I received a great deal of critical feedback in response to my previous article on the Moroccan national football team. Some readers felt that football has no place on a traditional Islamic website such as Muslim Skeptic.
However, despite the concerns raised, I do stand by my decision to cover the unexpected outcome of the World Cup. Furthermore, recent events that have unfolded only further demonstrates the importance of discussing these issues.
It is no secret that many aspects of modern competitive football are clearly haram, and this fact cannot be ignored or brushed aside. My intention was not to encourage anyone to watch or compete in the sport, nor to sugarcoat its significant flaws and problematic aspects. However, it is undeniable that football is the most popular sport in the world, having a significant amount of financial and political influence on society. Thus, as Muslims, it becomes our responsibility to engage with and address these issues.
I do believe that, as a general rule, it is better for Muslims to refrain from participating in football tournaments. However, this World Cup in particular became a symbolic battle between Muslim countries (represented by Morocco) and post-colonial powers (represented by France). I had expressed my support for Morocco not because of their involvement in the sport but only because this match was perceived by many as a clash of civilizations.
The purpose of my article was simple: first, to highlight the violent reactions of the French and second, to honor the Moroccan team’s defense of the Palestinian flag on a global stage. It was clearly not any sort of attempt towards trying to condone modern competitive football as a whole along with its numerous problematic and haram aspects.
Putting all of this aside for a moment, the 2022 Qatar World Cup had garnered widespread attention globally, and we must highlight the tragic events that occurred and also engage in meaningful discussions surrounding them.
The Dark Side of Football: A Muslim Perspective on the Events in Montpellier
The Mirror reported:
A boy has died in Montpellier after France and Morocco fans clashed in violent scenes following the World Cup semi-final.
France booked their spot in Sunday’s final with a 2-0 win over Morocco to end the African side’s fairytale that ran deep into the knockout stages. However, the result prompted clashes in parts of France, including ugly scenes in Montpellier which were captured on camera.
A statement issued by the local government office has now said that a boy was killed in the violence after he was “violently hit” by a car. The Department of Herault said he was transferred to the hospital, but died shortly after arrival.
Police are investigating and the vehicle was found near the scene. Video shared on social media showed crowds milling around a car being driven erratically in the street.
On Wednesday, this beloved little brother of ours was taken from us due to the violent and destructive tribalism perpetuated by the French. Shops were destroyed, cars were burned and lives were lost, all because of a sport. This fanaticism surrounding football elicits very extreme reactions—reactions that are not even witnessed in response to oppressive government policies.
RELATED: Morocco vs. Belgium: Europe in the Flames of Football Hooligans
But how can we know whether or not this young boy was killed by French supporters? Well, there are several clues that indicate towards this being the case.
First and foremost, mainstream media outlets have reported that “ultra-right” militias had planned to attack Moroccan fans.
La Voix du Nord reported:
A group of 40 people close to the ultra-right, who were preparing to join the Champs-Elysées in Paris after the semi-final of the World Cup won by France against Morocco, were arrested for carrying weapons prohibited, we learned Wednesday evening from a police source.
An arrest took place in the 17th arrondissement of the capital during a random check. According to this source, several of the members of this group were known to the police for their membership in an ultra-right movement.
If this wasn’t enough, there is also clear video footage of French supporters inciting violence against the Moroccans.
Les attaques commis par des milices d'extrême-droite contre des supporters marocains ne sont pas une fable , ils ont été clairement revendiqué sur leurs propres réseaux…
Mais sinon à part ça on invente hein…#AfficheLesFachos #Lyon #Montpellier #Nice06 #Paris pic.twitter.com/NIPXZbpkQQ— Le DéCaLé📽 (@ledecaledu25) December 17, 2022
The first man says:
“We’ll f*** up some Sand-ni****.”
The second man adds:
“We’re going to hunt down some Moroccan boys.”
As you can see, it’s pretty explicit?
RELATED: France Wants to Eradicate Islam From Education: Is There Any Future for Muslims in France?
Additionally, the Moroccan community has identified someone that they believe to be the perpetrator, stating that the boy was murdered by a gypsy. It is worth noting here that many gypsies in France align with right-wing politics, and some hold an entrenched prejudice and antagonism against Muslims. However, that being said, it is important for us to understand and appreciate that not all gypsies are the same. This added clarity is simply meant to illustrate how it is quite reasonable to suspect that this boy was killed on the basis of racism.
Within the city of Montepellier, this tragedy has sparked conflict among the community.
The Moroccan residents of the city attacked the gypsy camp, burned several homes and even inflicted a severe neck injury on a woman. Fortunately this woman received medical attention and is now recovering.
All of this insanity is happening due to football, a game watched and enjoyed by billions of people worldwide. It is a sport that has the power to shape geopolitical dynamics. One could easily argue that football has become an institution in its own right.
Football is more than just a game. It has the potential to bring people together; to inspire and ignite passions; and to stir up emotions. It is a very unhealthy obsession for many people, and for others it has quite literally become a religion. As we have witnessed, time and time again, football can be utilized as a means to spread hatred and incite conflicts.
This is why it is important that we, as Muslims, recognize this influence and have some awareness regarding its basic developments. This is so that we can advise our fellow Muslims regarding the very real dangers of football, both spiritual and physical.
Look at the violence surrounding the game, and we haven’t even touched on the statistics regarding how people become violent towards their own families when their favorite team loses. There is also the more serious possibility of football being weaponized by colonial powers to dominate and oppress Muslims. Only someone who is completely naive doesn’t realize that it is already being used to influence and socially engineer people. We know very well how the liberal agenda is being pushed through sports. And then there’s the poison of nationalism too. Just imagine, we actually witnessed ignorant Muslims rooting for Kafir countries to win against Muslim countries!
