Wahed Invest’s adverts displaying banknotes on hearth banned | EUROtoday

Six adverts for an Islamic funding platform displaying banknotes on hearth have been banned after a regulator dominated they have been more likely to trigger severe offence.

The posters for Wahed Invest, seen between September and November on Transport for London (TfL) companies final yr, featured US greenback and euro banknotes on hearth.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) obtained 75 complaints that the adverts have been offensive.

Wahed Invest mentioned its intention was to “spark thought and awareness” and acknowledged the ASA’s suggestions on the usage of worldwide forex.

The adverts featured photos of Muslim preacher Ismail ibn Musa Menk and Russian former skilled combined martial artist Khabib Abdulmanapovich pointing at giant textual content stating “Join the Money Revolution” above Wahed’s emblem.

Three of the posters confirmed Mr Menk holding an open briefcase crammed with US greenback and euro banknotes on hearth, with two of them stating “Withdraw from Exploitation” and “Withdraw from Riba”.

Wahed mentioned the burning of banknotes inside the adverts was designed to indicate cash “going up in flames” when inflation grew quicker than the speed of financial savings.

Wahed describes itself as an funding platform permitting customers who’re predominantly Muslim to spend money on a way which aligns with their religion and values.

It mentioned it usually used the time period “Riba”, an Arabic phrase that means “excess” and generally used to explain the prohibition of curiosity underneath Islamic legislation.

Wahed instructed the ASA that it acknowledged that currencies have been an emblem of nationwide identification however believed the burning of banknotes was not offensive and was portrayed in well-liked tradition, akin to movie and TV.

The ASA mentioned the adverts would have been seen by many individuals, together with individuals from the United States and eurozone nations, who “would have viewed their nation’s currency as being culturally significant”.

“Although we acknowledged Wahed Invest’s view that they had not directly criticised a specific group, and that depictions of burning banknotes were commonly encountered, we considered the burning of banknotes would have caused serious offence to some viewers,” the regulator mentioned.

“We therefore concluded that the ads were likely to cause serious offence.”

A spokesperson for Wahed Invest mentioned: “We understand that visuals like those included in our campaign can elicit strong reactions.

“While our intention was to spark thought and consciousness, we recognise the significance of guaranteeing that messaging resonates positively with the varied audiences that will eat them.

“We acknowledge and appreciate the ASA’s feedback on the use of international currency.”

TfL, which had paused all campaigns from Wahed Invest pending the end result of the investigation, mentioned it could apply the regulator’s findings “when considering any future campaigns”.

It has no Wahed Invest campaigns at present booked for its community.