ATT: Mr Sizwe Nxasana
CEO and Executive Director of
FirstRand Limited
Dear Mr Nxasana
RE: COMPLAINT | MUSLIM PUBLIC |
INSENSITIVE TWEET
We reproduce for your information a
tweet posted by Steve, the FNB guy
(@rbJacobs) on 22nd April 2014 in
response to a tweet from Stu
(@gormleystuart).
“@gormleystuart – asked the bank
where “Steve” – the central
character of a long-standing
advertising campaign – was.
FNB’S response? “He’s some where
(sic) in Afghanistan, putting a bomb
under a wheelchair and telling the
cripple to run for it!”
Our office has been inundated with
complaints from the Muslim
community, with some people going
to the extent of asking us to initiate a
campaign to have Muslims close their
accounts with FNB in protest at the
offense and insult. The comment is
offensive and reflects an ignorant,
bigoted and xenophobic slant or
attitude, and has an Islamophobic
element.
If this is reflective of even a minute
number of FNB staff and/or
management it is of serious concern
to the Muslim community and we
believe that such staff need to
undergo sensitivity training and need
to be educated about Islam, Muslims
and the politics of the Middle East.
The South African Muslim Network
would be able to facilitate this for
you.
The South African Muslim Network
has grown in leaps and bounds in
recent months and in order to
sustain and give meaning to our
objectives and to reach out to a
larger audience, we would
appreciate your contribution
towards the funding of our projects
or a general contribution.
Deposits can be made directly into
SAMNET’s bank account, the details
are as follows:
Account Name:
SAMNET
Kind regards
Bank:
Dr Faisal Suliman
Chairperson
Al Baraka
Account Number:
78600041926
Branch Code:
800 00
Reference:
Your First & Last Name