The Anatomy of A Muslim’s Prayer in America
At the beginning of the 4th quarter in what had quickly become a blowout, Husain Abdullah ended Tom Brady’s night with a pick 6 interception return for a touchdown.
One of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history, Brady has rarely seen this type of Monday night embarrassment in his career, but it was the action that followed the play that garnered the most attention this night. Abdullah, sliding into the end zone in celebration during the nationally televised game was already on his knees and went straight into sajda al shukr (the prayer of gratitude) which Muslims sometimes do in moments of joy showing thanks and gratitude to God. Sajda being the moment when Muslims see themselves as being closest to God with their bodies bowing down and foreheads touching the ground, in this ultimate physical act of submission and humility.
Of course prayer is no stranger to American football fields, with athlete’s like Tim Tebow, who is probably more famous for being a Christian then for his skills as a football player. Tebow, a player who prayed so often on the field that it was named, “Tebowing” and became a fad for a short time in 2011.
During his college games at the University of Florida Tebow would even write the Bible verse John 3:16 above his eyes. A verse that is often cited by evangelical Christians, “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Apparently this team of NFL referee’s working the Kansas City — New England game did not have proper multi-faith training and didn’t seem to recognize Abdullah’s prayer as a prayer and cited him for a 15 yard penalty for “excessive celebration,” for “going to the ground on the knees.” A penalty somewhere in the NFL’s rulebook although according to the former vice president of NFL officiating, prayer and praise should not be penalized.
And of course the internet responded quickly to the NFL’s hypocrisy.
This is not to say that Muslim’s don’t pray during sporting events, perhaps you saw the Algerian National team during the World Cup this summer where much of the team would prostrate in the prayer of gratitude after scoring a goal.
Or Pakistan’s cricket team taking time during their world cup match to perform their night prayer. If they are not actually prostrating in gratitude then like many of the Catholic players who cross themselves as they enter the game or other Christians who make a short prayer, many Muslims will also suplicate to God in a very similar fashion.
Of course many on the Islamophobic right wing fringe in the United States might be happy that the NFL has seemingly banned the Islamic prostration from NFL celebrations, but Abdullah and his brother Hamza are comfortable being the most visibly Muslim athlete’s in the United States today. Before his big interception against Tom Brady, Abdullah had stated, “If I get a pick, I’m going to prostrate before God in the end zone.” This being his second return for a touchdown in his fifth season in the NFL he made good on his promise. Continuing a line of proud Muslim athlete’s in American public life such as Muhammad Ali, Kareem Abdul Jabar, and Hakeem Olajuwon, the Abdullah brothers even sat out the 2012 football season to go on the Hajj pilgrimage. A journey that was chronicled by ESPN’s Outside the Line’s documentary series.
Like Tim Tebow, Husain Abdullah is comfortable sharing his faith with the world in his public role in the NFL, often putting up Islamic quotes or books about Islam.
Lets hope that the NFL tries to rectify all of its recent scandals, and can also find time to train its referee’s on what is prayer and what is excessive celebration. Or else it might begin to look like a religiously biggoted organization much like the international football federation FIFA, which only recently lifted it’s ban on the Hijab (head scarf). Or like the international basketball federation FIBA, which still maintains its ban on the headscarf which in the past week has led to the Qatari national team forfeiting all of its games and withdrawing from their tournament at the Asian Games. Sport is one of the great unifying forces in our world and religion should not be an obstacle to participation or a reason to penalize a person in their moment of gratitude towards their Lord.
(Update: the NFL quickly tweeted the following statement about the ruling on the field — “Abdullah should not have been penalized. Officiating mechanic is not to flag player who goes to ground for religious reasons.”)
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