* Football connects more minds to Palestinian cause: Disu
The Executive Chairman of Muslim Public Affairs Centre (MPAC), Nigeria, Mallam Disu Kamor, has praised the Muslim Awareness International (MAI) for using football as a tool to create awareness about the plights of Palestinians.
The charity football tournament organised by MAI; the first of its kind, to highlight the Palestinian cause, was concluded on Saturday, August 24 at Evans Square Lagos.
Speaking at half time of the first game at the second phase of the novelty matches, the MPAC chairman, who was the special guest of honour, charged the participating Muslim professional bodies to see the tournament as a tool to identify with the Palestinian quest for statehood and create awareness for it.
He commended the initiative as a brilliant one, noting the important message that brought everyone together is the cause of justice for the Palestinians.
“The cause that brought all of us together should be at the back of the minds of the players. It may be a competition or a form of entertainment, but we can actually use it as a vehicle to promote our message. The important message that has brought all of us out here today is to serve the cause of justice for the Palestinians, and to show solidarity and join hands with other chief players around the world promoting independence and freedom for the Palestinians,” he said.
Football connects more minds to Palestinian cause
Disu noted that the novelty match has been going on in many countries around the world, adding it is good that Nigerians are joining their brothers and sisters around the world to use the platform of football as a tool to promote the joint message of freedom for Palestinians.
The MPAC chairman said all creative means permitted by Islam, including football, should be deployed to promote the cause of Palestine.
He was reacting to critics who believe there is a disconnect between the Palestinian struggle and football.
Disu said football has the tendency to connect more minds to the Palestinian cause, as it has been effective over the years for promoting different causes.
“I think the focus should be on the purpose the football match is serving, and the message it is promoting. If you look at the history of the resistance against apartheid in South Africa and the colonisation before then, you’ll see that all creative means were used. People organised concerts. That’s why quite a number of people connected with the cause.
“Song is used purely for entertainment, but the message made a lot of minds connect to the cause of justice for the South Africans. So, this is a means, not an end in itself. As Muslims, we can use different means sanctioned by Islam to promote our message. As long as the means is Islamically valid, the focus of people should be on the end and not the means.
“I think it’s been effective to promote a cause around the world with football. It’s been tested and trusted. That’s why many people around the world use it. It is not only through lectures and protests and those types of activities that we can get our message across; we can employ other creative means, and this is actually one of them.”
Israel committing massacre in Gaza with support of world powers
Disu reiterated his condemnation of Israeli genocidal war on Gaza, saying what is going on between Israel and Palestine is not a war but a massacre orchestrated by the former which has lasted for close to eighty years, with support from some super powers.
“What is going on in Palestine is definitely not a war, it is a massacre and a genocide. It is an attack by one side that is enjoying the support of great powers around the world against a people that have been caged before the onset of the aggression from Israel, for decades. We have to contextualise that.
“We also have to understand that the problem is a child of an oppression that has been going on for close to eighty years. Within that space of nearly eighty years now, there have been massacres. This is just one episode of it.
“We have people with a perfected skill of occupying other people, displacing them and causing massive scale of murders and killing in different places around the world, especially targeted at specific people because of their ethnicity.
“We continue to see today, countries like America and other major countries in the European Union giving support to Israel. A lot of these people have absolutely no regard for human life. Their history has shown that; not only in Palestine but also in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and other places around the world. They have a history drenched in human blood.
“Right now, we have about 40,000 people killed in the space of 10 months, amongst a population of just about 2.2 million people. We have about 100,000 now injured. We have people that are unaccounted for because of the type of weapons that have been used on them. They have disappeared. That’s what we are dealing with. Unfortunately, Palestinians have people who claim to be friends around them. People of like minds who pretend to be friends but are working in secret alliance with their enemies. That is why we see this issue prolonged and protracted,” he stated.
He said as advocates for justice and peace, the Nigerian Muslims and others around the world will continue to match Israel’s scale of brutality and oppression with determination and solidarity for Palestinians.
MULAN, TMC, MSSN, others shine at novelty tournament
The two-day football tournament which spanned two weekends saw various organisations like The Muslim Congress (TMC), Muslim Lawyers Association of Nigeria (MULAN), Muslim Teachers Association of Nigeria (MUTAN) and the MSSN take to the field, using football as a tool to create awareness on the plight of the Palestinians.
The first game of the tournament held on Saturday, August 17, saw TMC face off with MSSN Lagos State Area Unit.
Although TMC were the better side for most part of the game, they failed to take their chances, allowing MSSN Lagos to punish them with two well taken goals from the only two chances they created in that time.
TMC managed to pull one back but it was a little too late to get anything from the game as MSSN Lagos progressed to the final to face MSSN Yabatech, who qualified for the final via a walkover as their opponent MSSN University of Lagos (UNILAG) failed to show up.
MSSN Yabatech raced to the trophy courtesy of a well coordinated team effort that resulted in a pinpoint cross and a bullet header in what happened to be the only goal of the final. They were presented a trophy by MAI Director, Surv Abdulwaheed Shoyebi.
The phase of two of the tournament kicked off on Saturday, August 24, with a game between TMC Professionals and MULAN.
TMC Professionals learning from the profligacy of their first team that lost to MSSN LSAU the previous weekend pummeled MULAN, scoring three wonderful goals. Although MULAN put in a dogged performance, they could only manage a consolation goal.
The second game of the day was between Mumtiah Madrasah and MUTAN.
Both teams scored via fortuitous circumstances with MUTAN scoring via a howler from the Mumtiah goalkeeper and Mumtiah drawing level after a ludicrous handball by the captain of the MUTAN side from a corner kick. The resulting penalty was well dispatched.
It was tied at full time with a penalty shootout required to settled the scores. Mumtiah edged MUTAN 4-3 on penalty after the Mumtiah goalkeeper saved MUTAN’s last kick.
MAI prepares for Aqsa Day lecture
The Chairman, Aqsa Day 2024 Planning Committee, Ustadh Dada Yakeen, expressed excitement about the outcome of the tournament.
He said he never envisaged the huge success that the football tournament turned out to be.
“Since we started last week, a lot of people showed support. Even those that do not have time created time to be part of the tournament. Today is the last day of the football tournament. It was really a successful one.
“We want to thank the MPAC Chairman, Mal. Kamor, for gracing the occasion and his beautiful address. We believe this is one of the ways to show solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Palestine. We pray that victory will come their way soon,” he said.
The Chairman meanwhile reminded the general public of the main event, Aqsa Day, which will come up on September 16 at the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos, with the theme: “Free Palestine: ‘Aluta Continua Victoria ascerta”.
The Aqsa Day is usually commemorated by MAI on the day of Mawlid Nabbiy which is declared a public holiday by the Nigerian government.
According to the Chairman Planning Committee, the day is set aside to further create awareness about the Palestinian struggle.
Nigeria’s former Minister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode will be speaking on the topic: “Injustice to Palestinians and genocide in Gaza: a threat to democracy and freedom in the world”.
The human rights activist and religious leaders such as Comrade Buna from Human Rights Monitoring Agenda (HURMA); Prof Lakin Akintola, Director of Muslim Rights Concern, MURIC; and Sheikh Dhikrullah Shafi’i, Grand Mufti, Conference of Islamic of Organizations (CIO) will be speaking on different topics like: “Is UN (Security Council) for us or against us (Palestine as a case study)” and “Our roles in ensuring complete freedom of the state of Palestine”.
