World Bulletin / News Desk

A photograph of a tote bag with Arabic text, made in Israel, has gone viral.

Journalist Nader al-Sarras was on a U-bahn train in Berlin when he spotted the bag with a message in Arabic that is bitingly humorous yet also poignant: “This text has no other purpose than to spread terror in the hearts of those who are afraid of the Arabic language.” His Facebook post with a picture of the bag on Tuesday night has since attracted over 35,000 likes. The photo also trended on Twitter.

The political statement highlights the irrational and unfounded fear that has been generated in the media regarding the connection of Arabic to extremists yet as a language it is remarkably beautiful and has long been through centries associated with poetry language known for its beauty and eloquence.

The bag is the creation of a company called Rock Paper Scissors, which is based in Haifa, according to BuzzFeed. 

Sarras told BuzzFeed that he did not respect to elicit such a widespread reaction, at that most of the feedback had been positive.

“I think the overall situation in Europe is causing this reaction,” a spokesperson for the company told Buzzfeed in response to the sudden attention the bag was getting.

Source: Facebook