LONDON - A new pop drink aimed as Muslims will soon be on Canadian shelves.

'A lot of people are buying it, not only Muslims but non-Muslims.' Qibla-Cola was launched in February to offer an alternative to Coke and Pepsi for Muslims. Anger over the treatment of Muslims in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks has carried over to multinationals like soft drink companies.

Qibla is based in Derby, England and is already selling its colas in Europe.

The name on the red bottles and cans is written in Arabic style. In London the drink is a hit.

"It is sitting right next to other colas, people are getting to know it," said Abdul Kahume Jamal who runs a number of Arab grocery stores in the city.

"A lot of people are buying it, not only Muslims but non-Muslims. If we sell 20 cases of Coca Cola per day, we would be selling at least five, six cases a day of Qibla-Cola."

It's unlikely Coke will be seeing another cola war. This new entry is not about commercial tastes but political preferences.

"There is a massive frustration against these major brands in the world and people are demanding real alternatives," said Abdul Hamid Ebrahim of Qibla.

Ebrahim says Muslims can respond to the Sept. 11 backlash with their wallets. The message is already embedded in the marketing campaign: Liberate Your Taste.

"People in the world, especially in the Third World, feel occupied on all levels," explains Ebrahim. "So their taste has become colonized to an extent. What we're saying is for consumers to liberate their consumer behaviour."

The cola's other marketing strategy is to give 10 per cent of profits to developing nations. The company says it also plans to support projects in countries where the soft drink is sold.

"We wanted to make sure our philosophy is completely different. Yes, we make a profit, but it's only natural to give something back."

Ebrahim describes the taste as somewhere between Coke and Pepsi but says, in the end, it's not about the taste.

"People don't actually drink the product anymore, they drink the marketing."

A Surrey, B.C. company, Bimex Marketing and Distributing, will be the first to sell Qibla-Cola in Canada this September.

"Initially it will be Muslim first and then from there, slowly as the brand becomes popular, everybody else," predicts Mohamed Jafer Ghamji of Bimex. Ghamji says they will try to sell it in the U.S. after a trial run in Canada.

Written by CBC News Online staff