News Brief

(IsraelNN.com) The Danish Arla Foods Company announced recently that it had suffered serious losses due to a Muslim consumer boycott.  If the boycott continues for the entire year, the company could lose $372 million, managers said.

Muslim religious leaders called to boycott products from Denmark after Danish newspapers printed cartoons portraying Mohammed, who Muslims believe was a prophet.  Muslim law prohibits the depiction of Mohammed, and many Muslims found the cartoons offensive.  The cartoons were printed in 2006 and then again in 2008 as a gesture in support of free speech.

Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Moller recently spoke to the local daily Boerson and warned that a third printing of the caricatures could cause Denmark serious long-term financial losses.