Society's Child

Thousands of Muslims demand Nike recall 'blasphemous' Air Max sneaker that may or may not have 'Allah' written on the sole

Alex Matthews
The Sun
Tue, 29 Jan 2019 20:03 UTC

NIKE has been urged to recall "offensive" Air Max trainers because they have "Allah's name in Arabic" on the sole.

Saiqa Noreen was appalled when she spotted text on the bottom of the shoe and accused the sports brand of "blasphemy".

The illustrative wording appears to spell out the words Air Max in a joined up font.

However, Saiqa is not convinced and at the very least believes Nike have made a clumsy error - offending millions of Muslims in the process.

In Muslim culture showing the sole of your shoe is seen as the height of disrespect.

The shoe is considered dirty because it touches the ground and is associated with the foot - the lowest party of your body.

Saiqa launched a petition for Nike to recall their train with more than 4,800 signing it.

She fumes: "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.

"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. Islam teaches compassion, kindness and fairness towards all.

"After recalling trainers 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?

"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."

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 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."

Comment: Nike wanted to cater to outrage culture, so it got outrage culture!

Reader Comments

Ruth · 2019-01-29T23:41:08Z

It's kind of a pity that they don't direct their outrage at something real and something wrong. A stylized logo on a shoe? Really?

Ned Ludd · 2019-01-30T01:55:08Z

When 'thousands of Muslims' protest against Isreal, I'll be impressed. This just sounds like American liberals mouthing off about - something useless.

Dus7 · 2019-01-30T08:13:21Z

We're supposed to respect other people's beliefs, something I can manage, I think, but why are we supposed to observe those beliefs if they aren't ours? Writing God, Allah, Yahweh, or whatever on shoes or anywhere is not blasphemy for me. Blasphemy can only apply to actions of members within a religious group. So Moslems probably should not wear these shoes. Solved.

Of course, intended or unintended, this little storm in a sports shoe will serve the purpose of further divisiveness. The daily minute of hate is just too exhausting.

system · 2019-01-30T13:08:17Z

@Dus7,

"Blasphemy can only apply to actions of members within a religious group"

You're overlooking one detail in fine print:

Islamic law says they must submit the whole world to Islam, or they don't get their 72 virgins. If i understand correctly, You, or anyone for that matter, are not going to stand in the way of them getting their afterlife nut!!!!!!!! And what is the responsibility of a good muslim woman? To make sure nothing under heaven gets in the way of a muslim man getting his afterlife nut!!!!!! (i guess she's into voyeurism in the afterlife?)

Dus7 · 2019-01-30T18:38:02Z

strategery Not belonging to a proselytizing (or any other) religion, it's not my prob. if they feel compelled to convert people or otherwise remake the world in their preferred ways. I stopped the repeat visits of JWs by telling them kindly that I used to be a Bahá'í and now I'm an atheist.

Re the meme of 72 virgins, it has always bothered me because it sounds a bit sick really that a (dead) man would want 72? virgins! I mean, WTF? Live virgins used to be about property and heirs. This 72 virgins thing does not, as I understand it, appear in the Quran (Koran) anyway. And furthermore, it has been (re)translated more properly to mean 72 white raisins (or grapes or angels), lol. I don't see a lot of potential suicide bombers giving it all up for raisins. There's no way to make this anything but ridiculous.

Highland Fleet Lute · 2019-01-30T08:38:06Z

"So Moslems probably should not wear these shoes. Solved."

But in general, Western Moslems love wearing Nike trainers. Maybe they think wearing Nike trainers 'solves' something.

Also in general, Western Moslem women who wear the hijab, also tend to wear more make up than The Great Whore of Babylon. Maybe they think that solves something.

system · 2019-01-30T12:51:23Z

@Highland Fleet Lute,

Maybe Nike trainers are the preferred shoe for terrorists in training?(picture one of those Al Qaeda training vids where they're jumping through tires, and such) Be reasonable! You wouldn't expect an underwear bomber to wear bacon wrapped underwear, would you?

Highland Fleet Lute · 2019-01-30T08:43:01Z

Nike Pro Women's White Lightweight Stretchy Hijab....[Link]

Dus7 · 2019-01-30T08:59:38Z

Highland Fleet Lute I thought you were joking, lol. Good grief. So they get the hijab, and we get the shoes. Guess you can't have everything . ~ Of course, they can just choose another brand of shoes! Or, you know, quickly wear the tread off the Allah ones. G-d, I can't solve everyone's problems!

OMG! · 2019-01-30T10:47:19Z

Every woman should have a Hijab even if just for those bad hair days, go on ladies let your hair down with a NIKE Pro Performance Hijab with free shipping... yes it’s all kosher.

Highland Fleet Lute · 2019-01-30T12:55:05Z

Abo Londoners like myself are obviously not 'Westernised' enough, 'cause I wouldn't be seen dead in a pair of Nike trainers, nor any other make of trainers, for that matter. Neither am I prone to walking out of the house festooned in corporate logos. Thankfully, I've managed to escape any 'integration programmes' as regards all of that.

codis · 2019-01-30T13:02:20Z

Highland Fleet Lute

Neither am I prone to walking out of the house festooned in corporate logos.

I would think about that perhaps, if I'm offered a monetary reward.

But to the contrary, I'm expected to pay a premium for "Brand" stuff. Not yet stark mad ...

Highland Fleet Lute · 2019-01-30T14:12:31Z

"I would think about that perhaps, if I'm offered a monetary reward."

Oh, I wouldn't.

Wearing a hat that says 'Nike' on it?

It might just as well say 'C**t'.

codis · 2019-01-30T14:24:40Z

Highland Fleet Lute "Thinking about it" is not yet agreement. And af cource, I would expect a reward comparable to our corruptible politicians. Say, a 5-digt number at least ...

Another airhead on the airwaves...

Good Optics

"...it is very likely that during this catastrophe cycle reset the next age of Earth will begin with such a Thunder Bolt from the gods sometime in...

parzival

'Cosmic Thunderbolt Will Strike The Earth - Thunderbolt of the Gods' [Link]

parzival

EU 'directive' tells me a lot about the undemocratic bureaucracy that is trying to dictate in take over Europe.

eulogical

Truth is being redefined by people who have a vested interest in avoiding it. I see it as something that has verifiable facts to support it....

eulogical

Society's Child

Thousands of Muslims demand Nike recall 'blasphemous' Air Max sneaker that may or may not have 'Allah' written on the sole

Reader Comments

Latest News

Picture of the Day

Quote of the Day

Recent Comments

Quantum Quirk