Just don’t do it: ISIS bans Nike sports brand
ISIS has circulated a leaflet banning Nike products because the brand name sounds like the Arabic word for sexual intercourse
After outlawing cigarettes, alcohol, musical instruments, skinny jeans, and even pigeon-breeding, Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants have now decreed their latest ban: products from U.S. sports apparel firm Nike.
According to a leaflet distributed in ISIS’ de-facto capital of Raqqa, the prohibition of the brand, popular for its shoes, tracksuits and shirts, “Nike” sounds like an Arabic slang word for sexual intercourse, UK paper The Daily Mail reported earlier this week.
“O youth, beware of foreign words and symbols of infidels on our clothes,” the leaflet warned, adding that the name of the sport brand was identical to the name of the Greek goddess of victory, which – like all other belief systems outside its own – ISIS regards as pagan.

Those daring enough to flout the rule will face punishments ranging from a small fine to whipping and all the way to imprisonment to those buying or selling Nike products, according to the leaflet.
The ban comes despite ISIS’s most famous commanders - including the Iraqi leader Abu Waheeb – are often seen wearing Western sportswear brands.
To clear confusion the sports giant chairman confirmed last year that Nike is pronounced ‘Nikey,’ making it not so much of a ‘lewd’-sounding word in Arabic.
-
More than 6,000 flock to Nike’s #WeRunDXB race
Qatari Olympic champion Mutaz Essa Barshim, who gave a pep talk ahead of the race, cheered the runners Variety -
'Nike' is pronounced ‘Nikey,’ sports giant chairman confirms
Do you pronounce the name of one of the world’s top sports shoe giants as Nike or Nikey? Variety -
World Cup semis: It’s Nike Vs Adidas in sponsorship showdown
Two rival brands are going face-to-face in the late stages of the FIFA tournament in Brazil Retail -
ISIS militants down regime aircraft in south Syria
The plane went down east of Khalkhalah airport, the only air base in Sweida province, a stronghold of the Druze minority Middle East -
ISIS claims attack on Spanish embassy in Libya
ISIS, which has seized chunks of Syria and Iraq, has won the support of jihadist groups across Middle East and North Africa Middle East -
U.S., allies conduct 23 air strikes in Syria, Iraq against ISIS
In Syria, there were two strikes involving attack and fighter aircraft near al-Hasakah and four near Kobane Middle East -
U.S., allies conduct 18 air strikes in Syria, Iraq against ISIS
All three of the strikes in Syria were conducted using fighter aircraft and hit targets near Kobane Middle East -
UNRWA chief heads to Syria on ‘urgent’ Yarmouk aid mission
On April 1, ISIS launched an assault on Yarmouk, Syria’s largest refugee camp that lies seven kilometers south of Damascus Middle East -
Amir Khan describes jihadists as ‘brainwashed’
Khan made the statements weeks after three schoolgirls from east London fled to join ISIS in Syria Sports -
ISIS uses ‘Nutella, kittens’ to lure women recruits
ISIS reportedly appeals to female recruits using creamy Nutella chocolate and kittens, a CNN host has claimed Variety