The logo on the soles of shoes produced by local brand Vern’s, allegedly resembling the word “Allah”, does not match the holy word in terms of “khat” (a form of Malay-Arabic calligraphy), said Nor Azlin Hamidon.

Nor Azlin, who is a lecturer in Visual Art Culture Studies, Islamic Art and Calligraphy from Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM), said this was because the logo has excess lines which damage the writing of the word “Allah”.

“From the point of view of the khattat (calligrapher), the logo does not conform to any traditionally accepted calligraphy method, and the design is in the category of free calligraphy.

“It is possible that it was not intentional from...