A Chinese clothing manufacturer probably thought it was on to a winner by exporting jeans bearing the Islamic expression "In the name of God, the compassionate, the merciful" to Iran. But an otherwise sound marketing ploy was undone by one embarrassing flaw: the phrase (Bismillah-ir-Rahman-ir-Rahim in Arabic), which graces each of the Qur'an's 114 chapters, was prominently displayed on the pockets of the jeans' backsides, something likely to be seen as disrespectful by devout Muslims.
The perceived slight, first reported in the Iranian media, prompted a firm response from the police who announced they had seized the garments and arrested three businessmen said to have imported them.
Asriran website said the jeans, tailored for women, had sold for around £6-£7 in Tehran's southern and eastern districts and bore labels reading Made in the PRC (People's Republic of China).
The country of origin is embarrassing for Iranian authorities, given the close political and economic relationship between Iran and China. Beijing is Tehran's biggest trading partner and has used its veto on the UN security council to protect Iran from further sanctions over its nuclear programme.
That sensitivity was reflected by Colonel Abbas Mirzai, of Tehran police, who told Iranian journalists that he had "no accurate information" about where the jeans were made.
However, Asriran accused China of "attacking Iranian Muslim sacred symbols in the most offensive manner".
It added: "In Islam, Allah is a respected word that you need to have ablutions before saying. Now it is embroidered on the sitting place of these jeans. Worse, they are sold in Tehran, which many would like to call the heart of the Islamic world."
It is not the first import scandal to hit Iran. Earlier this year, an investigation was launched after Jaffa oranges said to have originated in Israel were discovered on sale. Officials claimed the oranges had been grown in China but were falsely labelled.
