. It was unpalatable. The blandest, most vile...a real growler. It's only palatable if you add your own salt. I wrote them a strongly worded letter and they sent me coupons...for Healthy Request! Just not getting it, it appears. Happy to use Ramen noodles and add my own soup goodies and join the boycott.
A trusted brand is an early target...are you surprised?