PETALING JAYA, April 7 — Malaysian social media users are accusing entrepreneur Neelofa of religious exploitation after she released “Muslim-friendly” slippers with local footwear brand Fipper.
Neelofa, whose full name is Noor Neelofa Mohd Noor, previously posted an Instagram story of a presentation for the Fipper x TheNoor by Neelofa slippers on April 5.
The presentation’s claims that the slippers are “Muslim-friendly” led to backlash on Twitter with users questioning what exactly makes a pair of slippers wearable in Islamic terms.
“Neelofa is selling ‘Muslim-friendly’ rubber slippers. So did rubber slippers before this contain swine blood or what?” asked one Twitter user.
“Maybe it won’t be long before there will be vintage hats that are shariah-compliant,” another user remarked sarcastically.
neelofa jual selipar getah yang “muslim friendly”
selipar getah biasa selama ni celup swine blood kotAdvertisement— bart (@bartbhrdn) April 6, 2021
Selipar mesra muslim katanya.Kolaborasi Flipper dan Neelofa.Selipar pon ada mesra muslim tuan2.Tak lama lagi mungkin akan ada topi vintage patuh syariah pic.twitter.com/6XgE7ucaDy
— Abdul Rani Kulup Fans (@KulupFans) April 6, 2021
Many were also shocked at the hefty price tag, with each pair of Fipper x TheNoor by Neelofa slippers retailing for RM79.90.
Some accused the 32-year-old entrepreneur of using religion as a marketing tool to make money off people who don’t know any better.
“Slippers that aren’t Muslim-friendly exist?! The level of religious exploitation these days is getting ridiculous,” wrote @edhairykl.
“Almost no object is safe from the wretched claws of religious capitalism.
“We now have ‘budding entrepreneurs’ who are promoting ‘Muslim-friendly slippers’ to the masses,” said @ArfSbhn.
Almost no object is safe from the wretched claws of religious capitalism. We now have 'budding entrepreneurs' who are promoting 'Muslim-friendly slippers' to the masses. Prior to this, we had prayer mats that could guarantee direct access to God.
— سبحان (@ArfSbhn) April 7, 2021
What lunacy is this?
ade ke selipar yang tak Muslim friendly?!! the level of menunggang agama these days is getting ridiculous! RIDICULOUS! https://t.co/hiH3pD4JMs
— Ed Hairy (@edhairykl) April 6, 2021
Neelofa’s RM79.90 slippers are markedly pricier than Fipper’s other products, which retail between RM16.90 and RM49.90 in their unisex collection.
The Naelofar founder has been embroiled in controversy recently over alleged standard operating procedure (SOP) breaches at her March 27 wedding to religious preacher PU Riz.
Police are also investigating the couple after they posted photos and videos of themselves enjoying leisure activities in Langkawi last week.
Neelofa claimed that they travelled to the island for work reasons and bubble tea brand Chatime backed up her claims.
However, Chatime deleted its Twitter statement defending Neelofa after receiving backlash from the public.
