Popular US department store chain Sears is halting sales of a baseball cap embroidered with the word “Kafir” after a prominent Muslim activist called it out on Twitter this week. The hat, available since September 1st, was sold by a third party through the Sears online marketplace and is considered by many to be Islamophobic.
Imraan Siddiqi—executive director of the Arizona branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)—challenged Sears over Twitter for selling the hat and they quickly responded. He criticized the company for potentially being involved in the outfitting of "armed mosque protestors".
Is @Sears becoming the official outfitter of armed mosque protestors? pic.twitter.com/iImWxrtdRO
— Imraan Siddiqi (@imraansiddiqi) October 19, 2015Arabic for non-believer or infidel, Kafir is a hard-hitting term for Muslims. But in recent years, clothes bearing the provocative phrase have risen to popularity among many anti-Muslim protesters, who see the term as a badge of honor.
Siddiqi’s actions prompted an ugly Twitter backlash of their own and even triggered the claim on some radical anti-Islam websites of an attack on freedom of expression. He responded with sarcastic humor.
I'm an Islamic Supremacist because I tweeted at Sears. pic.twitter.com/EJDxA7kv0F
— Imraan Siddiqi (@imraansiddiqi) October 20, 2015Of course, Siddiqi wasn’t calling for legal action against Sears but merely pointing out its awkward presence in the mega-store. In a later tweet, he even urged people to thank the company for their quick response.
Also, everyone please thank @Sears for listening to the oversight and correcting it. https://t.co/RAmzJOcuaI
— Imraan Siddiqi (@imraansiddiqi) October 19, 2015By Kane Hippisley-Gatherum
