INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND
Until these recent years, since centuries long Zionist Israeli's aggression
against the Palestinian widened and worsened, the Muslim through the
world felt that they have to do something to help the oppressed nation.
They feel the necessity to fight back according to their limited might. As a
result boycotting and demonstrations through public rally has been done
with the support of several organisations including political parties. They
demand the aggressor for total ceasefire and withdrawal from Gaza and
Palestinian land. Target of the boycott campaign against Israel and their
proxies including the United States (US), are their franchised fast food
outlets such as McDonald's, Starbuck and many other daily goods product
of Nestls and as such.

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
The series of the boycotting and demonstration events is to create
awareness on the sensitivities of the issue. As a matter of fact, in many
countries, the public participated in the campaign including Malaysians.
But sadly, some of the participants of the campaign, as they have little
understanding of the root of the boycott campaign, acted wrongly that has
created some backfire to the organiser. An incident in Kerteh and Dungun,
Terengganu are few example of the wrong doings.

OBJECTIVE
The objective of writing this report is to describe the incident that
happened and the problem caused.

SCOPE OF THE REPORT

This topic will cover the definitions, example of boycotting event during
the age of Rasulullah (PBUH) and examples of wrong doings in boycotting
in Malaysia. In addition, this report will also discuss the possible solutions
to the problem.

BODY

SUB TOPIC 1: DEFINITION OF BOYCOTTING

The refusal to purchase the products of an individual, corporation, or
nation as a way to bring social and political pressure for change.
(www.oxforddictionaries.com, 2014)

Verb

1. (Transitive) to refuse to have dealings with (a person, organization, etc)

or refuse to buy (a product) as a protest or means of coercion: to boycott
foreign produce.

Noun

2. An instance or the use of boycotting.

Boycott is a pressure that is used to push for a specific company
policies or specific country changed from supporting the repression and
tyranny against Muslims directly or indirectly, to not support injustice or
neutral. Boycott included in the concept of al-Bara' that meaning is left,
hate or do not help anything not related to Islam and Muslims, especially
relating enemy of the Muslims.1

1 http://muzir.wordpress.com/2012/11/20/boikot-produk-yang-menyokong-yahudi-zionistsekutunya/

SUB TOPIC 2: BOYCOTT DURING THE AGE OF RASULULLAH

Islamic history from the time of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be

upon Him) reveals that boycott in various forms was a common theme.
The Muslims were a very small minority but they drew their strength from
their firm belief in Allah. They also gathered up enough courage to offer
salaat in the Kabah.
The Quraish were in a dilemma and claimed that not all the people
of Banu Hashim and Banu Abu Talib were Muslims. Yet they would not
dare to attack the Muslims. They demanded of Abu Talib unless he handed
over Rasulullah (SAW) to them, the whole Banu Hashim family of Makkah
will be subjected to a general boycott and isolation. The boycott would
also include all those who sympathies with the Muslim.
As a result, all the heads of the Quraish met and drew up a 'charter' to
publish a complete list of items of boycott. The list included among other
things, the prohibition of: associating or greeting any Muslim; marriage
with a Muslim; socializing; buying and selling; the supply of any kind of
food. The charter was signed by all the heads of the Quraish and sworn
upon. It was hung in the Ka'bah for the notice of all.
Thus for three long years, from the seventh year of Nubuwwat to the
tenth year of Nubuwwat, the Muslims suffered severe hardship, starvation
and privacy, want of clothing and bare necessities.

The stock of grain

which Abu Talib had gathered was soon used up and there was not a grain
of food left. Some Muslims ate leaves of trees, and men women children
were thin and weak from starvation.

In the tenth year of Nubuwwat, the remainder of the Banu Hashim

tribe in Makkah could not bear to see the hardship suffered by
Rasulullah (SAW) and

his

family.

Hisham-ibn-Amr-Rabeeah

began

campaign to end the boycott . He was supported by Abu Baukhtari-binHishaam and Zam'a-bin-Aswad. They carried this campaign to the Ka'bah
before the Quraish. Meanwhile Rasulullah (SAW) declared the message of
Allah, that the 'Charter' hanging in the ka'bah had no validity because
only the word 'Allah' had remained while all the other writings were
destroyed by white ants. It was thus that the boycott came to an end.
(Boycott: An Islamic Response to the Occupation of Palestine, 2011)
SUB TOPIC 3: EXAMPLE OF WRONG DOING IN BOYCOTTING IN MALAYSIA.

i.

