Jordan’s Kinder Surprise Isn’t Danish Enough To Boycott

Folks, I know that those of us who are still sane have been massively affected by the “Messenger of Allah Unites Us” campaign in Jordan that is boycotting Danish products. Suddenly, Lurpak, our favorite butter is no longer sold in stores, and I know, I know, we were all shocked to our core when we discovered that stores were refusing to sell Kinder products because they had been put on the evil “57” black list; now representing the number of the beast known as Denmark.

Butter is one thing, I mean there are hundreds of choices out there, including margarine. But how on God’s green Earth would we survive without our Kinder Bueno or Kinder Surprise Eggs with the cute little plastic toys inside them? And with Kinder being manufactured by Ferrero, I was sure that their other products we all love, like Nutella and Ferrero Rocher, would soon follow, not to mention Ferrari, because you know, it kind of sounds like Ferrero.

But you can all rest easy now.

It turns out, Fact International, the Islamic-oriented Jordanian newspaper that is leading the “Messenger of All Unites Us” campaign – or MOAUU – kind of got their, uhem, facts wrong. It turns out that Kinder is in fact manufactured by Ferrero, which is an Italian company, and shipped to Jordan. Therefore it is not on the evil “57” black list, but on the “80” list denoting Italy: a country we could never boycott because we love their football team too much.

In fact, this was all discovered when Ramzi Mushahwaf, the sole Kinder agent in Jordan, called the campaign up to tell them Kinder is Italian and not Danish. According to the article, Zakaria Sheikh, who is both the Chariman of Fact International and the head of this campaign, still believes that Kinder chocolates sold around the world are produced in Denmark, but the ones that come to Jordan are Italian.

Whew.

That was a close call.

Anyways. Feel free to boycott any of these other Danish products, if you can pronounce their names. The pamphlet looks pretty professional and they are after all distributing half a million copies of these things, so this must be legit. And I’m sure they’re all accurate because after all, if you can’t trust Fact International to check its facts about international products, then who can you trust? Who I say!

p.s. If I was Ramzi Mushahwaf, I would sue the hell out of Zakaria Sheikh.

23 Comments

  • My little brother came home once and was like : we shudn’t by kinder anymore !
    they made fun of prophit Muhammed !
    why did they do that?
    I want to eat kinder !
    Kinder is really good !

    I tried explaining things to him but now he forgot all about it and he is back to eating kinder !!

  • Maersk has its offices in my office building. If anyone is planning to terrorize the Maersk offices in the name of God, please let me know first so that I can evacuate.

  • lol, i wonder if Zakaria Sheikh and his MOAUU members made a background check on where the rest of the items included on the pamphlet are manufactured.
    “p.s. If I was Ramzi Mushahwaf, I would sue the hell out of Zakaria Sheikh.”.. I second you!

    Also, unless some of those Kinder toys are similar to the ones depicted in the cartoons, why prevent the kids, and the adults who like them, from enjoying some good chocolate, while putting together a cute piece of toy? 😉

  • How ignorant can one be!
    Kinder is GERMAN !! maybe also made in Italy, but its GERMAN, how on earth can an italian “kind” look blond, like the face on the choclate on the ?? 😀 .
    kind = child, kinder=children….in GERMAN, not danish. Two years ago, (when Schroeder was the chancellor of Germany) Germany always supported the Arab world in its problems, they didnt send their army to Iraq, so lets Kinder 😀
    I cant believe it, we are eating politics and religion these days.

  • LOL, what about Jack & Jones and Vero Moda at CityMall, and what about Lego? they’re danish too you know 😛

    I call boycotts off, people need to grow up. inno, khalas make fun of them and enjoy life, you only get to live once… pffffffffft jadd ya3ni

  • Lost Within: lool sometimes i think the kids have it right.

    Dave: that’s just selfish dude. i hope you warn other people as you run out the building.

    MD: It was created in Germany but sold to Italys Ferrero, which is the only producer of it now. But they kept the german qualities to the brand.

