You wouldn’t be reading something like this for the first time; a famous international brand that has ‘Allah’ written on it in a derogatory manner. Videos with claims and proof such as this circulate on Facebook and YouTube every now and then, making Muslims furious for all the right reasons.
This time, it is the famous American sports gear brand Nike which has made Muslims all over the world pretty furious. The multi-million company has caught a lot of negative attention because of the logo made at the soles of the AirMax 270.
Here’s the Nike AirMax 270!
The brand launched them in various colors for both men and women.
While they look pretty okay as footwear, what’s alarming is the sole of the shoes.
Here’s a Better Look of the Design Made on the Soles of Nike AirMax 270
Seems similar to how we write Allah in Arabic and Urdu, right?
Here’s a Closer Comparison
It has caused an outrage by Muslims who believe Nike should pull off their AirMax 270 from production and store.
Saiqa Noreen, a Protester on Social Media Started a Petition Against Nike, Demanding the Brand to Pull Off their Sale
On the Other Hand, People Are Sharing Images of the Shoes Urging Nike to Remove these off the Shelves of their Shops
There Were Some Who Believe It Does Not Say ‘Allah’
Some Muslims on social media claimed that the design just looks like AirMax written in a fancy way.
However, Many Believe that this is an Intentional Design Mocking Islam
The international news outlet covered this as back in the 1990s, Nike did something similar by making the ‘fire’ design on their shoes. It created an outrage then, it created one now.
Nike DID Acknowledge the Backlash Against their Footwear and Released the Following Statement:
“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.”
Nonetheless, the right apology would be the one where Nike removes the items and truly considers the sentiments of Muslims.