Thousands demand Nike recall AirMax shoe, saying logo is offensive to Muslims

Thousands of people are asking Nike to recall its Air Max 270 shoe, saying that the logo is offensive to Muslims.

A Change.org petition, which garnered over 10,000 signatures in two weeks, says that the logo resembles “Allah,” the Arabic word for God, written in Arabic script.

Saiqa Noreen, who launched the petition, wrote that the logo “will surely be trampled, kicked and become soiled with mud or even filth.”

{mosads}“It is outrageous and appalling of Nike to allow the name of God on a shoe,” Noreen wrote. “This is disrespectful and extremely offensive to Muslim’s and insulting to Islam.”

A Nike spokesperson told “Today” that the logo is a “stylized” version of the Air Max trademark.

“Nike respects all religions and we take concerns of this nature seriously,” the spokesperson said. “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.”

It is not the first time the company has faced accusations of offensive imagery, according to “Today.” Nike stopped selling a line of shoes in 1997 over a flame-shaped logo that critics said looked like “Allah.”

The complaints against Nike come just weeks after Amazon removed over a dozen products, including bath mats and doormats that had references to the Prophet Muhammad.

Tags Islam Nike Nike, Inc. shoes

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