17-03-2025
Video: Eiffel Tower wears Islamic hijab in controversial ad
ALBAWABA - A Dutch fashion clothing brand named MERRACHI has sparked widespread controversy across social media after sharing an ad of France's Eiffel Tower wearing a hijab, a headscarf worn by Muslims across the globe.
According to Sky News Arabic, the viral ad was part of a pro-hijab campaign to promote freedom for individuals who prefer wearing the Islamic head scarf. The ad in question sparked outrage among French officials and politicians who called the move "dangerous" to France's values and traditions.
The video was first posted on Merrachi's official Instagram account a week ago and was captioned, "Spotted: The Eiffel Tower wearing MERRACHI, mashallah! Looks like she just joined the modest fashion community." It garnered more than 800,000 views and at least 27,000 likes.
While several social media users praised the controversial promotion calling it "iconic" and "brave," some weren't as keen about the idea.
An Instagram user wrote under the video, "I am a Hijabi woman and I see this is a controversial promotional advertisement that I did not like raises an important question: if we were to swap cities, would Moroccans accept having a cross placed on the Hassan Tower in Rabat as a promotional message?"
The video features the Eiffel Tower wearing a abaya (usually worn in Arab countries), as a hijab comes floating on its head, following Merrachi's logo that fades in at the end.
French MP of the right-wing National Rally party Lisette Pollet wrote on Musk's X (formerly Twitter), "UNACCEPTABLE! The Eiffel Tower, the symbol of France, has been hijacked by the Merrachi brand, which covers it with an Islamic veil in a provocative advertisement."
Her colleague Jerome Buisson also described the ad as a "terrifying political project" and an "unacceptable provocation."
