Club comment: GC players pose with radical Islam influencer

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As a radical Islam influencer, Abdul Wahab spreads controversial views and calls himself ‘Iamthewarner’ on social media. The American, originally from Lebanon, has over half a million followers on YouTube and 110,000 on Instagram.

Wahab is a preacher in Islamist circles and represents a toxic image of men. “As men we must be leaders,” is one of his creeds. Getting married at a young age is important so that the man can concentrate on his career. He also claims that 80 percent of Western women use antidepressants.

“Keep me in your prayers”

Now photos that Wahab published in mid-January are making headlines. As the “Tagesanzeiger” first reported, he poses with three professional football players. Their names are Elmin Rastoder (22), Florian Hoxha (22) and Meritan Shabani (24) and are under contract with the Grasshoppers. With Wahab they show themselves to be devout Muslims, raise the index finger just like him and allow themselves to be exploited by him.

The photos were taken in a mosque in Zurich. In Islam, the index finger is a symbol of the unity of God. Hoxha and his two teammates do not appear to be believers on social media. Their profiles are mainly about football. Nevertheless, Hoxha commented on the photos with the words “Allah bless you”.

It doesn’t take long for Wahab to answer. “It was a pleasure to meet you, my brother,” he wrote. “May Allah continue to bless you, keep me in your prayers.”

Respect, tolerance and inclusivity

The photos also do not go unnoticed by GC. A statement will appear on the homepage on Monday morning. «Grasshopper Fussball AG stands for the values ​​of respect, tolerance and inclusivity. Hate speech of any kind is unacceptable in our club,” it said. “We are committed to working with all members of the GC community, including our players, to ensure everyone understands the impact of their words and actions.” It also makes it unmistakably clear “that there is no place for hate speech or exclusion.”

The club may have asked its players for an interview. It remains to be seen whether and what consequences they will suffer. At least for one person, the whole thing seems to have had an effect. Because Rastoder made sure he wasn’t tagged in Washab’s photo anymore. (beer)

Source : Blick