VANDALISM
As we know, many people boycott the Israel product because it is a

protest against Israels military offensives in Gaza which have killed

almost 2,000 Palestinians, including many innocent civilians and children.
Many methods are used to show their boycott on the Israels product
including the extreme demonstrations that give a lot of vandalism,
destroying property and facilities.
Vandalism in oxford dictionary means the crime of destroying or
damaging something, especially public property, deliberately and for no
good reason. (www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com, 2014)
Vandalism always happened in many countries including Malaysia.
Usually it is involved when something that unsatisfied for certain
individuals. Many people do the wrong way to boycott by using the
vandalism and they think all their behaviour will settle down the problem.
Based on view, McDonald is one of Israel product that boycott by
Malaysian

citizen.

Most

citizens expressed support

for

the

idea

of

pressuring Israel to stop its offensives. At some McDonalds franchises

especially in Kerteh and Dungun where aggressive demonstrations caused

disruption and was seen as a threat to the workers.

There were also

negative reactions to the protest, which became violent when stones were
thrown at some McDonalds stores. Some branches were forced to close
while

others suffered an

80

percent

loss

of

revenue.

(http.english.astroawani.com, 2014)

Besides, McDonalds Malaysia today expressed their disappointment

over the nationwide boycott of their restaurants which led to vandalism
and the safety of their employees being threatened.

Malaysia national newspaper the New Straits Times reported on

Wednesday that pro-Palestinian groups are rallying support to urge
customers to avoid McDonalds restaurants on Friday. The rally for support
took an ugly twist in the state of Terengganu where protestors were
spotted the protestors are throwing objects and rattling the doors with
demonstrations in front of or near any McDonalds premises. 2
Images and viral videos of boycotters damaging the premises, as
well as targeting cars with their drive-thru stickers and spreading
offensive abuse on the Internet have made it difficult for workers to work
in these premises. The situation has been unfair for the employees and
franchisees, as they have been subjected to harassment, threats, verbal
abuse and vandalism that cause some outlets to close their operations.

2 Newspaper New Straits Time, Wednesday, 6 August 2014

We can conclude that the extreme demonstration is the wrong way

in boycott. It is such a source the act of vandalism. Besides, it is not only
effect to the individuals but also to our country.

ii.

INSULTING AND HUMILIATING

One of the examples of wrong doing in boycott is insulting and

humiliating. This happened to the employees of Mc Donald.

These

phenomenon occur at Kuala Lumpur when they said that their staff had to
endure harassment, threats and verbal over the boycott of Israel product
led by certain parties.
In the other hand, there is also a case in Petaling Jaya where a group
of youths pulling a prank on a McDonald's fast food restaurant staff.
Three youths were seen driving up to a drive-through counter at a
McDonald's restaurant and ordering some food. When it was their turn to
pay, they screamed anti-Israeli sentiments at the cashier before driving
away. Actually, it was not the right way to stage a boycott of the franchise.
Islam does not teach its followers to do insulting and contempting
other even though they are not using verbal abuse. For example, there
was a case happened at Dungun, an annoying man was eating Nasi
Kerabu at Mc Donald premise.
Indeed, Allah S.W.T forbids His servants to do so in line with Quran (alHujurat, verse: 11)
O you who believe! Let not a group derides another. It may be that the
latter are better than the former. Nor let women deride other women. It
may be that the latter are better than the former. Neither defames one
another, nor insults one another by nicknames [since] doing wrong after
having faith is an evil practice [unbefitting you]. And whosoever does not
repent [of committing such deeds], then they are indeed wrong-doers.

http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2014/08/09/mcdonalds-boycott-videogoes-viral/

iii.

