Boycott one side and the other will boom

AMMAN - When 19th century Iranian Muslim reformist Jamal al-Din al-Afghani first felt the superiority of the West, he suggested that Islam be restored to its original status. If Muslims came back to their religion, they would certainly catch up with, or even overtake Western technological, military and economic advancements, according to al-Afghani's teachings.

But al-Afghani's reform attempts proved to have opened Islam's Pandora's Box. The result was a Muslim comeback to the sociopolitical life and its dominance over almost all aspects of the lives of its followers.

By the early 20th century, secular socialism gained momentum and popularity in the hearts of this region's people's. But the ultimate failure of leftism which was topped by the downfall of the communist empire by the end of the same century, created vacuum and again gave way for a second comeback of Islam to the sociopolitical scene.

Today Islam defines the cultural and national identity of the vast majority of Arabs. When Arab organizations launched boycott campaigns against Israeli goods and products of the American and European firms that support the Israeli economy, those who joined the boycott campaign faced problems in finding alternative products.

But not anymore. Alternative products are here. If your feelings of antagonism to American firms have reached their peak, you can always look for Mecca Cola, a soft drink produced in Saudi Arabia, to quench your thirst.

If not Mecca Cola, then Zamzam Cola, an Iranian soft drink named after the holiest water spring located in the city of Mecca and now available in the Lebanese markets.

The naming in itself shows that several Muslims depict America as a threat to Islam, to their cultural and national identity.

In no means the Muslim approach was targeted against "monopoly" or "capitalist interests."

For their part, leftists launched boycott as a means of economically pressuring multinational corporations to withdraw their capital from Israel as a punishment measure in response to the Israeli oppression against the Palestinians.

Leftists in other parts of the world are opposed to such firms with or without the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. These leftists blame corporations for their "monopoly," "anti-environment productions" and "abuse of child labor" among other reasons.

Some leftists boycotted Coca Cola in response to its investments in Israel, other leftists boycotted the giant soft drink corporation for reasons of anti-capitalism while Islam started their boycott after fears that the US has launched an infidel campaign to wipe out Islam.

No matter what are the reasons behind the boycott of each one of the different factions, the result has been one: Giving advantage to one corporation which might become multinational soon over an already established multinational corporation.

By squeezing itself in the middle, the left would have been giving some advantage to one capitalist firm over another. It would be also supporting one form of national identity against another. Leftism is opposed to both sides in both issues in the first place.