'Jihad' car commercial upsets US Muslims

CINCINNATI - A car commercial proclaiming a jihad on the US auto market and offering "Fatwa Fridays" with free swords for the kids is offensive and should not be aired, Muslim leaders said on Sunday.

The radio advertisement for the Dennis Mitsubishi car dealership in Columbus, Ohio, has "a whole jihad theme," said Adnan Mirza, director of the Columbus office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

"They are planning on launching a jihad on the automotive market and their representatives would be wearing burqas ... ," Mirza said.

"They mentioned the Pope in there and also about giving rubber swords out to the kiddies -- really just reprehensible-type comments."

Details of the radio ad, which has not yet been broadcast, have been reported in the local media, but officials at the dealership declined to comment about the content of the radio spot.

Two employees at the dealership said they had been deluged with calls about the commercial.

"The ad has never been released, it is not out for public listening," said one employee who declined to give his name.

He would not say whether the dealership had changed its mind about airing the commercial.

Tokyo-based Mitsubishi Motors Corporation could not immediately be reached for comment.

Mirza said several local radio stations had already rejected the ad and he hoped the controversy would convince the dealership to rethink its sales strategy.

He also said the Council on American-Islamic Relations would likely contact the dealer to "offer some kind of cultural or sensitivity awareness training."

- REUTERS