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Soccer Should Be Banned

Decent Essays

Throughout the Middle East soccer is a very prominent, male-dominated sport. Soccer is used by many people as an escape from their real world, and gives them a few hours where they can leave their differences aside and come together as a nation to celebrate their team. Soccer, however, is also very popular in the political realm of the Middle East as it is used by politicians and government leaders to their advantage in countries like Egypt and Turkey. However, not all countries allow or invite soccer into their borders. Countries like Saudi Arabia believe that soccer is practiced as a religion and should be banned because it causes a divide in the Muslim faith. Throughout the Middle East, soccer plays a key factor in their politics as politicians …show more content…

The government in Saudi Arabia believes that “it distracts from the performance of religious duties but acknowledge that there is nothing in Islamic law that would justify banning the sport or imposing restrictive conditions” (Dorsey 94). The government believes that Prophet Mohammed does not support soccer, but they cannot ban it because Sharia Law states that men should be active and exercise. Therefore, Saudi Arabia decided that soccer can be practiced in their country if it is practiced only for the sake of training men for jihad and will be banned if it is has “any detrimental effect on horses and men” or takes up too much of a person’s time and energy (Dorsey 97). This ruling shows that politicians do not enjoy having soccer in their country so they use it as a political and religious force to bring men closer into their Muslim …show more content…

In Israel, soccer star Suan Bnei shows the divide between Palestine and Israel as Israel boos the soccer star based solely off the fact that he identifies as Arab. Suan “symbolizes the struggle between Israelis and Palestinians as well as internal battles in both communities” by representing the historic animosity towards one another is mutual and how they are both “products of the politicization of sports as well as the role soccer has played in the development of separate national identities in historic Palestine” (Dorsey 150). Israel and Palestine’s fight against each other is prevalent in soccer and their fans as fans boo and chant derogatory phrases at each other. The chants symbolize the deep hate that each country has towards each

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