'Muslim players are helping to tackle stereotypes about Islam'

By Nadeem Badshah

 

 

Organisers of a recent march to counter an anti-Islamic protest believe stars like Demba Ba and Papiss Cisse are helping tackle negative stereotypes about Muslims.

Dipu Ahad, a city councillor in Newcastle, told Sky Sports that Muslim Premier League players have helped educate fans about their faith.
His view is backed by new research being carried out into how Muslim players are raising awareness about their faith among supporters.
Ahad highlighted the goal celebrations of Ba and Cisse – both bow in prayer - and the chant Newcastle fans sang referencing Ba and the amount of goals he had scored since Ramadan.
Ahad, a Newcastle fan said: “Having more black players as role models changed attitudes to race on the terraces.
"Now it’s Muslim role models like Demba Ba and other prominent players who are changing people’s perception.
“You have had Ba and Cisse prostrating to God when scoring and fans singing the ‘Ramadan chant’.
“That breaks barriers and gets people thinking about religion, it’s a powerful message.”

“It was people from different communities standing shoulder to shoulder celebrating diversity."

Councillor Dipu Ahad

Ahah helped arrange February’s ‘Newcastle Unites’ demonstration against the PEGIDA (Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the West) rally.
He added: “We Geordies are fanatical about football and to come out and say we are against Islamophobia was the most powerful statement.
“There were [around] 3000 at the demo, a lot of that is down to Newcastle United fans.
“It was people from different communities standing shoulder to shoulder celebrating diversity.”
Omar Salha, from The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London, said his early findings showed 67 per cent of fans questioned felt players who followed the Islamic faith were integrated in football.
And over half thought having Muslim players counters stereotypes about the religion.
Salha said: "There are a number of indicators to suggest why Muslim football players have decreased some of the stereotypes and misconceptions of Islam among fans.
"Primarily, it’s because of the increase of Muslim footballers in the Premier League and the exposure of symbolic (Islamic) expressions performed in stadiums.
“This has created awareness surrounding their respective faith on issues regarding fasting, prayer and prohibition of alcohol and gambling.
"These expressions, raising hands in prayer, prostrating after a goal celebration, reflect a sense of belonging, pride, freedom of expression and an opportunity to raise awareness in the face of increasing Islamophobia in society."
Anti-racism groups have claimed they have received complaints about verbal abuse against Muslims at football grounds across the leagues.
And following the terrorist attacks in France in January, community groups fear a backlash with some fans worried about attending games over fears of being targeted by Islamophobic chants.
Fiyaz Mughal OBE, director of inter-faith think-tank Faith Matters which runs a helpline where victims can report anti-Muslim abuse, said some fans are afraid to report such chants.
He said: “There are real issues of Islamophobia in football grounds and the reason why many do not report it is because of the fear of being intimidated.
“We have been told this by victims and this is a real problem.”
Recent examples include a Middlesbrough fan, Julie Phillips, who was banned from every football ground for three years for ripping up pages of the Holy Quran during a game with Birmingham City.
In response to the incident, more than 100 Middlesbrough supporters took part in an anti-racism march.
Abu Nasir is an ambassador for the Kick It Out campaign and is a Bedfordshire Football Association council member.
He said he will be pushing for Islamophobia to be discussed with the FA and football groups.
“A lot of hard work has gone in to educating fans in tackling racism, homophobia, anti-Semitism, but we seriously need to have a big discussion on how football and society in general will tackle the growing 21st century problem of Islamophobia," he said.
“We have recently experienced a huge increase in Muslim women attending matches after some excellent work from various organisations which includes the FA, Luton Town FC and the 'Headscarves to Football Scarves' campaign.
“If we do not tackle the issues Muslim fans are currently facing, I am worried all the hard work done over the last decade may go to waste.
“With incidents such as the recent atrocities in Paris, I'm afraid people from Muslim backgrounds will be further isolated and socially excluded which includes being involved in and attending matches."
Yahya Sidatt, a director of the Muslim Sports Council (MSC), praised the efforts of clubs like Arsenal and Liverpool who have both introduced facilities for those who wish to pray at matches but warned more work was needed to root out those guilty of Islamophobic behaviour.
“There are certain clubs in the Premier League who have tackled this issue head-on, notably the likes of Arsenal and Liverpool, where our members are frequent visitorsbut we believe that unless stewards and security personnel highlight these troublemakers then this will continue.”
He added that Arsenal have introduced a prayer room for fans and been proactive in campaigning against racism, while Liverpool have asked for the MSC’s advice on faith issues and also have prayers facilities at Anfield.
   
But there is an effort being made to tackle the problem, according to Piara Powar, executive director of the Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE) group. 
“More [Islamophobic] incidents are reported in the UK compared with France because of the way in which football is run there,” he said.
“Here there is a big focus on tackling discrimination, the police are geared up to addressing it.
“In the UK there is more focus on identifying it and reporting it to police.”
If you would like to take part in the SOAS study, visit https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/faiththebeautifulgame