An anti-terrorism advertisement featuring a would-be suicide bomber and real-life victims of attacks has divided viewers around the world, with some praising it for its honesty and others criticising its references to a well-known young victim of the Syrian conflict.
The ad from Middle Eastern telecommunications company Zain was released ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on Friday and features a message of peace in the fight against terrorism.
It has so far been viewed more than 3 million times on YouTube, but also spawned a debate about its appropriateness.
The video has earned praise from supporters who say it’s constructive and drives home a good message.
“This Ramzan advertisement is really a powerful anti-terrorism message... Say NO to terrorism,” Rasool Khan wrote on Facebook.
But some say its depiction of a Syrian boy - whose bloodied and bruised picture in the back of an ambulance went viral last year - is wrong because it conflates terrorist groups like ISIS with the regime of Syrian leader Bashar Al-Assad.
“Shame on you Zain,” Mohammed El Dahshan tweeted in Arabic.
A still from the video, referencing the Syrian boy Omran Daqneesh. Source: SBS World News
Syrian journalist Hadi Abdullah accused the company of exploiting the image of the young victim, Omran Daqneesh.
“We call on the company Zain to withdraw its declaration because it offends Syrians and their sacrifices, suffering,” he wrote in Arabic on Facebook.
It comes after a suicide bomber killed at least 35 people in Baghdad, including a 12-year-old Australian schoolgirl, just days into Ramadan.
