Many Egyptian Christians feel left out of World Cup
Egypt’s first World Cup in 28 years has captivated the soccer-crazy nation, with intense focus on the squad and the broader game.
The Egyptians played the first match of the tournament June 15 and held two-time World Cup winner Uruguay scoreless for 89 minutes, until conceding a late goal and losing 1-0.
Still, the performance — with star striker Mohamed Salah injured on the sidelines — attracted international praise and gripped the millions of people gathering in groups across Egypt to watch their team together.
It was a welcome distraction for Egyptians who are struggling under harsh economic conditions. The 3-1 loss in the next match to host Russia, even with Salah back in the lineup, ended Egypt’s chances of advancing beyond the group stage. Despite the loss, the love and respect enjoyed by the team and the players remained intact.
Yet it wasn’t an entirely unifying experience.
For the country’s Christians, about 10 per cent of the population, the composition of the team and the way the squad was perceived highlighted what they believe is a problem with the sport in Egypt.
No Christian has been on the national soccer squad for more than a decade, and just one played for any of the 18 top-flight clubs last season.
Egyptian coaches and officials dismiss any suggestion of discrimination, but Christians disagree. Egypt’s Christian spiritual leader has broken the church’s silence on the issue by publicly complaining about their disproportionate representation in the sport.
Egypt’s all-Muslim World Cup squad is known for being pious. The team even chose to make its World Cup base in Muslim Chechnya.
The national squad has been nicknamed the prostrators because the players offer a Muslim prayer when they score. They regularly pray together when in camp and read the opening verse of the Qur’an before kickoff. Some perform the Muslim ritual wash before games. Generally, they frame competition, wins and defeats in religious terms.
Hassan Shehatah, one of Egypt’s most successful coaches, said nearly a decade ago that, to him, a player’s religious piety was as important as his skills. Hassan led an all-Muslim squad to win three of Egypt’s seven African titles between 2006 and 2010.
When goalkeeper Ahmed Elshenawy was named man of the match against Uruguay, he refused the Budweiser-sponsored award on religious grounds.
The perceived exclusion of Christians from top flight soccer and the national team is at odds with the outreach to the ancient community by Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, Egypt’s general-turnedpresident who led the military’s 2013 ouster of an Islamist president. El-Sissi has emphatically and repeatedly spoken about inclusion and sectarian harmony. However, his government, critics and some Christians say, has failed to shield the community from the day-to-day discrimination, particularly in rural areas with less state authority and religious tolerance.