    Moey: you reminded me…i think i still have my legos in a box some where.

  • Apart from boycotting for prophit mohamad…

    Last week, a danish and dutch newspaper published cartoons on the 400 occassion of church reforms criticizing Jesus in a way dutch and danish christians found it humilitaing.. and the danish newspaper apologized to the public for any inconvenience.

    No one of our angry public pointed out that religious rage is not muslim, the danish media had a different opinion on freedoms, though no riots or burning flags were reported…

    Moreover and most importantly, I did not hear any of those angry muslims getting furious. though, insulting Jesus is as wrongful as insulting prophet mohamad from islamic point of view.

    Apart from religious views on the insult.. while being genuine to defend Jesus as they should for Prophet mohamad, how will that look in global media: savage arabs, savage muslims are defending Jesus christ and do not accept any offence to his religion, legacy as holy and sacred as their own prophet?? that would be something different to hear from angry arabia!

  • “It was created in Germany but sold to Italys Ferrero, which is the only producer of it now. But they kept the german qualities to the brand.”
    My bad, I still see the Kinder Surprise building in Munich whenever I go there 🙂 thats why I thought that its made there, Bad Germans, how they give up one of their best industries.

  • That’s just an evil plot to insert the name of kinder in thel ist to promote the turkish Ulker version of the surprise eggs 🙂

  • Ahmad: you make a valid point. although i’m not aware of the case, i wonder if that article was about jesus himself or church reforms?

    MD: well lets cross our fingers that kerak doesn’t sell it’s jameed to italy. 😉

    salam: lol thats what i like about you salam..always thinking! 😀

  • I’m still waiting for the poster to boycout the Jordanian Government, as it is hurting the economic and social development of it’s own citizens, until when we will stay quiet on the rising prices of everythign in Jordan, we are not sheeps!

  • “not to mention Ferrari, because you know, it kind of sounds like Ferrero.”

    Nas, how can you hit the nail on the head with such dry hilarity?

  • Ok Nas, thanks for making me laugh my head off before a hectic day! This is absolutely hilarious and reveals how these people are utterly absurd and archaic. They are simply “hamajiyyeen” & “ghawgha2iyyeen” in their shallow and noisy approaches.
    For some reason, these little signs remind me of a phrase in Khaled Husseini’s The Kite Runner when Baba says something along the lines of “May God spare us the day these people rule us”.

  • Thanks for the chuckle. And, i solidarity with those who are boycotting, I am also not buying any of the products on the pamphlet (including Kinder and Lurpack). Okay, not for any boycott reasons, but just because I don’t really like them :).

  • @ Nas / MD:

    You’re both wrong 🙂

    I just did a bit of investigations: Kinder has always been a product of the Italian Ferrero company, though it was first produced in Germany in 1967. The name Kinder (“children”) as well as the boy whose face is shown at the package are both German.

    So it’s Italian and German, too 🙂

  • simon, but that’s like someone being born to italian parents in germany. so at the end of the day kinder was produced in germany but is now produced in italy, right?

  • Not so bad to boycott Kinder, I suppose, even if it’s not Danish: although tasty, the kids on the package look possessed. Like on a Children of the Corn/ Village of the Damned type of level.

  • Kinder was not “created” in Germany and sold to Italy. There is nothing German in the Kinder chocolate apart from the name and the little kid chosen as a model in the cover of the chocolate (which is chamging anyhow).

    It is a 100% Italian chocolate, invented and produced by Ferrero since its origin. Ferrero never let anyone produce by license and keeps its secret jealously. It was ONLY produced first in a factory Ferrero had built in Germany to enter the new market in 1967 and starting the year later also in other markets. Ferrero is huge and produces chocolate and other confectionery products in many markets but the products are all italian, more so as Ferrero is not a quoted company but one of the largest privately (family) owned companies in the world. Ferrero family is one of the richest in Italy having the company conquered most markets. Some other products are called with Spanish, Italian, French names as well as others but no one among the French, Spanish etc. think Ferrero products are their own.

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