Pacific Views

Fatwa on Soccer

Riverbend's most recent post concerned the suppression of futbol fever in Baghdad. It turns out that Muqtada Sadr doesn't think that Iraqis should waste their time with frivolous things like soccer and the World Cup. In fact, he's actually issued a fatwa about the problem.

“In reality, my father's position on this topic isn't deficient... Not only my father but Sharia also prohibits such activities which keep the followers too occupied for worshiping, keep people from remembering [to worship]. Habeebi, the West created things that keep us from completing ourselves (perfection). What did they make us do? Run after a ball, habeebi… What does that mean? A man, this large and this tall, Muslim- running after a ball? Habeebi, this ‘goal’ as it is called… if you want to run, run for a noble goal. Follow the noble goals which complete you and not the ones that demean you. Run after a goal, put it in your mind and everyone follows their own path to the goal to satisfy God. That is one thing. The second thing, which is more important, we find that the West and especially Israel, habeebi the Jews, did you see them playing soccer? Did you see them playing games like Arabs play? They let us keep busy with soccer and other things and they've left it. Have you heard that the Israeli team, curse them, got the World Cup? Or even America? Only other games... They've kept us occuppied with them- singing, and soccer, and smoking, stuff like that, satellites used for things which are blasphemous while they occuppy themselves with science etc. Why habeebi? Are they better than us- no we're better than them.”

This fatwa probably explains the murder of the tennis stars for the sin of wearing shorts. Do you think as Muqtada gains more control on the country that he'll decide to put the stadiums to use like his ideological soul brothers, the Taliban?

Posted by Mary at June 1, 2006 05:34 AM | Iraq | Technorati links |