Campbell and ISNA Respond to Soup Uproar

From ABC News:

Campbell Soup Company says it began labeling about 15 varieties of vegetarian soups in January. The company retained ISNA to do the certifications, because the organization was commonly employed by other Canadian food manufacturers. "ISNA was identified as the leading certifier in Canada," said John Faulkner, spokesman for Campbell Soup Company. "After this hit Facebook, we went back to our Global Security department and through contacts at the State Department and the FBI have been assured ISNA is a reputable organization."

In a statement, ISNA acknowledged being named a co-conspirator in the 2007 trial, but added, "the government admitted that its labeling of ISNA many years ago was nothing more than a legal tactic. Indeed, ISNA now has a very positive working relationship with the federal government."

ISNA "is disappointed and angered by the recent allegations by far leaning right wing bloggers, such as Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer, who wrongly associate certification of Halal foods with terrorism and label ISNA as a terrorist organization," the group said in a statement.

Campbell said the boycott has "not been impactful" on soup sales in Canada or the U.S.

The soup company estimates there are some 1 million Muslims in Canada, and the population is growing. The company called the population a "measurable percentage, which makes the pretty good subset" for targeted marketing.

And a pretty good subset for ISNA, too. Don't you feel better knowing that (unnamed) "contacts" at Foggy Bottom and in the FBI said that ISNA, an anti-U.S., anti-Israel, pro-sharia outfit, was "kosher"?

Update: From (the Wahhabi's) Arab News:

WASHINGTON: Here something to stew over: Campbell’s Canadian-made tomato soup has become radicalized and is linked to terrorists, or at least, that’s what some whacky US conservative bloggers would like you to believe.
Campbell’s soup, a staple of pantries for over 100 years, has released a “Halal-certified” line of soups hat allow Muslims to consume the products according to Islamic dietary laws.

Islamophobes are now frantically calling it a “Muslim takeover.”

Pamela Geller, who has gained notoriety through her widely read anti-Muslim site called Atlas Shrugs, is calling for a boycott of some 15 soups made by the Canadian subsidiary of New Jersey-based Campbell Soup Co.

These soups, sold strictly in Canada, are certified by the Islamic Society of North America ISNA, which has been certifying halal foods since 1988.

But Geller, who gained fame by whipping up opposition to an Islamic community center and mosque in Lower Manhattan, is adept at keeping herself in the news. She claims ISNA has ties to terrorist groups, including Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood.

A number of extremist conservative groups, including JihadWatch.org, have joined Geller’s call for the soup boycott.

What seems to be lost in the American blogosphere is the fact that Campbell’s halal soups are not offered in the US, and the company says it is not in their plans...

Yeah, American "extremist conservative groups," what's up with that? Why are you so hot and bothered about something that's happening really far away--up in remotest Canuckistan? Particularly since it hasn't seemed to ruffle the unflappable Canuckis even one little bit.

Update: Campbell feels "very comfortable" working with ISNA--AOL News.

Update: Here's some info about the "moderate" thinking of "moderate" ISNA chief Ingrid Mattson.

Update: For those who aren't yet up to speed, here's a bit of Wahhabi/Muslim Bro American history:

In 1973, the Saudis created an important new enabler of [Muslim] Brotherhood operations in the United States and domination of American Muslim communities: the North American Islamic Trust (NAIT). NAIT “controls” approximately 80 percent of the titles/deeds to the mosques, Islamic organizations and Islamic schools in the United States, ensuring that the vast majority of Muslim facilities in this country are dominated by the most reactionary strains of Islam.
Typically, along with such ownership come Saudi-trained and appointed imams, textbooks for the madrassas, jihadist literature and videos for the bookstores, paid hajj pilgrimages (the obligatory trip to Mecca) and, in some cases, training for jihad.

According to NAIT’s website, NAIT promotes a lifestyle for Muslims to live in America “in a shariah-compliant way.” The site does not provide a street address for NAIT, but lists office phone numbers that have a Chicago area code.

In 1980, the Brotherhood created a new organization to extend the footprint made possible by the swelling ranks of Muslim Students Association alumni. It brought together most of its groups under the auspices of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), based in Indiana, which today is the largest Muslim Brotherhood front on the continent.

NAIT says on its website, “NAIT supports and provides services to ISNA, MSA, their affiliates, and other Islamic centers and institutions. The President of ISNA is an ex-officio member of the Board of Trustees of NAIT.”

The creation of ISNA ushered in an era of massive growth of the Muslim Brotherhood movement in North America. Through the 1980s and 1990s, the Ikhwan created hundreds of new organizations and built hundreds of mosques and Islamic schools across North America. It did so primarily with funding from Saudi Arabia...

Still feeling "very comfortable" about hooking up with these guys, Campbell?