SM Entertainment Under Fire For "Disrespecting Islam" With NCT U Merch

SM Entertainment has found itself in hot water for marketing NCT U merchandise that appropriates Islamic culture, according to fans.

Fans began tweeting the hashtag #SMStopDisrespectingIslam shortly after the agency unveiled new merch items for NCT U‘s “Make A Wish (Birthday Song)”: this pin…

…and these pop-up displays.

Fans are taking issue with the merch’s mosque designs and the ornate cube that closely resembles The Kaaba. The Kaaba is a sacred place of worship, located in Islam’s most important mosque, the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca.

Stop using islam for your merches and concepts Islam is not an aesthetic. This is called Kabbah we pray facing our faces towards it. This is the home of Allah our god and this is extremely disrespectful to Islam. And stop saying its a fcking Aladdin theme bcs we know its not !! pic.twitter.com/rFCFctouGn

— Dani⁷🍒joon (@btstwerks) December 11, 2020

my tl is filled with people asking about the nct situation
this is their new merch as you can see they used the design of the mosque and that little cube thats the kaaba
for performance set they did this people spoke up but they did not do anything about it and now this pic.twitter.com/0y0z43Ya9l

— ⟭⟬ ⁷ HBD our talented ᴶᶦⁿⁿᶦᵉ 🐹 (@Shahad04m) December 11, 2020

I Don't to be disrespectful but this is FUCKING DISGUSTING #SMStopDisrespectingIslam pic.twitter.com/q3Wd5k0Qv0

— ᴮᴱ𝐿𝓊𝒸𝓀𝓎𝓈𝓇𝒾𝓃 ⁷ ⟭⟬ (@luckysrin) December 11, 2020

Unfortunately, this is not the first time NCT U’s “Make A Wish (Birthday Song)” has received backlash. The stage sets for NCT U’s music video and live performances have been criticized for resembling mosques.

During one stage, a backdrop featured text from a sacred Muslim prayer.

Because no one is talking about this, if you still don't know, nct today displayed a sentence from a prayer Muslim Shias use, as a part of their stage background and for aesthetic purposes, what happened today at the performance is beyond disrespectful for all Muslims to be clear pic.twitter.com/zwoEs72NFj

— næ ✸ (@aotpatriotic) October 25, 2020

On Twitter, fans are expressing their frustration with SM Entertainment, demanding an apology for the “Make A Wish (Birthday Song)” concept, and calling for the agency to educate themselves about cultural appropriation. Some fans are also asking others to help trend #SMStopDisrespectingIslam to help them call attention to the ongoing issue.

y’all don’t understand how important ka’aba is for muslims it’s literally the most sacred place for us it means alot to us this isn’t funny anymore??? can they stop using islam as an aesthetic???? PLEASE EMAIL THEIR COMPANY AND EDUCATE THEM ITS GOING TOO FKN FAR NOW WTF

— ‎ًMar⁷♡’s raghad (@GUCCIGUKKIE) December 11, 2020

idc if ur a muslim or a non muslim, please rt this and reply with #SMStopDisrespectingIslam to help us trend it,, this is a serious matter, thank you. /srs

— dyah⁷ ♡︎'s aleyna | 💤 (@hobicorr) December 11, 2020

Okie so we're trending
Do not remain silent This is the right time to teach them a lesson. "RELIGION IS NOT AN AESTHETIC "#SMStopDisrespectingIslam pic.twitter.com/fzPPrCFCMy

— Sofi⁷ (@twitie0) December 11, 2020