FELLOW MUSLIM ATHLETES…WHO CARES?! | Bridges TV

It seems like such an obvious concept: keeping track of our fellow Muslims in the sporting world and pointing them out and lauding their efforts. It is something that I have always been curious about, being a practicing Muslim and concurrently a raging sports fan. But I got an interesting response from someone recently. They said, “I don’t care what religion a player follows, as long as they can play. That is all that we should care about.” And that got me thinking. Does caring about the religion of an athlete fly in the face of athletic competition in general? What is the point of following athletes because they have the same beliefs as me? Is there a point to it at all? Hmmmm. Let’s look into the heart of this matter.
If I looked at my most base emotions when I first learned of a particular athlete being Muslim, I would have to say that the first feeling was that of surprise. “That guy is a Muslim? A Muslim is out there doing such great things in sports?” That feeling of surprise is then quickly followed by pride. “She’s a Muslim. I’m a Muslim. My sister is out there accomplishing great feats. Mashallah!” Well, that is downright elementary. The surprise at discovering the feats of a fellow Muslim is followed by pride in those same feats. That must be it, end of story. Well, upon digging even deeper, I realized that another reason for surveying the landscape of Muslim athletes bubbles to the surface. This endeavor of looking for Muslims playing sports has me looking, well, in every direction. I see Rasheed Wallace, an African-American, playing professional basketball in Boston. I see Sania Mirza playing women’s tennis in India. And I can’t help but notice Amir Khan making a lot of noise in the boxing ring over in England. And I realized that what makes me most interested in seeking out Muslims in sports is that the barriers of nationalism get knocked down in the process. We are quick to have an emotional connection to our countrymen and countrywomen in sports, but where is that emotion when it comes to the Muslim athlete playing two countries over on the map? I believe we have to channel that same emotion towards our fellow citizens in Islam across the globe.

Try this little exercise for me. Figure out who you will be rooting for in the upcoming soccer World Cup in South Africa in two weeks. Will it be the country where you live? The United States? England? Or perhaps some high profile soccer-playing nation with a long history of success. Brazil? Italy? Well, when the tournament gets going, why not take a peek at the exploits of the only Muslim country in the tournament, Algeria. Or, take a close look at perhaps the strongest team in Africa, the Ivory Coast, and their stable of world-class Muslim players led by the Toure brothers, Yaya and Kolo. And even more high-profile would be a French team that is absolutely loaded with Muslims, including such recognizable names in the soccer world as Franck Ribery and Nicolas Anelka.

So, the reasons why we all might take brief notice of fellow Muslims in sports are clear. It opens our eyes briefly, and instills some fleeting pride. But what I enjoy the most about the world of Muslim sports is how it takes a wrecking ball to the walls of nationalism. We have to admit that nationalism has been at least one of the factors that has contributed to the fractured ummah in current times. I’m not stating that sports are a panacea for the Muslim world, but it does have a powerful way of bringing people together. So why can’t it bring Muslims together? And on the other side of the lens, doesn’t the non-Muslim world need to see these shining examples of Muslim excellence on the playing field, especially in this era of poor Muslim public relations? Sports may just be a bunch of people running around and playing games, but it is very important to much of the world’s population. And it’s important to millions of Muslims. So, wouldn’t it be wonderful to have those millions of Muslims watching and playing together? Tell me what you think.