CAIRO, April 18 (IslamOnLine) - Under the pressure of the economic boycott to American restaurants that the Egyptians recently started, the McDonalds Company has decided to add the term Main Foods to its name.

This move was taken to counter attack the negative propaganda that has been intensified among the Egyptians who were talking about McDonalds corps giving Israel a percentage of its benefits on a given Saturday.

Last Wednesday, McDonalds ads. were published on a whole page in most the Egyptian newspapers. A letter from Ana Zoziech, the spokesperson of McDonalds worldwide, denying the rumor about McDonalds giving Israel donations.

All McDonalds restaurants in Egypt and the Middle East are owned and managed by their local owners, Zoziech said. She added that those owners are supporting projects that benefit children and families, including charity projects, such as children hospitals, institutions of children with special needs and orphanages.

The ad. also mentioned in whose best interest it was to make what it called provocation against fast food restaurants in Egypt, which would hurt the Egyptian economy, result in ending the support for charity institutions. The ad. ended with the words: “We do not donate anything but in the best interest of Egypt.”

The company asked Egyptians not to boycott it explaining the fact that there are 3000 Egyptians working in its branches, in addition that the amount of investments of the company as a share holder in Egypt has reached 300 million pounds.

American Restaurants in Egypt, especially McDonald’s and KFC, have been facing a boycott from many Egyptians. Some believed in the boycott process, while others were afraid to go inside these restaurants in case they were attacked by demonstrators after the branches located beside Cairo University were attacked with stones and students shouted at the customers. These incidents made the Egyptian police tighten security around these restaurants.

The Egyptian public boycott to the American and Israeli products has resulted in a big decrease in their income in some cases to the point that a previous boycott to McDonald’s in 2001 has made the company introduce a new sandwich called falafel, a local Egyptian food instead of the hamburger. Nevertheless, this product did not succeed to attract Egyptians who preferred their local restaurants selling falafel.

The boycott campaign has also reached the Internet and cellular phones. A list, entitled the black listed products that should be boycotted, has been circulated among Egyptians along with messages on the cellular phones asking people to join the boycott.

The list included Heinz, Hostess, Coca Cola, Pepsi, California Gardens, KFC, Pizza Hut, Tekka, Arbys, Chillis, Marlboro, Kent, and Proctor and Gamble among others.