| Summary: Recently, email has
been going around about Caribou Coffee claiming majority ownership by an
Islamic investment company with ties to a radical Islamic terrorist
organization. No boycott was directly called for, but the author was clearly
suggesting one. |
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| UPDATE!!!!!
6-17-02 # 1 of 4 Read about it in the NY Post http://www.nypost.com/postopinion/opedcolumnists/50463.htm |
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| UPDATE!!!!!
6-17-02 # 2 of 4 First Islamic Bank has apparently modified its
web site to remove the name of Dr. Yusuf Al-Qaradawi and removed the Shari'ah
web page to possibly cover up a relationship with an Islamic Terrorist
group. |
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| UPDATE!!!!!
6-17-02 # 3 of 4 Boycott Watch spoke to Don Dempsey, President
of Caribou today and he emphatically denied First Islamic Bank of having any
terrorist ties. He further said that Dr. Yusuf Al-Qaradawi was nothing more
than a consultant and is not an officer of First Islamic Investment Bank. Mr.
Dempsey stated that the Islamic Shari'ah referred to not eating pork or ham as
similar to Jewish dietary laws. "...we just had to remove the ham sandwiches
from our stores." said Mr. Dempsey in a phone interview. |
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| UPDATE!!!!!
6-17-02 # 3 of 4 Boycott Watch spoke to Don Dempsey, President
of Caribou today and he emphatically denied First Islamic Bank of having any
terrorist ties. He further said that Dr. Yusuf Al-Qaradawi was nothing more
than a consultant and is not an officer of First Islamic Investment Bank. Mr.
Dempsey stated that the Islamic Shari'ah referred to not eating pork or ham as
similar to Jewish dietary laws. "...we just had to remove the ham sandwiches
from our stores." said Mr. Dempsey in a phone interview. |
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| Steven Emerson, in his book 'American Jihad: The
Terrorists Living Among Us' defined Islamic Shari'ah differently. |
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| UPDATE!!!!!
6-17-02 # 4 of 4 Reports from a relaiable source say Steve
Emerson and Daniel Pipes confirmed the relationship with the radical Islamic
group. A short version of the article will appear in the 6-18-02 New York Post.
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| ----- The Original
Email: ----- |
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Subject: Caribou Coffee
Looks like I will be going to Starbucks from now
on. As you will see from the links below, Caribou Coffee is owned 87.8% by the
First Islamic Investment Bank which, among other things has the following
philosophy:
"Above all, ensuring that all activities
conform to Islamic Shari'ah"
The chairman of their
Shari'ah supervisory board is: Dr. Yusuf Abdullah Al-Qaradawi Chairman, Seerah
& Sunnah Center, Qatar University; Professor, Faculty of Shari'ah, Qatar
University.
As you will see from the links below he
is also on the supervisory board of "Union for Good" which is a charitable
organization to support Palestinians. Nothing wrong with a charity to help
Palestinians, but here is a quote from the Union for Good web site:
The Al-Aqsa Intifada is the latest of a long line of
affliction faced by the people of Palestine. Its ancestry dates back to the
massacre of innocent men, women and children in villages such as Deir Yaseen
and the illegal occupation of Palestine in 1948.
You
get the picture. Starbucks here I come!!!
http://www.firstislamic.com/sharia.htm
http://www.firstislamic.com/caribou.html
http://www.interpal.org/web/supervisory.htm
http://www.interpal.org/web/cbackground.htm
As another follow up, quick web searching confirms
that Caribou Coffee is owned by Crescent Capital, which is a subsidiary of the
First Islamic Investment Bank of Bahrain. Of note, this same group recently
purchased a small airplane manufacturing company in Duluth, Cirrus Design.
Imagine that!
That's it. No Caribou Coffee for me.
If you agree, I think you should pass on this information to interested
parties. |
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| ----- End Of Original Email: ----- |
| (Click here to return to
top of page) |
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| ----- Caribou's Reply:
----- |
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Caribou is a classic American growth
company, founded in Minnesota and now employing over 2,900 Americans in 9
states. Caribou has approximately 99 shareholders and option holders, including
management, employees and the original founders John and Kim Puckett. A
majority of our stock is owned by a group of international investors led by
First Islamic Investment Bank, E.C., a highly respected and purely financial
organization based in Bahrain and regulated by the government of Bahrain, a
strong U.S. ally in the Middle East and the headquarters of the U.S. Navy's 5th
Fleet. The recent investment by this group has enabled Caribou to continue
expanding its store base in the U.S.
We are
extremely concerned about accusations that an outside advisor to First Islamic
has made statements that do not reflect the views of either Caribou or any of
its shareholders, and we categorically reject any attempt to link such
statements to Caribou. The person in question is not an employee or shareholder
of either First Islamic or Caribou, and neither we nor our shareholders have
any control over this person's political views. We have made First Islamic
aware of the statements and understand that this relationship is under review.
Any concerns that anyone involved in ownership of
Caribou condones terrorism are totally unwarranted. Our ownership has no
political agenda and is 100% opposed to terrorism of any kind, anywhere -
period.
Caribou Coffee Company |
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| ----- End Of Caribou's Reply: ----- |
| (Click here to return to
top of page) |
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| ----- Findings and opinion:
----- |
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| Information presented to us indicates
that a principal in the First Islamic Investment Bank is a board member of a
radical Islamic organization that teaches hate and has direct ties to
terrorism, if not a direct supporter or terrorist organizations. |
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