Apple Says Fifth Ave. Store No Mecca

The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), which translates statements from Arabic Web sites and news outlets, announced this week that an unspecified Islamic Web site claims the store is an insult to Islam. Apple denies the claims. A company spokesperson said Wednesday that the company respects all religions and did not intend for its store to look anything like the sacred building.

Muslim groups have criticized MEMRI for seeking and disseminating the most extreme statements from the Muslim world.

According to MEMRI, an Islamic Web site states that the cube-shaped entrance to the underground store resembles the sacred Ka'ba in Mecca and has been called "Apple Mecca." MEMRI did not specify the name of the Islamic Web site it was referring to.

An English translation of the Koran states that the Ka'ba is the "first house built for mankind to bless and guide all worlds." Its corners align with compass points, and Muslims face the structure when praying. It is covered by a black cloth.

The Apple Store, a glass structure, lines up with Fifth Avenue, between 58th and 59th streets, in New York City. It was covered in black when it was under construction. Like the Ka'ba, it is open 24 hours a day, every day of the year.

The Islamic Web site posted an entry Tuesday, saying that the structure is a "blatant insult to Islam" and urges Muslims to spread an alert in an attempt to "stop the project," according to MEMRI's translation.

Apple's Web site states that the store opened May 19. Apple spokesman Steve Dowling said Wednesday that the entrance to the Apple Store is not meant to resemble the holy structure and the company has never referred to the site as "Mecca."

"New Yorkers have given our store on Fifth Avenue a resoundingly positive reception," he said. "A couple of blogs referred to it as 'Mecca,' and others observed that, during construction it looked like the Ka'ba. Apple has never referred to our store as Mecca, and the entrance is not an attempt to look like the Ka'ba. We respect all people's religions and regret that the comments of these independent bloggers have offended anyone."

Richard Wachtel, who answered the phone at MEMRI's Washington offices, said in an e-mail Wednesday that the material was translated directly from the source and that MEMRI's mission is "to present material that would otherwise go unreported, including discussions on Islamist Web sites -- as it is written and read in the Arab world."

Wachtel requested that questions be put in an e-mail but did not respond to questions about the source of the "Apple Mecca" posting or MEMRI's position on the issue.

However, Ibrahim Hooper, of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, once told the Washington Times that the organization's goal is to find the "worst possible quotes from the Muslim world and disseminate them as widely as possible."

Editor's Note: An earlier version of this article contained an inaccurate reference to alcohol being sold at the retail site. That incorrect statement has been removed; we regret the error.
[Update, Oct. 12, 9 am: the sentence "MEMRI did not specify the name of the Islamic Web site it was referring to." was added to the fourth paragraph. In addition, in the interest of clarify, the word "unspecified" was added in paragraph two before the phrase "Islamic Web site."