Still, a mere 20-over-match shouldn’t have been such a widely
discussed issue, but the Islamization of cricket is indeed a serious
matter that needs to be discussed and dealt with.
Even before the match started, a former Pakistani cricketer known for
being an Islamic hardliner dreaming of Ghazwa-e-Hind, Shoaib Akhtar,
broached the two-nation theory
that justified the creation of Pakistan, taking pride in it right
before the start of the match. It was irrelevant to bring up the bloody
past that saw the butchering of hundreds of thousands of Hindus right
before a match, but once again, you can take a Pakistani player out of
Pakistan, but you can’t take the Islamist out of him. And this fact was
repeatedly evident on the field as well.
After India lost to Pakistan in this T20 World Cup match, Pakistani
commentator and former cricketer Bazid Khan, while exchanging words in a
post-match presentation ceremony with the Pakistani captain Babar Azam,
remarked, “Lekin kufr to toot gaya” (The kaffirs have been finally
destroyed), to which Azam replied, “yeh Allah Ka Kaam Hai” (All because
of Allah).
The phrase kufr toot gaya comes from the Islamic axiom,
“Laye us butt ko iltija kar ke, kufr tuta khuda khuda karke,” meaning,
“Idols prayed to by kafirs (non-Muslims) were finally broken, seeking
the Muslim god and Islam won.”
It is beyond one’s imagination or understanding that a derogatory
term, “kufr,” used by Muslim hardliners to denounce non-believers, would
be used by the presenter of the International Cricket Council (ICC) at
the stadium during a formal conversation intended for public
consumption. It is outrageous and deplorable, and so is the fact that
the ICC management has not taken any action against Bazid Khan for his
blatant bigotry. This establishes that the ICC lends the jihadis their
platform, allowing them to convey their innate hatred for non-Muslims.
Further, former Pakistani cricketer Waqar Younus praised cricketer
Mohammad Rizwan, in a televised discussion on the match, for performing
namaaz (Islamic prayer) on the ground in between Hindus, and stated it
was a very special thing for him.
On Sunday, October 24, Pakistani Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid
Ahmad called the victory of Pakistan over India a “victory for the
Muslim world.” He also claimed that Indian Muslims supported the
Pakistani team.
“I want to congratulate the whole of Pakistan on this resounding
victory (against India in T20 Qualifier match). I salute the Pakistan
team for decimating its arch-rival in an exemplary display of grit,
determination and courage. Pakistan has showcased its righteousness
before the Muslim world. This is the only India Vs Pakistan match that I
could not attend owing to ministerial work,” said the overjoyed
Pakistani minister. He also announced that he had directed the Traffic
Department to remove barricades in Rawalpindi and Islamabad, so that the
people of Pakistan could celebrate, concluding his statement with “Pakistan Zindabad. Islam Zindabad.” Long live Pakistan, Long Live Islam.
Muslims celebrated not only in Pakistan, but also in India. Multiple
videos have surfaced from Muslim neighborhoods in several Indian cities,
exposing their joy over the victory of India’s arch-rival. Muslims shot
off fireworks and kept the Indian sky bright throughout the night in
Delhi’s Seemapuri area, Bihar’s Gopalganj, Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur,
and parts of Gujarat.
There were enthusiastic celebrations throughout Kashmir, but
noteworthy were the celebrations in multiple higher education
institutions. Students of SKIMS Medical College, in Srinagar, Jammu and
Kashmir also celebrated India’s defeat by Pakistan in the T20 match,
with great exhilaration. Police have confirmed that Kashmiri students at
the Bhai Gurdas Institute of Engineering and Technology in Sangrur,
Punjab were also cheering for Pakistan during the India-Pakistan match, and raising “azadi” slogans (anti-India, secessionist slogans).
These students are pursuing medical and engineering degrees in
institutions funded by the Indian government, and funds come from the
taxes paid by the Indians, largely the Hindus. But that doesn’t keep
these Muslim professionals-in-the making from cheering for the rival
country.
Not only students, but some Muslim teachers in India are supporting
India’s Islamic neighbor rather than India itself. Nafisa Atari, a
teacher at Neerja Modi School in Rajasthan’s Udaipur, was unabashed in
sharing her support for Pakistan. The charitable trust running the
school decided to terminate the teacher, after which she clarified that
she was just “joking.”
The Muslims who cheered for Pakistan are living as regular civilians
in India, but their true sentiments betray them every once in a while,
as on occasions such as this.
When India was partitioned in 1947 and an
Islamic Pakistan was formed on the land taken from India, these people’s
parents and grandparents decided to stay “secular” and thrive in India,
benefiting from Indian society and deciding its policies at the ballot
box, but deep in their hearts of hearts, they will always be Muslims
supporting Pakistan, for Islam in itself is a nation, the identity of
which negates every other identity.