These are not trivial matters.
In fact, what we need is more scholars, imams and da’is to publicly speak out and warn the Muslims against watching and becoming obsessed with such competitive sports, especially when there are so many problematic aspects involved. Instead though, unfortunately we actually see some of the incompetent and unsophisticated ones even succumbing to the football culture themselves, constantly posting on social media about how they watch football, how they are a fan of xyz team, celebrating and becoming overjoyed when “their” team wins or becoming depressed and hiding away when “their” team loses, etc.
May Allah guide us all and help us get our priorities straight. Amin.
RELATED: Les Bleus: France’s “Love” and Islamophobia in Football
Very well put together article &complete agreement
Another point is that big events like these are distractions for the evil doers to two things
1. Outside the West: Violent war crimes or others of the like during distractions such as these. I have no doubt they probably dropped bombs and the like
2. Inside the West: Likelihood if not definite they have passed illegal laws w/out the general public noticing.
3. Draw attention away from current criminals:3p$t31n
“Thus, as Muslims, it becomes our responsibility to engage with and address these issues.”
You don’t do that by writing a long article describing a football match with epic words, hyping it up and thereby encouraging people to watch the sport.
Dont you see the societal harm that organized sport has caused? Just look at the obvious correlation between countries lack of Islam and its obsession with organized sports.
This is something you should condemn in no unclear terms.
The point of the article was to show the world how French tribalism is trivialized in the Media, plus to show Morocco’s love for Palestine which I think is necessary since the Moroccan people are often accused of being pro-Zionism. I did not want people to watch the game, I wanted Muslims to wish France lost because of the context surrounding the match.
salaam brother . do you really think winning of Morocco or for that matter any other Muslim country would have made much difference to the life of common Muslims? i really don’t think so . the people in Palestine would still be suffering , Muslims else where who are in difficult situations would still be suffering like they are . Most Muslims with common sense today know govt dont represent people the decision of the govt to normalize does not represent the will of moroccos people
i think as Muslims we are way to focused on the optics of things . regard less of what ever Muslims do the people who hate us are still going to do so . the media will never give a fair report or representation to Muslims. weather it be against France,isreal or any other country,policy,person hostile to Muslims. the only.solution is for Muslims to become independent form businesses and communities that exclusively hire Muslims and give them preference.we need al wala wal bara the most
we need to have muslim media , tech companies etc and alternatives that Muslims need then and only then we will be in a position to speak our truth . as for foot ball i am 100% sure even if the morocco team won the media would never highlight the fact that morocco defeated it former colonizer. they would make it out to be a African/morocco victory never a Muslim victory. i would have felt same happiness if muslim country won as knowing my cousin got into ivy uni a momentary joy nothing more
You nailed it, Mr. Hud! But d’you wanna hear something crazy? I’m from Bangladesh, people usually support either Brazil or Argentina (some support other teams), and there have been incidents when fans of these two teams clash with each other physically, sometimes even leading to deaths. Just think this, people of a third country fighting among themselves for two other countries, of which they know nothing except their football heritages.
Is football haram?
Not surprising, in Spain many gypsies vote for VOX.
This is despite the fact that the Spanish gypsies are the most marginal community, much more than any community of migrant origin. This community lives in its own secluded neighborhoods where police never enter, many of its members are involved in drug trafficking, robberies, possession of illegal weapons and all kinds of crimes including rape and murder; they are even overrepresented in prisons.
The average voter of VOX hates gypsies but they don’t dare to express it because of fear
This is despite the fact that the Spanish gypsies are the most marginal community, much more than any community of migrant origin.Most of this community lives in its own secluded neighborhoods where police never enter, many of its members are involved in dr*g trafficking, robberi*s, possession of illegal weapo*s and all kinds of crimes including r*pe and m*rder; they are even overrepresented in prisons.
The average voter of VOX hates gypsies but they don’t dare to express it because of fear
It is also worth mentioning that there are members of this community who are good people, have their own businesses, have their artists, etc
And also the reason why this community is in this very negative situation is because of the centuries of marginalization and discrimination they suffered as a minority by the majority , there were even attempts at genocide against this community f.e by King Fernando VI in the Great Gypsy Round-up in 1749.
This community needs da’wah to discover real Islam
What is really shocking is that this community does not come in the news headlines despite all this problems, in my opinion it’s because they are christians, if they were muslims they would make headlines in the international media as fuel to ignite Islamophobia worldwide…
In my hometown, I know many gypsies that converted to Islam. Many of them are sincere Christians who recognize Islam’s truth when they see its clear and coherent theology.
i think many people go over board with dawah . if a community is hostile towards islam and Muslims than i say give them the bare minimum info and leave it at that. them converting does not benefit any one except them self if some one hated me and i had a map to a treasure why would i share the map with such a person . i see many people making dua for enemies of islam to become Muslim honestly i wish they never become Muslim and burn to crisp in Jahannam
I respectfully disagree brother. While it is a natural and sane feeling to want the wrongdoers punished, Islam orders every Muslim to deliver the message in the best manner, including the enemy. As demonstrated by the life of our Prophet (peace be upon him), he did his best to spread Islam to the lowest of the low.
There are already west european gypsies that converted to Islam. Also in the east of Europe there are gypsies that are muslims since the Ottoman era in countries like Kosovo, Macedonia, Albania, etc
I want to add something, there was an armed conflict between two countries (salvador and honduras) due to a match for qualification for the world cup in 1969.
Well said