Muslims are angry at American sportswear retailer Nike for selling an «offensive» pair of Air Max trainer, reports British tabloid the Sun. They are demanding Nike to recall the pair that, according to them, has the word «Allah» written on the sole. Saiqa Noreen, the woman who started a petition against the American company, accused the sports brand of «blasphemy». In her petition, which has been signed by more than 5000 people, Noreen urges Nike to recall the trainer and all products «with the design logo resembling the world Allah from worldwide sales immediately». «It is outrageous and appalling of Nike to allow the name of God on a shoe», said Noreen. The shoe, in fact, has the logo Air Max written on its sole, which when read in a «joint up font» can look like the world Allah in Arabic. Speaking to the same source, a Nike spokesperson stated : «Nike respects all religions and we take concerns of this nature seriously». The campaign against Nike was preceded by a similar one, targeting British multinational retailer Marks & Spencer. The latter is accused of selling a toilet paper that reportedly has the world Allah written on it. Muslims in the UK to boycott Marks & Spencer because its toilet paper has «Allah written on it» After a video, in which a man shows the product claiming that it has «Allah» on it, went viral, more than 2200 people signed a petition accusing the brand of «insulting Islam» and urging people to boycott it. The boycott campaign launched against Marks & Spencer came a few days after a scandalMuslims criticized items sold by American e-commerce company Amazon. In fact, bathroom and outdoor mats featuring verses from the Quran and the word Allah have been removed from Amazon after it received complaints from the Muslim community in the US. The decision was taken after the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Muslim civil rights and advocacy group in the US, notified the online giant, January 3rd, about the «offensive» items.