DISTURBING ON THE PEACEFULNESS OF SOCIETY

Demonstration is also one of wrongdoing in boycotting of Israel

product include disturbing on peacefulness of society. Demonstration is an
event in which people gather together in order to show that they support
or oppose something or someone or an act of showing or proving
something. Some quarters of boycott team has created the state of
uneasiness among the public and traffic flow while demonstrating. Some
activists of the boycott team are unaware that some individuals have
taken quite a violent action and it is not the purpose of the campaign. In
Dungun, more than 2,000 youths took part in a demonstration aimed at
raising awareness on the campaign to boycott Israeli products. In this
case, the demonstration at the first are planned in peaceful but it
becomes tragedy when some of the competitor intrude the Mc Donalds
Restaurant and distract the peacefulness of customers and workers3.
According to this case, Aqsa Syarif Berhad chairman Prof Madya Dr
Hafidzi Mohd Noor expressed regret with the protesters actions in
throwing objects and rattling the doors of the restaurant in Dungun,
Terengganu, which he said violated the law and Islamic precepts. Even
though consumers have the right to conduct a boycott to put pressure, it
is not appropriate to use physical or verbal actions to scare people, or to
harm the premise owner and workers physically or emotionally, he
added. To prevent such things from being repeated by irresponsible

3 http://www.sinarharian.com.my/mobile/edisi/terengganu/galas-senjata-kamitak-mampu-1.306090

parties, Aqsa Syarif discourages people from holding demonstrations or

rallies in front of or near any McDonalds premises, he said. 4
The incident its disappointment when the purpose of the boycott
are not achieve fully, especially when people of Malaysia show a bad
attitude and not understand what is a boycott. As a result, we just loss our
energy and be a sinner in the sake of Allah.

iv.

SEASON
Nowadays, Boycott has become a popular phenomenon in a Malaysias

society. The reason people boycott is because they feel sympathize

towards a Muslim in Palestine due to Israels violences.
Firstly, most people in Malaysia boycott inconsistent way. This
scenario only happened when there is a conflict and war between Israel
and Palestine. For an example, Malaysian societies do the boycott
demonstration in front Mc Donalds franchise in 8th August 2014. This
demonstration only happened for a few days, and this situation showed
that most people in Malaysian not do the boycott consistently.
Secondly, if we do the observation towards Israels product in our
country, we will see a lot product that exported from Israel, such as
Nestle, Maggi, Loreal, Nokia, Intel, Johnson & Johnson, Boss, Starbuck,
CNN, Coca cola, Kit Kat, Careefour, tesco, and etc. But, as we known, most
people only boycott some products, such as McD. Eventhough all these
product give a higher commission and return to Israel, but still, most
people would choose Mc Donalds as their choice to boycott. When we
observed, Mc Donalds is something that beyond our expectation. Actually
all McDs commission is not distributed to Israel. In fact, it is distributed to
United State. This observation shows that the Mc Donalds commission
4 http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/pro-palestinian-ngocondemns-rowdy-protest-at-mcdonalds-in-dungun

contribution to Israel is less compared to any other products such as

Tesco, Nestle, coca cola and so on.

SUB TOPIC 4: SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEMS

Vandalism and Violence Demonstration

a) The Boycott Campaign

The Government should take the lead to the campaign. Malaysian
government did take part in certain way for getting involved in boycotting
Israel. Our government has no political and economical ties with Israel,
but Malaysia should do more than that. Such fast food franchised to
business companies that dominates fast food outlets should not be
overwhelming. They changed the public eating habit. If the government
limits granting licences to such outlets, the boycotting campaign will not
be so hugs. If the government leads the campaign, the public rallies.
Demonstration and boycotting events will be well organised.

b) Role of Media
The mass media and electronic media have to do their role to educate the
public. In this case of Boycott Campaign of Israeli's product, the media
should give wide coverage of the issues. Announcement from the Ministry
of Defence, the police department and also not less to the organisers of
certain demonstrations and public rallies. The public should be told the
do's and donts to build their awareness.

c) Law Enforcement and Security Measures

Government should impose stricter law and punishment to law breakers.
As in the incident that happened in Kerteh and Dungun, Terengganu few
months ago, the Police Department should have taken measures so as to
avoid unwanted consequences. More police officers should be employed.

The organiser would always deny that they recognise any wrong doing
since the demons Trans were from many discipline and group including
officers from the police Special Branch. The Traffic Unit should determine
that the traffic flow not to be jeopardise. If road diversion is necessary, it
should be done and the public should be pre-informed.

d) Organiser's Commitment
Organisers of the boycott campaign should have high discipline and to be
a law abiding group. Their reason of boycott should be clear and not of
self-interest. They must avoid radical and vandalism among their
followers. They should give their full cooperation to the law enforcers.
Should there any problem arise, the organiser should seek advice from the
authority.

