Britain First thinks that Cadbury’s chocolate is funding jihad

The far-right hate group Britain First has lost many battles in the last 12 months. Its London mayoral campaign was a disaster. A judge sent its former leader, Paul Golding, to prison. And another court banned the entire organisation from entering any mosque in the UK. The current leader, Jayda Fransen, hasn’t let this stop her from starting new battles, however. And her latest is accusing Cadbury’s of funding jihad.

Wait, what?

Fransen started this latest argument on 3 February:

Hundreds of these leaflets have been distributed in supermarkets across the UK
By purchasing halal products you're funding ISLAMIC TERRORISM pic.twitter.com/rxDOBmp0Z3

— Jayda Fransen (@JaydaBF) February 3, 2017

Australia recently debated and debunked the idea that halal meat funds terrorism. But debunking arguments isn’t always enough. Writing for Al-Jazeera, Randa Abdel-Fattah says:

Such a debate does not call for financial statistics and arguments about trade relations because this is not a debate about certification fees or even slaughtering rituals. It is about the fact that to be Muslim is to be perpetually encountered as inherently suspicious and deviant.

Cadbury’s defence

Since Kraft bought Cadbury, it has become a less reputable brand. But that doesn’t mean it supports fundamentalist jihad. And Cadbury has defended itself against Fransen’s accusations:

None of our UK products contain meat and therefore halal accreditation is not needed.

— Cadbury UK (@CadburyUK) February 6, 2017

So in other words, writing ‘halal’ on a chocolate bar is like writing ‘vegan’ on a packet of peanuts. It’s just unnecessary. In response, however, Fransen pointed out that, in other territories, the halal certification is used. Although she still offers no evidence to support her accusations:

Cadbury distributes products worldwide, millions of which bear the 'Halal Certified' logo, isn't that right @CadburyUK? STOP FUNDING JIHAD! pic.twitter.com/F0KWyMJJtO

— Jayda Fransen (@JaydaBF) February 6, 2017

Some people agreed with Fransen. But most did not:

https://twitter.com/robtelford/status/834185630229864448

https://twitter.com/MrFairhurst/status/828652221332123648

https://twitter.com/SoftyKukong/status/828637410401648642

Ongoing

The “debate” resurfaced when Fransen retweeted this response from a supporter:

Have not brought Cadburys since last Easter when they took the word "Easter" off their eggs! everyone should boycott this company! https://t.co/zh0YsaJu0Y

— Kev #ForBritain (@KevenKos) February 21, 2017

This added an entirely new dimension to the debate. Although it is true that the use of the word ‘Easter’ isn’t as widespread as it once was, Cadbury definitely still uses it.

It’s also important to remember that, while the Easter egg is a traditional symbol of rebirth, hard-right Christians would do well to remember the words of the God they supposedly believe in:

Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image

In other words, it’s more important to follow the teachings of the Bible than it is to fetishise chocolatey consumerist symbols.

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Featured image via screengrab