Grand Mufti Clears Coke
But, fearing serious consequences, Coca-Cola acted swiftly in Egypt. An official request was made to the Grand Mufti Sheik Nasser Farid Wassel, Egypt’s most senior religious figure, to give his opinion on the matter.
     The logo was also closely scrutinized by researchers and linguists at the Ifta’a Institute, a scholarly authority on Islamic law.
     All found no harm.
     “The trademark does not injure Islam or Muslims directly or indirectly “ the mufti ruled. In an official statement, he found that: “The trademark was designed 114 years ago in the state of Georgia and was written in a foreign language, not in Arabic,” and that “no one had objected until now.”
     Sheik Wassel also had harsh words for what he termed the rumor mongers, saying: “Such a rumor can harm the country and Islam more than it benefits it.” He warned them “to fear God” because the Koran, the Islamic holy book, “urges Muslims not to spread unfair rumors unless they have legal proof.”

Jobs Could Be Lost
The mufti also said that Coca-Cola employs more 10,000 people in Egypt who could lose their jobs for no good reason.
     Coca-Cola, which “is enjoyed by more than 1 billion Muslims” is continuing its counterattack. The company armed its salesforce and truck drivers with a copy of the mufti’s ruling ready to display it at anytime.
     Although the company has yet not measured any significant decrease in sales, local distributors say people are now more wary and need to be reassured. According to one local vendor, sales have plummeted by 10 to 15 percent even though it is the summer season.
     Coca-Cola says it enjoys 54 percentof the soft drink market share in Egypt.
     Now, it is trying desparately to keep ahold of that market.