ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times

DATE: Sunday, April 6, 1997                  TAG: 9704070090
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL   PAGE: A-16 EDITION: METRO 
DATELINE: WESTBURY, N.Y.
SOURCE: NEWSDAY

MUSLIM GROUP CALLS FOR BOYCOTT OF NIKE PRODUCTS SNEAKER LOGO OFFENDS THEM

The group says the letters in the ``Air'' logo too closely resemble Allah, the name for God in Arabic.

Nike wanted a logo for its Summer Hoops shoes that suggested heat, summer and burning up the courts.

But a Muslim group in New York is burning up instead, because it says the flaming letters that spell ``air'' on the logo closely resemble the name for God in Arabic. The Islamic Center of Long Island is calling for a boycott of Nike products unless the company apologizes, recalls the shoes and changes the design.

``The shoe is the filthiest part of clothing because you step everywhere,'' said Ghazi Khankan, interfaith communications director of the center, based in Westbury. ``Whether you are Muslim, Jew or Christian, to step on the name of Allah is sacrilege.''

But Beaverton, Ore.-based Nike issued a statement Friday saying it already has addressed the problem. The design now drawing fire from some Muslims is a modification of the original logo, which connected the letters in script, it said.

``The new, changed logo design separates the `A' from the `IR,' thus producing a logo that cannot be confused with any other word,'' the statement reads.

But that change is not enough, said Muslim Arshad Majid of Long Island, who called the alteration an ineffective, ``small, conciliatory gesture.''

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