International brand apologises for selling prayer mats as rugs after backlash

International fashion brand Shein recently came under fire for selling Muslim prayer mats as decorative rugs. The company had posted listings of 'fringe trim carpets' with pictures of prayer mats. This was subsequently discovered by many Twitter users who went on to heavily condemn the company's actions with some accusing it bigotry and ignorance. 

"I can't believe Shein is selling prayer mats as "fringe trim carpets"' with the Ka'bah and Mosques on it. This is so offensive. This ain't no carpet or decorative piece," one user wrote. I am disgusted by Shein. They are selling prayer mats which us Muslims use to offer our daily prayers as normal decoration. People are buying these and using them for decoration which invalidates the importance of this matter," another wrote.

Following the backlash, Shein took out all the listings from its website and social media account and has issued an apology note. "To our community - we made a serious mistake recently by selling prayer mats as decorative rugs on our site. We understand this was a highly offensive oversight and are truly sorry. 

Since it was brought to our attention, we immediately removed the products from our website and asked our vendor to stop selling to others," an excerpt from the note read.  

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