Religious outcry over ‘offensive’ name threatening Black Friday weekend

Online retailers including daaraz.com.pk and Yayvo are reeling from negative customer feedback and a vicious social media campaign against the upcoming ‘Black Friday’ sale this weekend.  

The campaign making rounds across the country is being conducted by members of the public expressing their wounded sentiments over the description of the sacred day of Friday as ‘black.’  

Black Friday is an informal description given to the day after thanksgiving in the United States when massive discounts are given on nearly every product. It has been informally celebrated in Pakistan for the past few years, with the main proponents being online warehouse style companies such as Daraz.

After last year’s significant success with the sale, Daraz had in fact spent a fortune on their advertising going the route of television, radio and print advertisements to promote their upcoming sales. However, the otherwise humdrum scene of online shopping is buzzing with discontent after a number of customers reporting their less than ideal experiences.

The main complaints seem to have been misrepresentations from the side of the website retailers. Reportedly, they repeatedly claimed that certain products were in stock and after a long wait, simply told customers that the product they wanted was no longer available.

One customer reported that a television worth Rs 50,000 which he had bought from them turned out to be a copy rather than the Samsung original he thought he had bought. Others also revealed similar woes saying that the return process was near impossible and that the websites refused to comply with their seemingly rosy return policy.

Now, at the same time, the Black Friday sale seems to be facing a very real religious threat with condemnations and accusations against them rife for a term they are not even responsible for coining.

To feel for those that have invested so much on this Friday is only natural. After all, it is something that cannot be controlled by them. The multi-faceted and ill bound protests have made demands not on the good side of sense. Its proponents include many well respected names including journalist Ansar Abbasi who has been particularly vocal on the subject.

The movement has called Black Friday a “western scheme” and made demands ranging from completely getting rid of the concept to changing the name to something less ‘offensive’ such as the suggested ‘fantastic friday.’

The fact that the word and colour black have nothing to do with demeaning Islam seems to be lost on those speaking up against it. But despite it being non-sensical, companies that have invested in the coming weekend will not be comfortable waiting for any possible dent that it may have on sales.

Whether the hue and cry actually translates into something is yet to be seen, as even the staunchest of ideologues will be lured by the impressive discounts. But one does feel that the conversation would be healthier, and perhaps closer to the spirit of religion, if it were centered around criticising over the top consumerism rather than technicalities of language.