Pakistan High Court 'to decide if Black Friday goes against Islamic teachings'

Islamabad's High Court has reportedly been asked to decide whether Black Friday shopping campaigns run "contrary to Islamic teachings".

A petitioner asked judges to rule on whether the term should be outlawed in Pakistan due to negative connotations.

They made Pakistan's government a party to the complaint, according to reports in local media.

The petitioner wrote: "Friday has religious significance for Muslims. Therefore calling it ‘black’ is a crime.

"According to the dictionary, Black Friday means ill-fated or black day. Hence, the court must ban celebration of Black Friday on 24 November in Pakistan."

The Daily Times reported that a prominent lawyer, Azhar Siddique, had written separately to high-ranking members of the government to ask them to block any official endorsements of the Black Friday phenomenon.

He suggested businesses could use "Bright Friday" to advertise deals instead.

The Daily Times quoted Chaudhry Abdul Ghafoor, chief of Pakistan's Tourism Development Corporation, as saying: "It is disgusting that some business tycoons are bringing Friday a bad name of ‘black’ just to blindly follow the West for increasing their business.

"Friday is a gift for Muslims, which is a holy, blessed, and virtuous day."