England star Moeen Ali posted a Palestinian flag on Instagram. Photo: Gareth Copley/Getty Images
Moeen Ali, England vice-captain, posted a Palestinian flag on social media in a clear show of support for Palestine.
Moeen captioned the photo: “If you're not careful, newspapers will make you hate people who are oppressed and love people who oppress.” These words are a quote from Malcolm X, the controversial American Muslim human rights activist.
Moeen later deleted the post with the Palestinian flag. In a later post, Moeen repeated the Malcolm X quote. But this time there was no Palestinian flag attached to it, just a photo of Malcolm X.
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Post posted by Moeen Ali (@moeenmunirali)
Other athletes also used social media to show support for Palestine.
Mohamed Elneny, an Arsenal and Egypt footballer, changed his Twitter photo to a Palestinian flag in a clear show of support for Palestine.
Following Pakistan's century of World Cup victory over Sri Lanka on Tuesday, Muhammad Rizwan dedicated the innings to civilians in Palestine. “This was for our brothers and sisters in Gaza,” Rizwan tweeted, thanking the Indian fans for the welcome they gave the Pakistani team. “Extremely grateful to the people of Hyderabad for their amazing hospitality and support.”
In 2014, Moeen wore a bracelet engraved with the words “Save Gaza” during a Test match against India. He received prior permission from England to wear the bracelet. But the International Cricket Council banned him from wearing it, saying “equipment and dress codes do not permit the display of messages relating to political, religious or racial activities or causes during an international match.”
< img src="/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/3978b9daf6ee7ecc7c2e20c809e3b9e9.jpg" /> Moeen wore a bracelet with the inscription “Save the Gaza Strip!” Photo: Andrew Couldridge/Action Images
Moeen also said this week that he fears growing a beard could lead to accusations that he is a Muslim extremist. He said he was inspired by South African batsman Hashim Amla.
“Hashim Amla, the South African cricketer, has a big beard,” Moeen told Sky Sports. “If he can do it, why can’t I? This is what I wanted to do, but at the time I was a little afraid. I was young and didn't want people – even my own family – to think I was an extremist or becoming an extremist.
“Because that's all people were talking about at the time – Muslims are extremists.”
Moeen also spoke of his admiration for Muhammad Ali, the American boxer and activist.
“Muhammad Ali was a huge inspiration to me because he grew up and became a Muslim,” he said.
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