Belgium: Store stops selling toilet paper with 'Allah', 'Mohammed' zodiac design

Belgium: Store stops selling toilet paper with 'Allah', 'Mohammed' zodiac design


Via La Capitale (French), h/t R:

In Belgium the Carrefour chain stopped selling Renova brand toilet paper featuring the zodiac symbols, because the designs for Virgo and Capricorn resemble the Arabic calligraphy for Allah and Mohamed.

Ten days ago the issue was raised in two mosques in Molenbeek (Brussels), where the Muslims turned to their imam to ask whether it was true and deliberate. There has been no criticism in Carrefour stores, but the Belgian management decided to avoid any controversy and withdraw the product from the shelves. According to the official version, sale of this product was dropped two years ago, following similar questions raised in France.

However, La Capitale journalists report that up until recently the toilet paper was available in the Brussels branches, and that the shops stopped selling it only now.

The federal police was also interested in the toilet paper designs, to see whether it could motivate fundamentalist threats. One Muslim told La Capitale that you really need to be crazy to see a deliberate error.

The toilet paper design also caused a stir in Switzerland. In 2002 Swiss supermarket chain Migros removed the toilet paper from its shelves after they were contacted by Hafid Ouardiri, spokesperson for the Geneva mosque.