Outraged Muslims are demanding Nike recall an ‘offensive’ line of trainers because the logo looks like Allah’s name in Arabic.
Saiqa Noreen launched a petition to pull the Air Max 270 shoe and has accused the sportswear giant of ‘blasphemy’.
The petition, which has gained more than 6,000 signatures in just hours, blasts Nike for allowing God’s name to be ‘trampled, kicked and become soiled with mud or even filth’.
The design features the worlds Air Max spelled out in a custom, joined-up front on the sole of the shoe, which was released last year.
In Muslim culture showing the sole of your shoe is seen as the height of disrespect as it implies you want to hurt someone with it.
The shoe is considered dirty because it touches the ground and is associated with the foot, the lowest party of the body.
‘It is outrageous and appalling of Nike to allow the name of God on a shoe. This is disrespectful and extremely offensive to Muslim’s and insulting to Islam’, Ms Noreen said.
‘Islam teaches compassion, kindness and fairness towards all. We urge Nike to recall this blasphemous and offensive shoe and all products with the design logo resembling the word Allah from worldwide sales immediately.
‘We also request stricter scrutiny of products before they enter the market. I urge all Muslim’s and everyone who respect the freedom of religion to sign this petition.’
Nike become embroiled in a similar controversy in 1997, which had a similar logo depicting the word Allah, Nike claimed to have tighten scrutiny on logo design. So why has a similar design been approved?’
A Nike spokesman said: ‘Nike respects all religions and we take concerns of this nature seriously’.
‘The Air Max logo was designed to be a stylized 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’.
