Not the Real Thing, but cola adds fizz to political message

By CATHERINE FIELD Herald correspondent

PARIS - An Arab entrepreneur in France, riding on a groundswell of discontent at the United States over its looming war with Iraq and support for Israel, is striking it rich with an alternative to Coca-Cola.

Mecca-Cola, a sweet fizzy drink that bears a strong resemblance to Coke, has sold more than two million bottles since hitting shops in Western Europe last November. Now Tawfiq Mathlouthi, the man the behind the beverage, says he has orders for at least 11 million more bottles from retailers from as far away as the US, Australia and China and the Middle East.

The 1.5-litre red-and-white bottles are creeping on to the shelves of some mainstream supermarkets as well as small corner shops in Europe's Muslim areas. Each bottle sells for around 1.50 euros ($2.95). Ten per cent of the profits are donated to Palestinian charities and a similar amount has been pledged to European charities.

"Stop drinking without thinking," the label reads. "Drink with commitment."

The slogan is unusual for any soft drink and for many Europeans of Arab descent, it is a stirring message.

"Each time someone buys a bottle of Mecca-Cola," Mathlouthi says, "they're saying to [US President] George [W.] Bush, and the war-criminal [Israeli Prime Minister Ariel] Sharon, 'We don't agree with your policies'."

Mathlouthi, 46, a Tunisian who became a naturalised French citizen in 1998, launched Mecca-Cola across France, Belgium and Germany with little fanfare last November on the eve of the Muslim festival of Ramadan.

He admits that inspiration for the drink came from Iran, where producers of Zam Zam Cola are struggling to keep up with demand for their rival to Pepsi and Coke. Last year Zam Zam, which is named after a spring in Mecca that Muslims consider sacred, has sold more than 10 million bottles in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries.

Bush is reviled by many Muslims, who see double standards in his condemnation of Iraq and military backing for Israel, which has been occupying Palestinian territories in defiance of United Nations resolutions since 1967.

In the past couple of years, numerous high-profile American brands, such as Nike and McDonalds, have been hit by boycotts in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.

Coca-Cola Africa's subsidiary has admitted that its business in Arab countries has been "hurt"; some analysts say sales have plummeted by between 20 and 40 per cent. Last month, thousands of members of a Malaysian group of caterers said they would start boycotting Coke.

Mathlouthi is a lawyer by training, and media-savvy. He set up an Arabic-language radio station in Paris in 1987, which he says was later destroyed in an arson attack by Zionists.

He followed this in September 1992 with Radio Mediterranee, a vehicle for broadcasting to Bosnian Muslims and for raising funds for Muslim and Palestinian charities.

Some Muslims accuse Mathlouthi of profaning their religion because a product bearing the name Mecca ends up in a dustbin.

But, he says, Mecca has never been a sacred word in Islam and is used in a geographical context to denote the town where Islam's holiest shrine is located.

"My brothers, it is easier for you to criticise and destroy than to build and act," he says on his website. "Cola is a perfect symbol of savage American capitalism.

"We are targeting it because we want to denounce the crimes of the US and its immoral imperialism."