‘Blasphemous and offensive’: Muslim customers lambast Nike for ‘writing Allah’ on shoe’s sole
Thousands of Muslim customers have demanded Nike recall their Air Max sneakers, claiming that the sports giant “insulted Islam” by spelling out the word ‘Allah’ in Arabic on the bottom of the shoe.
A Muslim buyer, Saiqa Noreen, who had noticed the writing which she found offensive, even launched an online petition asking the sports company to remove the popular trainer from the shelves.
Noreen discovered that the Air Max logo design depicted on the sole has similarities to the word ‘Allah’ in Arabic. The woman accused the company of having a disrespectful attitude to Islam, and said that it is “outrageous” to “allow the name of God on a shoe.”
@Nike Why are Nike selling trainers which clearly have “Allah”written in #Arabic. Remove shoes from sales. Disgusting and appalling#respect#religion#islam#muslim#offensive#complaintpic.twitter.com/urjSiNNabN
— Ainon78 (@Sainon04310732) January 26, 2019
This website in Faisalabad is selling #NIKE shoes with #Allah written in Arabic under the sole.Please check and share... pic.twitter.com/1af4hLd4hB
— Hashmi & Hashmi (@Traders_Pak) January 23, 2019
@Nike why are you putting the Arabic writing of Allah at the bottom of your trainer care to explain please pic.twitter.com/J3DbTCpih0
— Yasif (@19yas82) January 22, 2019
Nike 270's which say Allah on the sole.I checked on a pair my friend owns and it's definitely there. pic.twitter.com/tXNR7Whj8z
— Bantersaurus (@1kavax) January 19, 2019
“Nike has produced the Nike Air Max 270 shoe with the script logo on the sole resembling the word Allah in Arabic, which will surely be trampled, kicked and become soiled with mud or even filth,” Noreen wrote.
“This is disrespectful and extremely offensive to Muslim’s and insulting to Islam.”
The company refuted all allegations of intentionally insulting the Muslim community, saying the logo is a “stylised representation of Nike’s Air Max trademark” without any religious significance.
“Nike respects all religions and we take concerns of this nature seriously,” a Nike representative said.
“The Air Max logo was designed to be a stylised representation of Nike’s Air Max trademark. It is intended to reflect the Air Max brand only. Any other perceived meaning or representation is unintentional.”
