October 18, 2010

A grass-roots group of conservatives are boycotting Campbell Soup Co. They are unhappy that the Canadian subsidiary of Campbell Soup has developed a line of soups that are certified as halal (which means they're prepared according to Islamic dietary laws). The halal-certified soups were introduced in a few Canadian markets in January. Surprisingly, the world didn't explode when these soups hit the shelves. In fact, these new products obviously had such a deleterious effect and so quickly unwound the social fabric of our very society...and that's why it took U.S. conservative bloggers almost a year before they even realized this was happening. They just found out about this earlier this month.

A conservative blogger, Pamela Geller, called for the boycott (her blog name? Atlas Shrugs. Of course.), and soon other bloggers joined in. Pamela Geller says she's not opposed to the halal certification itself, rather she's opposed to Campbell's decision to have the products certified by the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA). Government prosecutors alleged that this organization had ties to Hamas (the Islamist organization that rules the Gaza Strip. The U.S. State Department classifies Hamas as a terrorist organization). The Indiana-based ISNA was designated an "unindicted co-conspirator" in the 2007 prosecution of a charitable organization that funneled money to Hamas. 

ISNA has denied any ties to Hamas or to officials of the now-defunct charity Holy Land Foundation, which was convicted in the conspiracy case. The ISNA has specifically condemned religious extremism and violence. Campbell investigated ISNA's background and found "no issues of concern." Campbell's ads for the halal soup state that ISNA is "the largest nonprofit, religious, educational, and non-political Islamic organization in North America." The ISNA was referred to Campbell by a Canadian trade organization whose member companies have used ISNA for their halal certification for years. A Campbell company spokesman said, "They are a very legitimate entity. We feel very comfortable working with them." [He also mentioned that Campbell had set up a tent at the World Trade Center immediately after the attacks and offered free soup and food to rescue workers and the media. Of course he had to get that in! I imagine he also brought up their support of breast cancer awareness this month, and that they're releasing special pink cans. Corporate "philanthropy" aside, it's sad that he's pretty much having to say "No, we're not terrorist-supporters. See, we helped volunteer workers on 9/11!"]

Pamela Geller said, "No one is suggesting they not have halal food. I'm not against halal food any more than I'm against kosher food (is that supposed to be reassuring?). My issue is who's doing the certifying." Call me skeptical, but I believe the anger over these halal-certified soups does in fact have something to do with these conservatives' general concern/fear/hatred/whatever of Islam. This is the same blogger that generated opposition to the Islamic community center and mosque in Lower Manhattan (the so-called "Ground Zero Mosque"). I think they're playing it up as if they don't have a problem with the line, per se, but with who is doing the certifying. I'm sure they do in fact have a problem with who is doing the certifying, but I don't think it stops there. They'd probably find something wrong with any group that would provide halal certification (because they would be a Muslim group, and therein lies the problem. It seems like you can't have Muslims forming a group without fear that they're funding terrorists). I think it's more that these people are unhappy with the "Islamicization of America" (even though this is happening in Canada and this line isn't even available in the US...Which is stupid, this line should be available in the U.S.). I think having something so American as Campbell's Soup being "contaminated" by a halal-certified label kind of freaks these conservatives out. When you think about it, there's plenty of reasons to boycott plenty of corporations. Of all the terrible things corporations do, how did they decide on getting worked up about this particular product (that's not even available in the US)? I think it's because of the Islamic connection. So they can say it has nothing to do with Islam/Muslims, and more to do with preventing terrorism. But I'm not buying it -- I'm boycotting their explanation (you see what I did there?!). 

Regardless of the original intent of the boycott, the boycott is quickly becoming more about anti-Muslim sentiment than apprehension towards ISNA. The facebook page for the boycott seems more concerned with the halal-certification than with the ISNA. Their page says "BOYCOTT Campbell Soup for their certification of their products as halal - and supporting the Muslim Brotherhood." That last part seems to be a footnote, an afterthought. And how exactly is Campbell linked to the Muslim Brotherhood now (the Muslim Brotherhood is a fundamentalist political movement founded in Egypt in the 1920s. The U.S. State department does not classify the Muslim Brotherhood as a foreign terrorist organization)? How exactly has it been established that Campbell is supporting the Muslim Brotherhood (or even that ISNA and the Muslim Brotherhood are linked)? In the overview for their facebook page, it says "Campbell's Soup goes halal with approval from Hamas-linked ISNA [despite this 'fact' not actually being established]. ISNA had admitted ties to Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood [Another completely incorrect 'fact'. Where are they even getting this information? Or are they just making it up?]. The site also says "Warhol is spinning in his grave." I'm sure Andy Warhol is spinning in his grave, but only because these crazy conservatives are using him and his artwork as a rallying cry. Plus, they hardly mention on the site that this soup line is only happening in Canada. 

The Facebook site, with 3,500 members, has pretty much become a forum for anti-Muslim comments, articles, and pictures (like a photoshopped picture of a Campbell's soup can that is labeled "Suicide Bomber Soup"). And the wall posts extend beyond the Campbell boycott; there's several other posts on the idea that Muslims are taking over or are harmful. For instance, an article was recently posted by the page creator about a Massachusetts school system getting a Muslim holiday (Cambridge public schools will close for one Muslim holiday each year beginning next year. Cambridge schools already close for some Christian and Jewish holidays. More here.). Outrage ensues in the comments section. Like I said, I don't think this boycott is really about ISNA, per se, this is about fear of Islam/Muslims. 

The Campbell spokesman said they haven't noticed any effect on their sales since the boycott started. (Full Story)