Amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, a video by Al Jazeera English emerged on Tuesday (14th November) which showed how Muslim shopkeepers in India are boycotting American and Israeli products like Pepsi and Coca-Cola to support the so-called Palestinian cause. Shopkeepers, families, and even a 9-year-old kid were seen ‘supporting’ Palestine through this economic boycott.
Notably, Al Jazeera seems to be glorifying the boycott of Israeli and American products by Indian Muslims, the same media house which had earlier complained about Hindus allegedly boycotting Muslim businesses.
According to the video by Al Jazeera, Muslim shopkeepers in India are no longer selling Israeli and US products to show support for Palestinians in Gaza. A shop Mohammad Nadeem showed in this video said, “Our income will be decreased a bit. We can’t really fight them, but we can boycott their economy.” The fridge in Mohammad Nadeem’s store did not show any cold drinks like Pepsi and Coca-Cola. Additionally, there was a chart on the counter of the shop displaying the brands to be boycotted by Muslims.
The chart has a long list of products boycotted by Muslim shopkeepers, including Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Fanta, Sprite, Cadbury, Kitkat, Nestle, Nescafe, Toblerone, Puma, HP, Siemens, Maybelline, Johnsons, Lifebuoy, McDonald, Pizza Hut, Burger King, Subway, KFC, Loreal, Baskin Robbin, Levis, Tide, Ariel, Colgate and many others.
It is interesting to note that some of the products listed are not American or Israeli products, like Nestle, Puma, Siemens, Lifebuoy (Unilever) etc, and many are restaurant chains and not products sold at retail stores.
These Muslim shopkeepers in India are no longer stocking Israeli and US products in support of the people of Palestine, starting a movement amongst the local community ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/3m0Nf5gE4k
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) November 13, 2023
According to this video, a boycott has been started as a movement in various Muslim-dominated areas in the country and many families are boycotting the products manufactured by the companies mentioned in the boycott list. This video also identifies 9-year-old Asher Imtiyaz as a ‘boycott participant’. He said, “After I heard this, I stopped buying these products. Iconic brands which we used to love as children have become violent. The money they are using is supporting the Israeli government. And I don’t want any more wars, any more violence to happen. We need to stop buying these products to save Gaza.”
Another boycotter Nikhat Rehman said, “This is our small contribution because we the common public here don’t have any other way to show our support. So, I thought if we boycott Israeli and American products in this way, it will be a small contribution from us for the people over there.” However, she did not specifically tell why she wanted to give this small contribution to the people of Gaza and in what way she is related to the Gazans although she lives in India.
The shopkeeper Mohammad Nadeem in this propaganda video also underlined how Muslims in India have become aware of this cause and how the demand for the blacklisted brands is reducing. He said, “The demand that used to exist earlier has also disappeared now. When we boycott this, it will have an impact somewhere, and it has already.” Al Jazeera also falsely accused the Indian government of cracking down on pro-Palestine protests by Muslims in India and supporting pro-Israel demonstrations.
Notorious Islamist hatemonger Sharjeel Usmani is also seen in this video. He said, “First of all, protesting here, in itself is a battle. Clashes with the police, imprisonment, and legal cases. Recently, students at Aligarh Muslim University protested in support of Palestine and as a result, FIRs were filed against four of them.” The report from Al Jazeera also falsely claims that Muslims in India are under attack by what it called far-right supporters of India’s ruling Hindu nationalist party BJP.
This movement of Muslims in India boycotting ‘Jewish’ products has come weeks after Pakistanis and Islamists in other Muslim countries across the globe started boycotting various companies and their products either because they are owned by Jews or because they are owned by Americans who in turn support Israel.
The boycott is taken as a way to underline their commitment priority to the Islamic Ummah over anything else. Earlier, a Muslim woman named Amina Shaikh was seen outside the Palestinian embassy in New Delhi. She was demanding a visa for Palestine so that she could go and help her fellow Muslims allegedly under attack in Gaza.
One of the Pakistani X handles wrote, “Turkey removes Coca-Cola and Nestle products from cafeterias and restaurants inside parliament because the companies allegedly ‘support Israel.”
🇹🇷 Turkey removes Coca Cola and Nestle products from cafeterias and restaurants inside parliament because the companies allegedly 'support Israel.#Turkiye #Gaza #فلسطين_تنتصر #GazaHolocaust #Palestine pic.twitter.com/pi6ITmtn4q
— The Pakistan Frontier (@PakFrontier) November 7, 2023
The list of boycotted companies and products is as long as it can be. The noted brands included in this boycott list are Nestle, McDonald’s, Snickers, Tide, Tang, Lays, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Domino’s, Pizza Hut, Puma, HP, etc.
However, it is notable that the Pakistani cricket team that played the ICC Cricket World Cup in India had a Pepsi logo on their jersey as Pepsi was the main sponsor of the Pakistani cricket team. They did not boycott it during the World Cup matches when the Israel Hamas was going on.
Al Jazeera had complained about the alleged boycott of Muslims in India
While Qatari media house Al Jazeera is now glorifying Indian Muslims for boycotting American and Israeli products, the same media house had earlier talked about the economic hardship faced by Muslims after boycott calls by Hindus. The media house had said that Muslims are being targeted in India after some villages in Haryana issued letters boycotting Muslims following the Nuh violence.
