WATANI International
24 January 2010
It takes no sharp perception to note that the recent shootout which targeted the Copts of Nag Hammadi as they left church on Christmas Eve was the outcome of the by now all too familiar Islamised thought which has infiltrated all aspects of our society. In this light, the recent declaration of Egypt football coach Hassan Shehata that the selection of players for the Egyptian national team was subject to their piety and “relation to God”, were but another episode in the series of Islamising the society.
A whole new level
Shehata had declared during the first days of the African Cup now taking place in Angola that he wanted on the team only players who observe Islam, adding that team selection is based equally on religious piety and skill. The recent wave of football religiosity may be attributed to Mohamed Abu-Treika, the popular player on the Ahly and the Egyptian national teams. Abu-Treika gained the nickname ‘The Saint’ because of his apparent strong faith. He always bends to his knees to give thanks to God every time he scores. Even though Abu-Treika did not join the national team to Angola because of a knee injury, rumours circulated that Shehata had wished to include him in the expedition to Angola for “moral and spiritual reasons” but had to go back on his decision following scathing criticism from the organisers.
In its news report on the matter the Associated Press (AP) said Shehata, mixed religion with football especially when selecting or rejecting players. It mentioned the recent exclusion of the striker Mido from the national team owing to, according to Shehata, his ‘ethics’.
Many Egyptians, however, sympathise with mixing of religion and football. The AP report read: “For years, Egyptian athletes have demonstrated their piety in front of fans and the media, kneeling down to offer a prayer of thanks after scoring or winning, or praying before games to implore God to come to their team’s aid.” Even so, AP said, “Shehata’s recent comments take religion in sports to a whole new level.”
No Christian player
The national team coach was quoted as saying to the Egyptian media that skill alone would not guarantee anyone a place on the national team, indicating that pious behaviour was the main basis for selection and that without it no player will be selected regardless of his potential. “I always strive to make sure that those who wear the Egypt jersey are on good terms with God,” he said. Shehata had boasted on how he convinced Egyptian striker Mohamed Zidan, who plays for the German Dortmund club, to begin praying, after noticing that he used to be aloof and did not mix with the other players when they prayed.
The AP stressed that the intrusion of religion into sports is part of Egypt’s gradual movement toward religious conservatism over the last few decades, with most women adopting the Islamic veil in public, and diminishing tolerance for secular Muslims or minority Christians. No Christian player is today on the Egyptian national team.
The Italian media levelled criticism at the decision to exclude Mido from the national team because he did not fit Shehata’s prerequisite for piety, while another player was selected because of his devoutness. The Egyptian Embassy in Italy responded by claiming Shehata’s words had been misinterpreted. Hatem Abdel-Qader the Egyptian embassy’s media councillor in Rome told CNN that religion is not among the measures of players selection to the Egyptian national teams.
But this does not explain why the Egyptian team has been named ‘the team of the worshippers’ by the Egyptian press.