Dialogue of Civilizations at its Worst

In the world as a global village, we should exert a maximum awareness of the cultural diversity. Today, rich information resources are at our disposal. It is not difficult to consult them, if one faces ambivalent moments of inter-cultural cooperation. This is especially applicable to big business and politics.

Famous manufacturer of athletic apparel, footwear, and equipment, Nike, once got involved into considerable scandal, concerning its shoe design. In June 1997, it was forced to apologize before the Islamic community for an ornament on the heel of athletic shoes, which closely resembled an Arabic word for «Allah» — the supreme mythological character of a Semitic cult. Learn more about this incident.

In March 2012, another scandal of the same kind broke out in Kazakhstan. Local producer of alcoholic beverages, Geom, had made a vodka brand with inscription in Arabic on its bottle cap: «Allah’s strength is enough for everybody». Learn more about this incident here.

The two notorious cases were caused either by superficial knowledge of other religions, or subtle methods of physchological warfare, or an ignominous desire of publicity. In any event, they have been risky and despicable activities in the field of commerce. Putting symbols, sacred for millions of worshippers around the globe, on such inferior items as shoes and vodka are definitely of provocative nature.

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