Online Store Takes Down Swimwear With Quranic Verses After Being Called Out On TikTok
The apparel website, which is using a Singapore address while simultaneously stating that they are based in the US, said that they "have removed all products regarding Muslims".
By Sadho Ram — 25 Jun 2022, 01:21 PM
An apparel website called The Playmate Stores had been selling pyjamas and swimwear for women with Quranic verses on them
The Playmate Stores' decision to list pyjamas and swimsuits was first noticed by a TikTok user, named Abu Toz, who is an American Muslim, according to a report on the Singapore news website, AsiaOne.
In the TikTok video, that was posted on 19 June, the man shows how the online store had listings such as "Islamic Cami Pajama Set" while other lists showed several one-piece swimwear.
In a caption superimposed against the listings' screenshot in the video, the man wrote, "please we need to do something about this, they are using Quran prints on bikinis now!! And disrespecting Islaim [sic]".
The man expresses his anger while showing that the online store is from Singapore.
"Singapore, I lost all respect for your country. I could stand here and say racist shit about your country, about your people, but I won't. That's what makes us different," he says in the video while asking Muslims around the world to "hold Singapore accountable for posting stuff like this on their website".
The online store is using a Singapore address on its website while simultaneously stating on its Facebook page that they are based in the US. The Facebook page, however, has no posts on its feed.
After being called out, the Playmate Stores issued an apology
It added they have removed "all products regarding Muslims" from their website.
According to a report in Mothership, the apology from The Playmate stores came after a man in Singapore emailed the TikTok video in a complaint to the online store's support team.
"I am appalled that such pieces are sold within a country that is full of diversity," he wrote in the email.
"On behalf of our company, we want to sincerely apologise for this matter. We have removed all products regarding Muslims from our store. We understand that our team made the mistake of accidentally selling these products in the sleepwear category," the support team wrote back.
The Playmate Stores stated that they "always respect all religions in general and Islam in particular".
A check by SAYS for the pyjamas and swimwear with Quranic verses did not yield any result.
Meanwhile, the American has run into trouble with Singaporeans for his remark about "holding the entire country accountable"
In the comments, several users called him out for his ignorance.
"I'm Singaporean and I'm a Muslim... I don't even know this happened and I'm accountable?" a user commented, to which the American replied that he was extremely upset when he made the video and he apologises for it.
Following this, he uploaded another TikTok to explain his remark but then he doubled down by chastising the people of Singapore for being clueless about an issue that was "happening in their own backyard".
In the second video posted on 23 June, the man said that he should be credited for bringing such an issue to light, stating, "It took somebody from America to find this on a website. Don't attack the messenger that's bringing awareness, attack the people doing this (disrespecting Islam)".
Replying to his second video, many people, again, pointed out that the company is using a fictitious address in Singapore, and that he should learn more about a country first before "holding it accountable".
