JEDDAH, 2 May 2008 — The impact of a Muslim boycott on Holland, which was launched earlier this month in response to a controversial anti-Qur’an film, entitled “Fitna,” is still unclear. The film was produced by Dutch MP Geert Wilders and paints a negative image of Islam by connecting the Holy Qur’an to violence. In response, Muslims worldwide launched a boycott of Dutch products via SMS and the Internet from April 10 to 25. Several online blogs listed up to 30 food and beauty products, including Doritos chips, Perrier Water, Nescafe and Buitoni Pasta, and asked Muslims to join the Dutch boycott by avoiding these items. Arab News visited six local supermarket chains to get a glimpse of the economic effect the boycott is having, if any. Attesting to low interest in the items on the boycott list among shoppers, many supermarkets had launched special promotion offers for these products, adding special gifts such as a box of free cereal, baby bowls and spoons. Other stores added Dutch items to a clearance bin and drastically marked down prices. One store said that instead of “punishing” the Netherlands, local retailers were feeling the brunt of the boycott by being stuck with goods customers refuse to buy. According to Saudi customs laws, traders are unable to return excess stock to manufacturers abroad. Najat Dughaish, a shopper in Jeddah, said, “I think a majority of people were involved in protesting against Dutch products, while others were confused about which products to boycott.” She added, “In my opinion, with or without the boycott, I believe the message is clear that people, no matter who they are, can’t insult Islam and expect Muslims to do nothing about it. Muslims want to warn the world that they are an economic force to be reckoned with and that they are only asking for the respect of their religion.” Arab News contacted the Dutch Embassy in Riyadh for an estimate of the impact the boycott may have incurred. In an e-mail, Dr. Menno Lensko, head of the Economics Department at the Dutch Embassy, said there was no information and referred Arab News to the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Rob Dekker, spokesperson at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Amsterdam, said, “The Netherlands is aware of private initiatives that call, mostly through the Internet and SMS, for the consumer boycott of Dutch products in response to the release of the Internet film, Fitna, by an individual Member of Parliament who represents a minority opposition party.” He added, “This concerns products that are being sold in very different types of markets in different countries. Currently there is no information available on the outcome of these private initiatives.” Dekker added that the Dutch government is aware of the feelings that the film has evoked among Muslims. “As you are aware the Netherlands government has made it clear from the start that it completely dissociates itself from the content of this film because of the views it expresses, its offensive generalizations and its polarizing effect. In no way does this film reflect the views or the policies of the Netherlands government. We regret Dutch trade and industry would experience negative consequences abroad for an Internet film it is not responsible for,” he said.
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