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IslamOnline - Britain's futsal (five-a-side
football) team, comprising more than a dozen Muslim women, will vie in the
4th International Islamic Women's Games in Iran later this month, a leading
British daily said on Thursday, September 15.Rimla Akhtar was the only girl
in her school football team. As a teenager, her idols were Gary Lineker and
Paul Gascoigne.
The players, who are sponsored by the Muslim News newspaper include mothers
and married women as well as students and academics, reported The
Independent.
It noted that most of the players are devout Muslims who have grown up
wearing hijab on the pitch.
The week-long tournament features 15 games and 25 countries.
The Muslim News, the only independent monthly Muslim newspaper in the UK, is
an executive committee member of the International Islamic Women's Games, in
charge of non-Muslim countries.
This will be the second time that Britain is participating at the Islamic
games, starting on September 22.
In 2001, Britain became the first non-Muslim country to take part when
sending futsal and badminton teams.
The games were created to give athletes from Muslim countries an opportunity
for international competition, while not violating Shari'ah by competing in
front of men in inappropriate attire.
Islam encourages women to practice sport under certain rules to preserve
their dignity and honor, safeguard them against immoralities and indecency
and preserve their chastity while preserving their right in practicing
sports.
Empowering
Rimla Akhtar, a 22-year-old British athlete of a Pakistani origin, will
captain the UK team in the international sports event.
"It is empowering to play football as a Muslim woman. It goes against what
society expects of you, from Muslims as well as non-Muslims, because there's
such mixed messages around Islam," she said.
The trip will be Akhtar’s second visit to the games as she was part of the
British team who went in 2001.
She told The Independent that her football love began as a four-year-old who
learnt to play the game from her two older brothers.
"The best night of the week used to be Saturday when I watched the Match of
the Day highlights. By the time the film Bend it Like Beckham came out, I
was already doing it, but without the family conflict," Akhtar said.
She recalled that her family has always been supportive and her mum was
really "sporty in Pakistan".
Akhtar, who recently graduated from London University, said that she has
always been a Liverpool fan and her idols were Gary Lineker and Paul
Gascoigne.
More British
Akhtar is not the only British Asian woman to have been brought up loving
football, said The Independent.
Ayesha Abdeen, 21, who has just completed a degree in physiotherapy and is
vice-captain of the team, attended a football academy in Richmond,
south-west London, as a youngster to develop her skills.
She said she played for a football academy and was the only Asian and Muslim
there.
"I've always played for local teams. I considered myself more British than
English because it feels more multicultural.
"That's why playing for Britain in a Muslim women's team perfectly
encompasses who I am," she said.
The UK futsal team has faced some recruitment problems with a degree of
resistance towards Muslim women playing sport from within the community.
Akhtar regretted that some talented players came under family pressure to
give up playing.
"The Qur'an encourages women to play sport. It's about transforming people's
misconceptions."
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