In a shock result during the ongoing FIFA World Cup in Qatar, Morocco upstaged the much fancied Portugal in the Quarter Final by 1-0 setting up a semifinal against the defending champions France. While the great underdog story of Morocco slaying some of the footballing giants like Spain and Portugal has warmed the hearts of football lovers everywhere, many people are determined to make it all about religion.
Morocco is a Muslim country, with nearly 98% of the population adhering to Islam, and many Muslims are determined to make their impressive run all about the religion.
The person leading the campaign to make Morocco’s win all about Islam was none other than the 2014 World Cup winner and former Real Madrid and Arsenal star Mesut Ozil, who hailed the Moroccan win as a victory for the Muslim world.
Proud 🤲🏼 What a team! 🇲🇦❤️ What an achievement for the African continent & the Muslim world 🤲🏼 Great to see such a fairytale is still possible in modern football – this will give so many people so much power & hope ❤️❤️⚽ #Morocco #WorldCup #Qatar2022
— Mesut Özil (@M10) December 10, 2022
Khaled Beydoun, famous for spreading fake news about India, also tried to bask in the reflected glory from Moroccan players by claiming that this is a win for all Muslims.
Morocco🇲🇦 is a Muslim nation.
— Khaled Beydoun (@KhaledBeydoun) December 10, 2022
98% of the population practice Islam, and the players drop down in prayer after goals & victory.
This is a victory for 2 Billion Muslims globally.
Khaled also took it upon himself to offer a bet to French President Emmanuel Macron on behalf of Morocco that Macron will remove the hijab ban in France if Morocco beats them in the semifinal. Interestingly, France has several Muslim stars in their squad like Dembele, Konate, and Fofana. Many French Muslims are not in Qatar because of injuries, the likes of Pogba and Kante among others.
Dear France 🇫🇷 ,
— Khaled Beydoun (@KhaledBeydoun) December 11, 2022
Let’s make a bet.
If Morocco 🇲🇦 beats you in the #WorldCup semifinal, you have to: 1) Revoke the Hijab Ban and 2) cease all that Islamophobia.
What do you say, Macron?
Signed,
2 Billion Moroccan fans/xx
Even many die-hard fans of Portuguese legend Cristiano Ronaldo chose to celebrate Portuguese loss as it was a victory for the Ummah.
So bitter sweet. Love Ronaldo and can’t believe he won’t ever win a World Cup, but gotta support the Ummah. Alhamdulilah for Morocco’s win 🇲🇦
— Tallie Dar (@talliedar) December 10, 2022
So bitter sweet. Love Ronaldo and can’t believe he won’t ever win a World Cup, but gotta support the Ummah. Alhamdulilah for Morocco’s win 🇲🇦 💚🙃🤗
— AzaaN siDDiQui 🇮🇳 (@AzaaQui19) December 10, 2022
Congratulations to Morocco! Making Muslim ummah
— اویس قاسم🇵🇰 (@awaisqasim258) December 10, 2022
Proud.From Pakistan🇵🇰😍😍😍#Ronaldo#Moraco#FIFAWorldCup
Obviously, Pakistanis, with nothing to be proud of in their own country, were leading this campaign to make the Moroccan win about the Ummah and trying to be a part of the glory.
Riots in European cities after Moroccan win
Over the years, Europe has admitted a large number of legal and illegal refugees from North Africa, and most major European cities now have a large Muslim population of North African origin. Even Moroccan star player Ziyech was born and brought up in the Netherlands, as were most of his teammates.
Moroccan victories over Belgium and Spain led to huge riots from the Moroccan fans in Europe, and the situation was no different after Morocco’s win over Portugal.
Riots broke out in Paris’ Champs-Elysees neighborhood following Morocco’s victory over Portugal as rioters reportedly engaged in acts of vandalism in the area and police responded with tear gas. Interestingly, France is the next opponent for Morocco in the World Cup after they defeated England 2-1.
The World Cup of religion?
While Morocco’s progress in the tournament is very impressive and admired by fans worldwide, many people making it all about religion is par for the course during this World Cup.
Qatar, a strict Islamic country, has enforced its own religious beliefs on all players and spectators during the tournament. They managed to stop the European captains from wearing rainbow armbands, stopped journalists from attending matches with rainbow t-shirts, and refused to serve beer in the stadiums even though Budweiser is one of the main sponsors of the tournament.
Islamic hate preacher and Indian fugitive Zakir Naik also reached Qatar ahead of the tournament to convert as many people as he could during the tournament. Even though Qatar later denied that they officially invited him, his presence during the tournament points to only one thing.
