High-end UK retailer Harvey Nichols has come under fire after its Dubai store offended the UAE's Muslim values by selling T-shirts portraying a bulldog standing on the country's flag. The store was closed on Tuesday morning for a short time as staff removed the offending items, but photographs of the T-shirts had already been posted on the social internet forum Facebook, UAE daily the National reported on Thursday.The bulldog is generally seen as a British icon, but a spokesman for the UK store told the National an error by the supplier had led to the wrong design being produced and delivered. The spokesman did not specify what the correct design was meant to be. "The store treats this as a serious issue and has ensured the appropriate disposal of the merchandise," a statement from the store said. "Harvey Nichols Dubai deeply regrets any offence or disrespect that may have been caused by the incorrect delivery."
Muslims see dogs as impure animals, and while the flag is a secular symbol, Islam teaches that respect should be given to things that people hold dear.
Arabs reacted angrily to the T-shirt blunder, saying the image was "insulting the culture and the dignity of the country". Others said they found the picture "really offensive", the newspaper reported. But Jihad Hashim Brown, who delivers the Friday sermon at the Maryam bint Sultan Mosque in Abu Dhabi, said the incident was unfortunate. He added: "These things happen."