The Muslim World of Colas
1. In the Muslim world, cola drinks are as popular as ever. Coca-Cola and
Pepsi are well-known brands. Moreover, in recent years, several Muslim cola drink companies have emerged1 to compete with the U.S. beverage giants.
2. Zam-Zam Cola, Mecca-Cola, Qibla-Cola, Star-Cola, Arab-Cola, and Cola Turka are gaining popularity in Muslim and other countries worldwide. The three latest entrants2 in the “cola wars”-Mecca-Cola, Qibla-Cola, and Cola Turka –use politically minded advertisements to urge customers to buy cola drinks marketed by Muslim-owned companies, not American brands.
3. Mecca-Cola’s cans and bottles have red-and-white designs similar to Coca-Cola’s. But their bottles also promise that 10 percent of its profits will be donated3 to Palestinian children. And their ads have a strong message: buy local, not U.S. brands: “No more drinking stupid”, say Mecca-Cola’s ads. “Drink with commitment.” Mecca-Cola was started in France in November 2002 by a French businessman of Tunisian origins.
4. Likewise, Pakistani businesswoman Zahida Parveen started Qibla-Cola in Great Britain in January 2003. Her company promises to donate 10 percent of its profits to the charity4 organization, Islamic Aid.
5. Also in 2003, a new Turkish cola, Cola Turka, was launched in Turkey. Advertising Age magazine reported that the company’s television ads feature U.S. actor Chevy Chase. The ads show Chase and his family in New York City, drinking Cola Turka.
6. Several Muslim colas get their names from the Islamic religion. Mecca, Saudi Arabia, is the religious capital of the Muslim World. Millions of followers make a pilgrimage5 to the holy city every year. Qibla is the Arabic word for the direction in which Muslims face when praying toward Mecca. Zam-Zam is named after Mecca’s Zamzam holy spring water.
7. The Zam-Zam soft drink company was founded in 1954. For a long time, Zam-Zam was the Iranian partner of Pepsi. Then, the Pepsi contract was terminated after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.6 In the summer of 2002, sales of Zam-Zam rose in Saudi Arabia during the Saudi boycott7 of Coke and Pepsi. In the United Arab Emirates, a regional drink called Star Cola saw sales explode in 2003.
8. In May 2003, grocery stories in the Arab- dominated Barbes district of Paris reported strong sales of Mecca-Cola,. On French television Channel 5, shoppers said they bought Mecca-Cola because the company gave money to Arab charities.
9. Similarly, British shoppers said in the TV report that they would buy Qibla-Cola rather than Coke or Pepsi to show their opposition to U.S. and British political policies. The United States and Great Britain fought a war to overthrow8 the government in Iraq. Mecca-Cola responded to the antiwar feelings by handing out free bottles of the drink to antiwar protestors in London in 2003.
10. Tawfik Mathlouthi, founder of Mecca-Cola, said in the French TV report that his company was the first to use politics to sell a beverage. He assured customers that his company had worked hard to ensure product quality since taste was the main reason people purchase a cola again.
11. Still, despite the rising popularity of Muslim Colas, Coke and Pepsi will continue to dominate the world’s cola markets, according to John Sicher, editor of the publication Beverage Digest. “One has to be respectful of any product which represents a political or social protest, but in terms of volume and market share, this will not be a threat to Coca-Cola or Pepsi,” he said.
New words:
1.emerged=came out or appeared
2.entrants=people who enter a competition
3. donated=given as a gift to fund or cause
4. charity=an organization that gives money to help people who need it
5. pilgrimage= a trip to a holy place for a religious reason
6. Islamic Revolution= in 1979, the shah (king) of Iran was overthrown by a revolution of his people. They replaced him with Islamic leaders who ruled the country according to the rules of their religion (Islam)
7. boycott= to act together by refusing to buy something, use something, or take part in something as a way of protesting.
8. overthrow=to remove a leader or government from power by force.
Exercise 17 on page 24. Identifying major points
Work with a partner. Read the major point sentences in the chart below. With your partner, write the paragraph number(s) in Selection 2 in which these major points appear. Discuss your answers with your classmates.
Major points
|
Paragraph number(s)
|
|
1
|
Three
new cola companies are using politics to sell their drinks.
|
|
2
|
Mecca-Cola
ads ask shoppers to think before they buy a cola.
|
|
3
|
The
Qibla-Cola company says it will give money to charity.
|
|
4
|
Muslim
colas get their names from religious items.
|
|
5
|
Cola
Turka started in Turkey.
|
|
6
|
The
oldest Muslim cola company started in Iran.
|
|
7
|
Shoppers
in France and Great Britain buy Muslim colas.
|
|
8
|
Quality
is the most important way to make sure people will buy Mecca-Cola again, the
company owner says.
|
|
9
|
An
expert on the cola drink industry says that Coke and Pepsi are still the
world’s best-selling colas.
|
Exercise 18, page 25. Reviewing comprehension
Check your comprehension by marking the following statements T (true) or F(false), according to the information in Selection 2. Rewrite false statements to make them true. Discuss your answers with your partner.
1. ______ Mecca-Cola is one of the newest cola drinks marketed by Muslim-owned companies.
2. ______ Mecca-Cola’s cans look very different from Coca-Cola’s.
3. ______ The company that makes Qibla-Cola started in France.
4. ______ Both Mecca-Cola and Qibla-Cola state that they will give money to poor people in Muslim
Countries.
5. ______Cola Turka’s ads show people drinking the cola in Turkey’s capital city, Istanbul.
6. ______ The Cola Turka ads feature an American actor.
7. ______ Zam-Zam is the Arabic name for the direction Muslims face when they pray.
8. ______ Zam-Zam Cola is only sold in Iran.
9. ______ The sales of Star Cola declined in 2003 in the United Arab Emirates.
10. ______ According to a French TV report, some British people were against the war in Iraq.
11. ______ The owner of Mecca-Cola uses political issues to sell his beverage.
12. ______ Coke and Pepsi sales will be greatly affected by the Muslim cola companies.
Татах
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