Amir Khan a Pakistani British boxer pummeled his opponent last night in a bout lasting a mere 79 seconds to retain his WBA boxing title. What surprised and somewhat offended me about an article from the Times of London was a mention of the two fighters’ religious beliefs and an ignorant comment regarding God or Allah. Amir Khan is a devout Muslim and his opponent Dmitriy Salita, from Brooklyn, New York is an orthodox Jew. The first thing that occurred to me upon reading this was what does it matter what religion these two fine athletes practice and why did this article even mention their religious beliefs. I follow boxing because I am a fan of the sport of boxing the religion of the fighters is irrelevant to me as a Muslim. At first I dismissed the mention of religious affiliation as a mere passing point but then the writer of the article followed it up with this gem of a line:
After the two men, one an orthodox Jew, the other a devout Muslim, had prayed to their respective Gods in their corners as the first bell sounded [.]
I just found this point irrelevant and misleading for one simple reason. Both Salita and Khan share the monotheistic belief that there is one Creator. There are not multiple Gods there is only one God and Mr. Khan and Mr. Salita believe in the one true Creator and they are children of Abraham. In closing, both of these men are God fearing people and I am happy to hear that in a world of classless athletes such athletes still exist and I wish both men the best of luck in their future endeavors.
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