Three stores hit with molotov cocktails after pictures of socks deemed offensive by Muslims shared on social media

Three stores belonging to a Malaysian minimart chain that sold socks carrying the word “Allah” have been targeted with molotov cocktails over the past week, in a rare case of such violence.

One of KK Super Mart’s stores in Kuching, the capital of Sarawak, in Malaysian Borneo, was hit by a molotov cocktail on Sunday, a day after a separate attack on a store in Pahang on the east coast of peninsular Malaysia. On 26 March, a store in Perak was also targeted with a petrol bomb, though it did not ignite, according to local media.

No one was injured in the incidents, which are being investigated by police.

The attacks came after pictures of socks bearing the word “Allah” at one of the chain’s stores were shared widely on social media, provoking outrage among Muslims who viewed use of the word in association with feet to be offensive.

Mostly Muslim ethnic Malays make up two-thirds of Malaysia’s population, while the country also has large ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities.