(SEATTLE, WA, 01/7/19) - The Council on American-Islamic Relations -- Washington (CAIR-WA) , reported that Amazon.com has removed bath and floor mats featuring Quranic verses and Islamic text being sold on their site after receiving numerous complaints from Muslim employees, customers and advocacy organizations.
The mats were offensive to Muslims because they were inscribed with sacred religious texts that would be stepped-on, used in bathrooms, or otherwise potentially disrespected by customers. .
CAIR-WA thanked Amazon's legal counsel and its PR team for being so responsive and further reported that they are working with the company to manually remove other offensive items from the website.
“We are also working on contacting the companies who produce these products so that we can provide them with proper religious and cultural education so that this isn't a reoccurring issue” said CAIR-WA Executive Director Masih Fouladi .
Fouladi further said the campaign was effective because Muslim employees within Amazon acted as advocates within the company. He added that he looked forward to making similar progress with Amazon’s representative and its employees on future campaigns, especially related to surveillance software.
“This past week, Amazon demonstrated its willingness to address issues relevant to the Muslim community and its Muslim employees by removing the products from its website,” said Fouladi, “Law enforcement use of Amazon software to enhance the surveillance of Muslim, black and brown communities is a much larger threat and potential insult to the Muslim community. We hope this recent collaboration can be a springboard for the company to re-evaluate their position on these types of surveillance technologies.”
MEDIA AVAILABILITY CAIR-WA Executive Director, Masih Fouladi
MEDIA CONTACT CAIR-WA Communications Director, Sarah Stuteville 206-403-3931, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
To report a hate incident (206) 367-4081 or cairwa.org/get-help