INSULTING AND HUMILIATING

a) Use the polite way in boycotting

As a Muslim, we need to use the correct ways to boycott their
products as it will show the Muslim identities. In fact, it is compulsory for
Muslim to display these values at all times, not only if they feel like it.
Muslims are required to contribute positively towards society and to
always conduct themselves with the highest of morals and best of action.
Islam teaches us to shows the politeness and behave courtesy to all
people in the world even during boycott the Israel products.
Although, boycotting is one of the ways to show that we are not
agreed what the Israel have done to Palestine, but we need to ensure that
the ways we use it are not harm and not give negative impact to others
people. For example, we boycott McDonalds but this doesnt seem we
need to hate or humiliate the people who work at McDonalds Restaurant.

We need to respect them as for them working at the McDonalds is the

ways to them to earn money for support their living cost.
b) Persuade workers to find another job
We also can persuade workers who work with the Israel companies
to find the others job. The way to persuade them by show the hardship
and cruelty that Zionist created. Therefore, it is necessary for people who
work in McDonald to quit the job and find a more noble work, especially to
Muslims. This action is result of awareness on the sensitivities of the issue.
In conclusion, Muslims cherish universal values, it is clear that we cannot
harm others. Humiliating and evil can cause resentment and hatred
among people and will loss the manners that been taught by the Prophet.
From the words of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)
The best among you are those who have the best manners and
character.
None of you can be a believer unless he loves for his brother (in faith)
what he loves for himself.(Bukhari&Muslims) (
2009 ,, p. 93)

SEASON

a) Must understand the purpose of Boycotting

To overcome the issue of seasonal in Boycotting, we must
understand the purpose of boycotting. According to Shaykh Yusuf Al
Qaradawi, Islamic scholar about buy items from Israeli sources, even
though this money may be used to help the Jewish "war machine", he
said, "Each riyal, dirham etc. used to buy their goods eventually
becomes a bullet to be fired at the hearts of brothers and children in
Palestine. For this reason, it is an obligation not to help them (the
enemies of Islam) by buying their goods. To buy their goods is to support

tyranny, oppression and aggression." For this reason, it is an obligation

not to help them (the enemies of Islam) by buying their goods.
To buy their goods is to support tyranny, oppression and aggression.
Buying goods from them will strengthen them, our duty is to make them
as weak as we can. Our obligation is to strengthen our resisting brothers
in the Sacred Land as much as we can. If we cannot strengthen the
brothers, we have a duty to make the enemy weak. If their weakness
cannot be achieved except by boycott, we must boycott them.5

b) Boycott based on affordable

Based on his statement we can understand that the important of
boycotting continuously, but it must be done in the correct way. In fact, we
should boycott what we can leave such as food products, clothing,
cosmetics, daily necessities, and cigarettes and so on because we still
have a lot of alternatives. Based products made by those who still rely on
them as Muslims product information technology, science, computers,
medicine and weapons, some scholars have given a fatwa that we can
use them in so far as our needs. It is because; we lack alternatives in this
product. So in this problem, we boycott so affordable. If we boycott, many
aspects of our lives will be affected progress.

c) Coolabration and collective in boycotting of all Muslim

Seasonal boycotting Israel product does not affect the economy. If
we want to bring down the entire economy, Malaysian community should
work together in boycotting the product. It is important to ensure that the
boycott is running smoothly and consistently.

5 http://www.inminds.com/boycott-fatwas.html

It also needs a collective collaboration of all Muslims. Quantity that many

Muslims around the world is certainly capable of paralyzing the
achievement of sales of international companies, and dropped the
economy. Certainly, it is effective to some level.

d) The role of housewife

Besides that, the wives, who control the houses, have a role to play
in this matter, which may be more important than the role of the man,
because women supervise the needs of the house, and buy what must go
inside the house. She is on hand to guide the boys and girls. She plants
the Jihadist spirit in the children, and educates them in what they must do
for their Ummah and its causes, and what they must do to the Ummah's
enemies, especially in the area of boycott. When the children understand
this they will carry on the boycott enthusiastically and later will lead the
parents.6

6 http://www.inminds.com/boycott-fatwas.html