Iran renames Danish pastries

IRANIANS love Danish pastries, but now when they look for the flaky dessert at the bakery, they must ask for: “Roses of the Prophet Mohammed”.

Bakeries across the capital were covering up their ads for Danish pastries after the confectioners’ union ordered the name change in retaliation for cartoons of Islam’s prophet published in a Danish newspaper.

“As of now the name of Danish pastries will give way to Rose of Mohammed pastries,” the union said.

“This is a punishment for those who started misusing freedom of expression to insult the sanctities of Islam,” said Ahmad Mahmoudi, a Tehran cake-shop owner.

One of Tehran’s most popular bakeries, named Danish Pastries, covered up the word “Danish” on its sign with a black banner emblazoned “Oh Hussein,” a reference to a martyred saint of Shi’ite Islam.

In Zartosht Street in central Tehran, cake-shop owner Mahdi Pedari didn’t cover up the word Danish pastries on his menu, but put the new name next to it.

Some customers took immediately to the new name. But others asked for roses of Mohammed - “gul-e-muhammadi” in Farsi - with a laugh or even with sarcasm, apparently unenthused about the new form of protest.

“I just want the sweet pastries. I have nothing to do with the name,” housewife Zohreh Masoumi said.

Iranians are big sweet eaters, often buying candies and pastries to bring to parties.

While there are many types of Iranian-style sweets, Danish pastries are extremely popular, referring to a flaky pastry with fruit or chocolate between the layers. The pastries are domestically baked, not imported.

Iran has cut commercial ties with Denmark, banning the entry of Danish products, in retaliation for the prophet cartoons.

The cartoons, first published in Denmark in September, then reprinted by other European papers, have sparked violent protests in Iran and across the Islamic world, where they were seen as an insult to the prophet.

The symbolic move by Iran echoes the decision by the US House of Representatives in 2004 to rename French fries as “freedom fries” after France refused to back the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.