Iranians turn on Danish pastries in cartoon row

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Not content with pelting European embassies with petrol bombs to protest against cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad, Iranians have decided to rename the "Danish pastries" relished by this nation of cake lovers.

From now on, the sweet, flaky pastries which dominate the shelves in Iran's cake shops will be known as "Roses of the Prophet Mohammad," the official IRNA news agency reported as pressure on Denmark over the cartoons took on a new dimension.

"No one is allowed to make fun of our beloved and respected Prophet," Hassan Nasserzadeh, a cake-shop owner in central Tehran, told Reuters.

The pastries are baked every day and are not imported or subject to any boycott of Danish goods imposed over the cartoons.

The Iranian move had echoes of the verbal food fight set off by restaurants in the U.S. House of Representatives which renamed "French fries" and "French toast" as "Freedom fries" and "Freedom toast" after France refused to back the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.

 
 
Date Posted: 15 February 2006 Last Modified: 15 February 2006