A new petition has been launched in opposition to Nike's AIR MAX 720 sneakers' logo with customers claiming that the design is offensive to Muslims.
According to peititoners, the logo looks like it says "Allah" in Arabic writing. In Islam, "Allah" is the Aramaic word that translates to "God," and shoppers allege that the use is disrespectful to the faith by suggesting that God can be stepped on.
"It is outrageous and appalling of Nike to allow the name of God on a shoe," Saiqa Noreen, who launched the petition writes. "This is disrespectful and extremely offensive to Muslim’s and insulting to Islam."
"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?" Noreen added.
Image via Change.org
A Nike spokesperson addressed the petition and consumers' concerns, explaining that the logo was simply an updated version of the AIR MAX trademark for the 720 silhouettes.
"Nike respects all religions and we take concerns of this nature seriously,” the spokesperson says. "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."
Currently, the petition has reached over 30,000 signatures and is moving toward a goal of 35,000