Muslims from Minnesota are at it once again. In the past they tried to pressure the Long John Silver fast food chain to drop a toy that was "offensive" to Muslims. This time they have crossed the border to Wisconsin and targeted a brand of fireworks which they deemed "racist".
Hat tip to Insane Flyer Fan.
Racially offensive fireworks off Wisconsin shelves
A Wisconsin retailer agreed to stop selling a line of fireworks after Minnesota Muslims protested that it's racist.
By JEFF STRICKLER, Star Tribune
July 4, 2009
Fireworks called Run Hadji Run were pulled off the shelves of a Wisconsin store after Minnesota Muslims complained that they were racist.
The Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MN) said that the name and the packaging are demeaning. One side of the package has a drawing of Uncle Sam yanking the long beard of a man in traditional Muslim attire, while the other shows a Stealth bomber flying over a group of Arabs riding camels. In addition, "Hadji" is an honorific for those who have completed the pilgrimage to Mecca.
"I've seen other fireworks that I thought were pushing the line on being offensive, but this clearly went too far," Jessica Zikri, the communications director of CAIR-MN, said Saturday. "Hopefully, this will help keep other groups from being targeted this way."
The company that imported the fireworks from China, Missouri-based Red Rhino Fireworks, said that they are at least three years old and were distributed by the firm's previous owners. But they are still listed in the company's online catalog, which said they send off 16 red, green and blue "strobe comets" over a period of 28 seconds.
They were discovered by a shopper Friday afternoon at Fireworks City in Baldwin, Wis. Reports of their existence reached CAIR-MN, which demanded their removal and they were removed from the sales stock late Friday.
Because the fireworks were distributed several years ago, there's no way of telling if other stores still have some, Zikri acknowledged.
"But we're happy that this store saw the logic" of halting sales, she said. "We contacted [Red Rhino], and hopefully they will tell other stores to get rid of any remaining product they might have."
Link to Article
4 comments:
And did the Wisconsin muslim group offer any recompense for the lost amounts in sales?? I gather this was done just in time for the 4th July celebrations too. I would not be surprised if this was a concerted effort of CAIR to go to many more outlets checking for 'offensive' products.
I am just wondering though, with the statement of...
"But we're happy that this store
saw the logic of halting sales,"... what would have been the case if the storeowner told them to go take a flyin' leap and that they had a living to make??
it's rediculous that the store owner removed them! Why do we fall for this crap??
I named my dog Hadji, are they gonna have a problem with that? I dressed him up in hijab for my book, too. Think they'll have a problem with that?
No more backing down, time to stand up!
Az Zaqqum
Oh yeah, and I wrote the a book on "The humor of islam...you'll die laughing".
Buy a copy, Chris gets a donation, so does the Wounded Warriors, read it and send it to your local cair office!
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