Two young entrepreneurs, Jonathan Rodgers and Adam Thelwell, used a harrowing TikTok campaign to sell Islamic prayer jars in the wake of the Southport schoolgirls massacre. Posing as a grieving sister of one of the victims, they exploited the tragedy for profit, leading to public outcry and an investigation.
An online store run by two young entrepreneurs exploited the horrific Southport schoolgirls massacre to sell cheap Islamic prayer jars . MyAllahJar.com's campaign on TikTok involved the company posing as the grief-stricken older sister of one of Axel Rudakubana's victims, claiming to have found solace in death through a jar of color-coded Quran verses labeled 'she is with Allah now'. The videos were designed to deceive customers into believing they were buying from a devout young Muslim woman.
However, a MailOnline investigation revealed the true owner to be 22-year-old Jonathan Rodgers, a bodybuilder who operates the business from his parents' spare bedroom in Haltwhistle, a prosperous Northumbrian market town near Hadrian's Wall. Rodgers, when confronted by a reporter, admitted the videos were 'sick' but shifted the blame to his 21-year-old business partner, Adam Thelwell, based in Bristol. The MyAllahJar website sells these jars for £19.99, promoting them with the slogan: 'Praise Allah. Unlock divine guidance with every verse tailored to your emotions.' The jars contain short prayers intended to be used for various emotions, including happiness, anxiety, thankfulness, loneliness, anger, and sadness. The company also uses social media to suggest that the prayer jars can be used to resist temptations such as sexual urges and alcohol. Customers who sign up to the website are provided Rodgers' home address and postcode when placing an order. Rodgers, who answered the door wearing sweatpants and an American football shirt, stated: 'I understand it is a sick video, it is disgusting. 'I have never used the Southport tragedy to sell the prayer jar. The other videos are me. 'I was doing dropshipping with one of my friends and we both ran The Muslim Prayer Jar. 'He's called Adam Thelwell from a town near Bristol, Frome, he's 21 I think, I met him online. 'The company was in my name but we split the profits 50/50. The video about the Southport attacks was him. If you look on my account I did not post that and I did not tell him to post that. 'The account was linked to the same Shopify website, the accounts were different.' Thelwell, who lives with his parents in a modern detached house in Frome, Somerset, and works as a builder in Swindon, was uncharacteristically evasive. His mother, Mel, confirmed that Adam sells items from home via his TikTok account but refrained from interfering with his side hustle, stating, 'He's 21, he's an adult.' Mrs. Thelwell expressed surprise upon learning that her son was allegedly impersonating the brother of one of the Southport victims. 'He's not, obviously. He lives here. 'I would like to think he's not doing that but he and his father will be speaking to him when we see him.' When informed that Adam was selling religious trinkets online, Mrs. Thelwell replied, 'He's doing all sorts of things like that, that's not a surprise to me. 'It's not very nice, are the police involved in this? He's an adult and he's got to deal with his own problems. If he's got himself into a load of s**t he's got to sort himself out.' She later clarified that Adam 'does not want to speak to the press.
Exploitation Southport Massacre Prayer Jars Tiktok Entrepreneurs Grief Religious Controversy
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