McDonald's and other US businesses are losing up to 20 per cent in sales in Saudi Arabia, the Gulf and Egypt due to boycotts linked to Washington's support of Israel.
In an attempt to boost sales after the daily fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, the locally-owned McDonald's franchise in Saudi Arabia, chaired by Prince Mishaal, offered to donate 26 cents on every meal to Palestinian children's hospitals. It is estimated that the total sum raised from the kingdom's 13 outlets could reach $100,000.
Boycotts of US goods and services have been instigated by students and professional associations in Egypt and Jordan and rapidly spread to the Arabian Peninsula, the Gulf, Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon and Palestinian self-rule enclaves in the West Bank and Gaza.
A Muslim cleric of Egyptian origin based in the emirate of Qatar, Shaikh Yusif Qardawi, intensified the campaign by issuing a fatwa, a religious ruling, banning the purchase of US goods and services.
This was bolstered by an effort by the Islamic Party of Britain in conjunction with the Gulf-based International Muslim Human Rights Forum which called for an "ABC" boycott, involving US airlines, apparel, banking, beverages, baby products and burger restaurants, cars, cosmetics and cigarettes. Campaigners in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates distributed a much more extensive list including hundreds of firms, which bears the message: "Each dollar spent buying an American product is transformed into a bullet to kill our brothers in Palestine."
A US State Department official observed: "It does not help the Palestinians, and it does not help to achieve peace . . . We don't think it is in anybody's interests to have such a boycott."