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Muslim boxing hero
who unites us all
Fareena Alam
The Observer
29 August 2004
Amir Khan has been staring at me for months. In May, having been too
lazy to purchase tracing paper, I pulled out pages from the sports
section of a national broadsheet and began scotch-taping them to my
bedroom windows. The summer sun had become unbearable and the drawn
curtains weren’t letting enough light in.
As I taped up the final corners, my eyes fells on a young brown
face. Amir Khan, 17, was apparently taking the British boxing world
by storm. Excited, I grabbed a thick green marker and emphatically
boxed the story. We have to look this kid up, I told my husband.
Khan has been on my window since and if he wins the gold medal
today, his face will be splashed across the country. He is set to
become the youngest Olympic boxing champion since Floyd Patterson
won the Olympic title in 1952 and I, like many Britons, feel like I
have a stake in his victory.
There is something very exciting about a young British Muslim
representing his country in the Olympics. It defies the stereotype
of the Muslim as an indigestible minority or cultural parasite –
marginal at best, terrorist at worst. The glowing eulogies to Khan
in yesterday’s tabloids – infamous for perpetuating hurtful myths
about Muslims – after his spectacular semi-finals victory, seemed
out of place. British Muslims are rarely celebrated as heroes,
carrying the hopes of a nation into the most prestigious sports
competition on the planet. Khan’s stellar performance in Athens
could change all that.
British Muslims have few genuine role models – who are proudly
British and faithfully Muslim. Our public face has been hijacked,
much to the delight of those who love to hate us, by the likes of
Abu Hamza and Omar Bakri, not to mention the countless well-meaning
but thoroughly uninspiring imams and unimaginative self-appointed
community leaders. In Amir, we have a contemporary hero who has
grown organically from the rough streets of Bolton. Pakistani boys
don’t usually box. They play cricket and football, but in their own
leagues, content with being amongst their own, because they feel
like they won’t be accepted as equals in mainstream. Northern
England is the heartland of British Muslim dissatisfaction – high
unemployment, cultural disenfranchisement, discriminatory housing
policies have created a complex and often dangerous political
climate. Boys like Amir are better known for the Oldham riots than
for Olympic glory.
His family has been seen at ringside, hysterically waving the
British flag and at times, the Pakistani one. It’s hard to miss his
proud Dad sporting a tacky Union Jack vest, but look closer and
there’s a Pakistani cricket t-shirt underneath. Khan’s dual identity
is something he shares with many second, and third generation
British Muslims. With his new-found fame, he will no doubt be
claimed for by all kinds of interest groups. After all, Khan
epitomises some of the many internal debates ongoing amongst Muslims
in this country – about citizenship, nationalism and identity.
Nevertheless, Khan ought to reject being boxed in by politics. It’s
unfair to place the burden of representation on his young shoulders.
Yes, he is Muslim and Asian and all the things that make him so
unique and inspiring, but at the end of the day, he is just a
British lad who wants to put everything he’s got into playing the
sport he loves. And he knows he is going to play the game damn well.
This boy – inside and outside the ring, on and off camera – is one
smooth operator. He demonstrates the cool confidence of Muhammad Ali
and the boyish good looks of Prince Naseem. He is spirited,
gregarious, and his charming grin has probably set the hearts of
many young women racing. All this seems effortless for him. He pulls
no punches when, with a grin, he claims he can’t wait to annihilate
his next opponent. And we can’t wait to watch him do it. Amir Khan
is a home grown champion. He is ours.
But let’s face it, politics and sport has never been far apart. Just
like Zinedine Zidane leading the French footballers to World Cup
victory dramatically changed the perception of Algerian Muslims in
France, there is little doubt that Khan’s victory today will have a
powerful impact on the perceptions in this country. Whether he likes
it or not, Khan is set to become an icon.
Like Muhammad Ali a generation ago, Khan’s fight in the ring mirrors
the struggle of a people to find acceptance and belonging in country
they are already a part of. Khan has united a nation in his quest
for Olympic gold. Whatever the colour of the medal he brings home,
Amir Khan has opened the door for thousands of men and women to
pursue their dreams not as an excluded minority, but as part of
nation that celebrates its heroes whatever their faith. |
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