Muslim Football Team Names Spark Protest

AP ^ | December 7, 2003

[sarcasm]

IRVINE, Calif. (AP) -- It was planned as a way to bring young athletes together for a weekend of fun, but when participants in the Muslim Football tournament started naming their teams Intifada, Soldiers of Allah and Mujahideen, Jewish leaders took offense.

Intifada means ``uprising'' in Arabic and is the term applied to suicide bombings and other attacks against Israelis in the Middle East. Mujahideen means holy warrior.

Rabbi Bernie King, who lives in Irvine, said the teams' names undermined those who worked to have closer relations with Muslims.

``Something like this ... tends to support those in the community who have suspicions about the real intent of Islam,'' King said.

``What exactly are they honoring here?'' asked Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, the Los Angeles-based Jewish human rights organization. ``The continued targeting of innocent women and children by homicide bombers deserves to be condemned across the board. It's deeply, deeply disturbing.''

One of the Jan. 4 tournament's organizers said the names were meant to show support for Muslims in the Middle East, but also represent football bravado.

``A lot of the kids on our team are from Palestinian origin,'' said Tarek Shawky, Intifada's 29-year-old captain and quarterback. ``We are in solidarity with people in the uprising. It's about human rights and basic freedoms.''

Fellow tournament organizer Sabih Khan said he had worried about the names and had asked the teams to change them.

``It bothers me a little bit,'' said Khan, 18. But, he added: ``They were just trying to be cool.''

[nickcarraway]

It was planned as a way to bring young athletes together for a weekend of fun, but when participants in the Muslim Football tournament started naming their teams Intifada, Soldiers of Allah and Mujahideen

ah, what fun...

[zarf]

"We are in solidarity with people in the uprising. It's about human rights and basic freedoms.''

To kill Jews and to blow non-ragheads into hamburger.

[martin_fierro]

Team logo for the Irvine Intifada <|:/~

[zarf]

Great!

These Arabs have the humor of morticians and are archaic as a minstrel show.

[swilhelm73]

Must be hard to be a cheerleader in a burqua.

[tbpiper]

Must be hard to be a cheerleader in a burqua.

Probably look and sound like a possum fight in a bag.

[Indie]

``We are in solidarity with people in the uprising.

In non-PC English, "We support it."

[Lazamataz]

So I suppose the "Suicide Bombing Ragheads" is right out.

[Thebaddog]

Is this league a private organization?

[MarkL]

Hey, why not name a Jewish football team "The Crusaders!" Oh... Wait a minute... Not too many Jewish football teams out there...

Mark

[martin_fierro]

"RAH TEAM RAH!"

[bsaunders]

Better yet, name them the "Zionist Zealots".

[gaspar]

In the American melting pot Muslims don't melt. To continue to permit their immigration is to introduce a virus as pernicious as Ebola in the American body politic.

[cricket]

"ah, what fun..."

For sure.

[hgro]

These suedo Americans need to be sent back to their hell holes of origin where they can spout their venim to their hearts content - as long as their mullahs agree.

[cricket]

"RAH TEAM RAH!"

Perfect. . .LOL!

[xp38]

An old World Hockey Association team

[cookcounty]

So how about a league for Jewish kids? You could have names like the "Anti-Babykillers", the "Crushers of Al-Aksa" and the "Gaza Apache Rocketers", All in a good sense of bravado, of course.