Thursday, February 09, 2006
Naming dolls
It seems that Ann Summers has also fallen foul of the Muslim community. Today's Independent reports that the latest public figure to stand accused of defiling the Prophet Mohamed is not some Danish cartoonist, or French newspaper editor, but a hapless British Page 3 girl called Emma B:
Yesterday, the erotic retailer Ann Summers unveiled Miss B as the "face" of its new range of products.
Not 24 hours later, she finds herself on the front line of Islamic protest after Muslim leaders discovered that the range includes a new blow-up doll, called "Mustafa Shag".
Unfortunately, Mustafa was one of the names given to the Prophet Mohamed. Bestowing it upon, in the words of its catalogue, "an inflatable escort for your hen-night adventures" is considered highly offensive.
The Manchester Central Mosque has already written to the firm, calling on it to withdraw the product.
A friend of mine has suggested that this could get very tricky as apparently the Prophet has many many names. Just how tricky it can get is indicated by the reaction of the Chief Executive of Ann Summers:
"We don't want to offend, but this feels like political correctness gone mad," she said. "If anyone has a better name for a blow-up doll, please let us know."
All suggestions should be passed directly to Ann Summers. Thank you.
Yesterday, the erotic retailer Ann Summers unveiled Miss B as the "face" of its new range of products.
Not 24 hours later, she finds herself on the front line of Islamic protest after Muslim leaders discovered that the range includes a new blow-up doll, called "Mustafa Shag".
Unfortunately, Mustafa was one of the names given to the Prophet Mohamed. Bestowing it upon, in the words of its catalogue, "an inflatable escort for your hen-night adventures" is considered highly offensive.
The Manchester Central Mosque has already written to the firm, calling on it to withdraw the product.
A friend of mine has suggested that this could get very tricky as apparently the Prophet has many many names. Just how tricky it can get is indicated by the reaction of the Chief Executive of Ann Summers:
"We don't want to offend, but this feels like political correctness gone mad," she said. "If anyone has a better name for a blow-up doll, please let us know."
All suggestions should be passed directly to Ann Summers. Thank you.
