The building of Vodafone Egypt Telecommunications Co is seen at the Smart Village in the outskirts of Cairo, Egypt.

:: Some Egyptians on Friday called for boycotting Vodafone Egypt after the company’s branch in Qatar decided to change the network’s name to “Glorious Tamim” in a show of support to the country’s emir.

Egyptians who called for the boycott thought that the move by Vodafone Qatar reflects the entire British telecommunication company’s stance in the dispute between Arab states and Qatar, in which the latter is accused of supporting terrorist groups.

“The boycott of the network has become a national duty after its support for the Emir of Qatar, whose country continues to support and harbor terrorists, led by the Muslim Brotherhood and its leaders, who are accused of committing violence and terrorism in Egypt,” some Egyptians have said.

Egyptians speaking to Al Arabiya.net said they will continue convincing other users of the network to join the boycott. They claimed that thousands have canceled their numbers on that network.

Telecom firm’s response

But Vodafone Egypt quickly responded to the situation saying that the move by the Qatari branch does not apply to the users in Egypt and do not represent the global company nor its Egyptian branch.

“Vodafone Egypt has nothing to with it,” they said in an official statement.

It also said that a decision by Vodafone Qatar to replace the network’s name only reflects the direction of the company’s shareholders. Vodafone Qatar’s shareholding is owned by Qatari investors with the ruling Qatari family holding 70percent.

Mobile phone services Vodafone Qatar and Ooredoo voiced their support on Friday for the country’s emir by changing the name of their networks to ‘Glorious Tamim.’

However, a tweet and Facebook post of the announcement by Vodafone Qatar was later taken down. Vodafone Qatar has not yet released a statement on why the posts were removed.