Imagine if this catches on. “Today the Mets traded Joe Shlabotnik to the Al-Qaeda Angels for two mujahedin to be named later, and the Dallas Cowboys announced open auditions for the famed Dallas Cowboy Houris…”
Anyway, this could go several ways. One might be that Muslim groups are outraged, outraged by this misuse of Allah’s name, which is, after all, the part of Hizballah’s name that is usually rendered “-ollah” in the Western press. Another might be that they’re thrilled by this sign of the normalization of a jihad terrorist group in Western pop culture. And have the Turks asked for this team’s victories to be annulled yet?
“Italian Soccer Team Adopts Hizbullah’s Logo in Order to ‘Boost Fighting Spirit,'” from MEMRI (thanks to the Constantinopolitan Irredentist):
Following is an excerpt from a report on the Italian “Zassbollah” soccer team, which aired on Al-Manar TV on December 30, 2007:
Voice of reporter: Yes, this is the Hizbullah logo. But what is it doing on the jerseys of these players? The Italian soccer player Davide Volponi knows the answer. Volponi and his friends form a soccer team, which for 15 years has been participating in the Carioca amateur league. The team changes its name every year. In an attempt to boost the morale of his comrades, Volponi suggested naming the team “Zassbollah” this year — combining the name of the team captain, Zasso, with the word “Hizbullah.” Where did this idea come from, and what is its purpose?
Davide Volponi, on the phone: The idea to name the team “Zassbollah” came from the situation in Lebanon. We chose this name not as an expression of any political position, but because we were influenced by the strong fighting spirit, and by the spirit of resistance. Therefore, this is not a political matter, because we observe things from afar, but on the field, we must put up resistance and fight the opponents….