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MAJOR retail shop in Doha yesterday withdrew hundreds of mini footballs after they were deemed insulting by customers.
The soft balls were being sold at the shop in an assorted pack of three for QR7. One of the balls in each pack bore flags of countries from all over the world, including those of Saudi Arabia and Iran.
The Saudi flag has a shahada – Qur’anic declaration of faith, and the first of the five pillars in Islam. The centre emblem in the Iranian flag reads Allah and the phrase Allahu Akbar is written 22 times in the borderlines of stripes.
“My five-year-old child picked up a pack while we were there on Sunday, and said, ‘Papa look, this football shows la ilaha illallah on it’,” an extremely offended father told Gulf Times.
“I was outraged. This is being sold as a football that children will kick around and eventually throw in a dustbin. This, right here in Qatar!” he expressed surprise.
Because the inscription on the flags is considered holy it is not printed on t-shirts or other items. Saudi Arabia protested against its flag’s inclusion on a planned football by FIFA in 2002 Football World Cup that was to have flags of all participating countries. The Saudi government said that kicking the creed with the foot is unacceptable.
Meanwhile the enraged father brought the matter to the officials of the enterprise who “assured” him that “this was a one-off mistake and promised to withdraw the stock”.
However, yesterday morning shoppers were still able to purchase packs with the offensive football and one was brought to the attention of Gulf Times.
When contacted, the officials at the busy enterprise, having two outlets on Airport Road and Salwa Road, said they “must have received the stock by mistake”.
“We purchase our stocks directly from a factory in China. We have taken the objectionable items off the shelves and deeply regret the offence,” the manager told Gulf Times.
Other toy shops of all categories said they were not aware of any such football, while some said they had specific guidelines on cultural and religious sentiments.
Toys R Us store manager Ahmed Fawaz said: “We ensure that no offensive material ever enters our store. Our buying team is specifically trained on that aspect.”
In August last year, a small demonstration took place in south-east Afghanistan after the US military dropped footballs, some of them with the illustration of Saudi flag, for children from helicopters. It was the latest in a string of incidents that has angered Muslims around the world.
The soft balls were being sold at the shop in an assorted pack of three for QR7. One of the balls in each pack bore flags of countries from all over the world, including those of Saudi Arabia and Iran.
The Saudi flag has a shahada – Qur’anic declaration of faith, and the first of the five pillars in Islam. The centre emblem in the Iranian flag reads Allah and the phrase Allahu Akbar is written 22 times in the borderlines of stripes.
“My five-year-old child picked up a pack while we were there on Sunday, and said, ‘Papa look, this football shows la ilaha illallah on it’,” an extremely offended father told Gulf Times.
“I was outraged. This is being sold as a football that children will kick around and eventually throw in a dustbin. This, right here in Qatar!” he expressed surprise.
Because the inscription on the flags is considered holy it is not printed on t-shirts or other items. Saudi Arabia protested against its flag’s inclusion on a planned football by FIFA in 2002 Football World Cup that was to have flags of all participating countries. The Saudi government said that kicking the creed with the foot is unacceptable.
Meanwhile the enraged father brought the matter to the officials of the enterprise who “assured” him that “this was a one-off mistake and promised to withdraw the stock”.
However, yesterday morning shoppers were still able to purchase packs with the offensive football and one was brought to the attention of Gulf Times.
When contacted, the officials at the busy enterprise, having two outlets on Airport Road and Salwa Road, said they “must have received the stock by mistake”.
“We purchase our stocks directly from a factory in China. We have taken the objectionable items off the shelves and deeply regret the offence,” the manager told Gulf Times.
Other toy shops of all categories said they were not aware of any such football, while some said they had specific guidelines on cultural and religious sentiments.
Toys R Us store manager Ahmed Fawaz said: “We ensure that no offensive material ever enters our store. Our buying team is specifically trained on that aspect.”
In August last year, a small demonstration took place in south-east Afghanistan after the US military dropped footballs, some of them with the illustration of Saudi flag, for children from helicopters. It was the latest in a string of incidents that has angered Muslims around the world.
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