Three stores hit with molotov cocktails after pictures of socks deemed offensive by Muslims shared on social media
Three stores belonging to a Malaysian minimart chain that sold socks carrying the word “Allah” have been targeted with molotov cocktails over the past week, in a rare case of such violence.
One of KK Super Mart’s stores in Kuching, the capital of Sarawak, in Malaysian Borneo, was hit by a molotov cocktail on Sunday, a day after a separate attack on a store in Pahang on the east coast of peninsular Malaysia. On 26 March, a store in Perak was also targeted with a petrol bomb, though it did not ignite, according to local media.
No one was injured in the incidents, which are being investigated by police.
The attacks came after pictures of socks bearing the word “Allah” at one of the chain’s stores were shared widely on social media, provoking outrage among Muslims who viewed use of the word in association with feet to be offensive.
Mostly Muslim ethnic Malays make up two-thirds of Malaysia’s population, while the country also has large ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities.
“Allah” is just the Arabic word for “God”, and not everyone who speaks Arabic is Muslim. The word predates Islam. Arab Christians and Jews also use it as a word for God.
Regardless, offending someone does not make one deserving of a firebomb.
No, but it has become a trend to offend Muslims and then hide behind the guise of “freedom of speech”, or “mea culpa” or whatever else shitty excuse offenders come up with. That’s not ok.
Firebomb is extreme and I do not condone it, but you can’t be mad at conservative Muslims who have repeatedly voiced concerns of offense without any sort of action being taken, which drives to extreme measures (big surprise).
Otoh they do tend to get offended an awful lot.