Mrluvaluva
03-10-2013, 02:40 PM
A turban-and-beard Halloween costume sold by some US retailers has been pulled off the shelves following complaints that it looked like an Osama bin Laden costume.
The Sikh Coalition, a US-based Sikh advocacy group, sent letters and called retailers such as Walmart and Amazon to press them to remove the costume.
The costume includes a white turban and full beard, and is pictured on a man wearing a camouflaged coat, similar to one bin Laden was shown wearing during an interview with a Pakistani journalist.
http://media.skynews.com/media/images/generated/2013/10/3/262732/default/v1/untitled-1-1-522x293.jpg
Fun World Costumes on its website simply calls it "Turban & Beard Instant Costume".
But the coalition said the costume was designed to make the wearer resemble the terrorist mastermind and was offensive.
“If you lost a loved one during the 9/11 attacks or during our nation's war against al Qaeda, or if someone attacked your father in a hate crime because he wears a turban, I doubt this costume would make you comfortable," said Rajdeep Singh, director of law and policy at the Sikh Coalition.
Campaigners say the Halloween costume is offensive to anyone who died in the 9/11 attacks or has been targeted in a hate crime.
The costume has since been removed by retailers.
Sky News (http://news.sky.com/story/1149811/osama-bin-laden-costume-pulled-off-shelves)
I am struggling to see what this has to do with Halloween?
The Sikh Coalition, a US-based Sikh advocacy group, sent letters and called retailers such as Walmart and Amazon to press them to remove the costume.
The costume includes a white turban and full beard, and is pictured on a man wearing a camouflaged coat, similar to one bin Laden was shown wearing during an interview with a Pakistani journalist.
http://media.skynews.com/media/images/generated/2013/10/3/262732/default/v1/untitled-1-1-522x293.jpg
Fun World Costumes on its website simply calls it "Turban & Beard Instant Costume".
But the coalition said the costume was designed to make the wearer resemble the terrorist mastermind and was offensive.
“If you lost a loved one during the 9/11 attacks or during our nation's war against al Qaeda, or if someone attacked your father in a hate crime because he wears a turban, I doubt this costume would make you comfortable," said Rajdeep Singh, director of law and policy at the Sikh Coalition.
Campaigners say the Halloween costume is offensive to anyone who died in the 9/11 attacks or has been targeted in a hate crime.
The costume has since been removed by retailers.
Sky News (http://news.sky.com/story/1149811/osama-bin-laden-costume-pulled-off-shelves)
I am struggling to see what this has to do with Halloween?