Trainers bearing a logo which offends Muslims are on sale again in Bradford - a year after sportswear giant Nike was forced to recall them worldwide.

Nike issued an international apology last year for the flame-shaped logo which was supposed to represent "air" but resembled the Arabic word for Allah.

But the basketball shoes are back on sale - with the offensive logos hidden by peel-off stickers carrying the distinctive Nike "tick" logo.

Nike is investigating the situation after being contacted by the Telegraph & Argus and it has said it would withdraw the shoes again if necessary.

But Bradford's Muslim leaders have condemned Nike's decision to put the shoes on sale again and have called for them to be permanently withdrawn.

And the influential Bradford Council for Mosques is urging Muslims to boycott all the company's goods.

Its general secretary Khadim Hussain said: "You don't use God's name for business purposes. The name of Allah still remains on the shoes whether they put a sticker on or not.

"When you are wearing Allah the Almighty's name on your shoes you are walking on it and there is no respect left for this name. It's totally unacceptable."

Mohammed Amran, of Manningham, recently named the youngest commissioner on the Commission for Racial Equality, accused Nike of playing "silly games."

"They realised what the logo was but are stupid enough to do the same thing again. It's a matter of respect.

"You don't put God's name on clothes and shoes." Bary Malik, of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association, added: "It would have been better to delete the logo totally instead of sticking something over the top.

"If they are not withdrawn, we will be writing asking for that to happen."

The shoes were discovered on sale at JJB Sports in Forster Square by Muslim student Zafar Afsar, 20, of Great Horton, who walked out of his part-time job in disgust when the shop refused to withdraw them.

Mr Afsar, a student at Leeds Metropolitan University, had worked for JJB for nine months. He said he saw one of the trainers in a crate of returns - with the sticker hanging off revealing the original flame logo.

"I went on the shop floor and peeled another sticker off. They peel like a banana," he said.

"I'm just a kid off the street and I can't see anyone with a bit of knowledge about Islam agreeing to those stickers. They should have taken them off the shelves straight away."

A Nike spokesman said advice had been taken from the Council on American Islamic Relations after the original complaint in March last year. "We sought and obtained approval for a heat-sealed, non-removable adhesive to be stuck to the back of the shoes," she said.

"If there is a problem with the adhesive coming off, making it offensive again then we have no hesitation in recalling them."

The firm has now promised to undertake a thorough investigation of the poor stock.

A spokesman for JJB Sports said: "We wouldn't want to offend anybody. We bought the trainers on the basis that the problem had been overcome. We have no intention of withdrawing them."

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