No mystery here. “O you who have believed, indeed the polytheists are unclean…” (Qur’an 9:28)
“‘Targeted For My Religion But Never Made An Issue Of It’: Danish Kaneria,” Press Trust of India, December 27, 2019 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):
Pakistan’s banned Test leg-spinner Danish Kaneria on Friday said there were a “few players” who targeted him for being a Hindu during his time with the national team but he never felt the urge or the pressure to change his religion. The spinner, who is serving a life ban for spot-fixing, has been brought into focus after former pacer Shoaib Akhtar alleged that some Pakistani players refused to even share food with him due to his faith. Speaking to ‘Samaa’ channel on Friday, Kaneria said a few players made remarks about him behind his back.
“(But) I never made an issue of it. I just ignored them because I wanted to focus on my cricket and bring victories for Pakistan,” he said.
“Look I am a proud Hindu and Pakistani. I would like to make it clear here don’t try to portray our cricket fraternity in Pakistan in negative manner because there are a lot of people who have supported me and backed me regardless of my religion,” he added.
When asked about former batsman Yousuf Youhana, a Christian who converted to Islam, Kaneria said he would not comment on an individual choice.
“What Muhammad Yousuf did was his personal decision but I never felt the need to change my religion because I believe in it and no one forced me either to do it,” he said….
Pressed to name those few players who he felt targetted him, Kaneria said he would reveal their names later on his YouTube channel.
“The time is not right and I will use my channel to talk about it.”….
Hindu Historian says
“Tolerance of intolerance is cowardice.” – Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Case and point.
mortimer says
The war directed by Muslims against India continues by other means … HINDU-O-PHOBIA coming from the Muslims.
Infidel says
Except that Kaneria is a Paki Hindu, not an Indian. What this story does is illustrate why India was justified in enacting its Citizenship Amendment Act
Carol the 1st says
HH…you mean “case in point”. There is no such expression as “case and point”.
keya says
Pakistani mudslimes should not even play cricket. It is an infidel sport after all . Their best man on earth Mohammad (piss be upon him) didn’t play cricket or invent it so why should his devout followers play it?
mortimer says
The Pak PM was a former cricket champ.
Christopher Watson says
And it should be noted that when he was in England and played for an English team he was never censured for his religion. We accepted him because he was a great player. More fool us.
peter says
Muslims do not have any principle except the principle of convenience which they learned from Mohamed . Saudi Arabia which is the bastion of sunni Islam and birth place of Mohamed has no compunction in investing money for interest which is proscribed in Islam calling it commission . But they use anything that is useful and convenient for them in the name of Islam in power politics ,in any dispute with non muslims. They are the worst of creatures .
tim gallagher says
I have felt for many years that Pakistan, with its appalling treatment of non-Muslims in that country, should be banned from taking part in international cricket. Maybe that would be a way to pressure Pakistan to improve its treatment of non-Muslims, because, if the team was banned from international cricket, the people in Pakistan, who do seem to be really big fans of cricket, would miss having their team involved in the international game. I’m sure a ban won’t happen though. Not an important issue, and I don’t care all that much who wins, well I do want Muslim Pakistan to lose, but Pakistan toured Australia a month or so back and were terrible, and were very easily beaten in a couple of test matches. Pakistan should be banned and I believe that the tour shouldn’t have taken place until they improve human rights in Pakistan, which I expect will never happen..
Infidel says
Actually, ever since the mid 2000s, when there was a Jihadist attack in either Karachi or Lahore that targeted the Sri Lankan cricket team, Pakistan’s cricket participation fell precipitously. Foreign teams completely stopped touring Pakistan, and the only international cricket Pakistan played was when they toured other countries, like England, Australia, South Africa. Result of that was that since they played no home matches and only in alien conditions, the quality of their cricket fell to below even Bangladesh, which was a fringe team until this decade. Even Afghanistan, the newest member of cricket playing countries, could give them a tough fight
tim gallagher says
That’s interesting information, infidel, about the fall in participation in cricket in Pakistan. Because I live in Australia and am a fan of sport (although in my case, I prefer Rugby League football to other sports), I follow the cricket a bit. These days, I probably I prefer to watch the 20 over type cricket, the Big Bash cricket where plenty of sixes get hit, etc). Some commentators said that the Pakistani cricket team that were recently out here were of such a low level that they were like a grade cricket team, ie even way below our state cricket teams. Pakistan did used to be a strong team. As I said, I don’t think they should be allowed to play in international cricket; South Africa were banned because of apartheid and I think Pakistan also has appalling human rights for non-Muslims. Cricket must still be pretty popular in Pakistan though, because look at how Imran Khan is such a powerful force in politics. I presume being a big time cricketer helped him climb the greasy pole.
Infidel says
Tim, I happen to be an old school fan of Test cricket – the version that lasts 5 days: due to the frequency of 50 overs and 20 overs cricket, test cricket has become more interesting these days, and rarely ends in a draw (unless there are big rain interruptions). Both Big Bash and IPL are great competitions, and Australia and South Africa produce the best quality cricket, although England – the new world cup holders – are now one of the best sides ever in their history. India has improved quite a bit, but is still sub par in terms of bowling and fielding. However, the decline of the West Indies has been a tragedy, which was a result of the rigging by England and Australia in the 90s in an attempt to wussify the game (long before Anderson and McGrath appeared on the scene to make those 2 countries champions in all formats).
As for Imran Khan, he was a major celebrity in the 80s not just in Pakistan but in the subcontinent: Bollywood doted on him, and he was the best spoken cricketer in English from both teams in the subcontinent (Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan were nowhere in the cricket scene at the time). That was also when he had that playboy image, and wasn’t remotely Islamic. However, since he won the world cup in 1992, he decided to transition into Pakistani politics, and then he started his own party, and built it up patiently over time and finally got elected prime minister. While he may be a laughing stock in the world stage as prime minister, he did get there painstakingly by 2 decades of grassroots activism, and also by 2 extremely corrupt political opposition families – the Bhuttos and the Shariefs
tim gallagher says
infidel, you obviously know a hell of a lot about what is happening in the cricket scene. I’m almost 70 years old, so I have seen a lot of developments in cricket. I agree with what you say about how much more entertaining it is these days with batsmen who don’t play the boring old type of batting that some players used to inflict on us. Players like Boycott and Australia’s Bill Lawry come to mind as very slow scoring batsmen. I’m glad most players do try to score runs quickly these days. The tests lately have been too one sided for me to watch at all. I hate watching any very one-sided game in any sport. We have had two tests against New Zealand recently, and I thought New Zealand would be good, but the two tests were so one-sided. I hardly watched any of those test matches. Maybe this Australian side is a really good one. I’m sorry that the West Indies are so weak these days. They were such great teams they had back in the 1980’s. They always beat us but they were great entertainers and great athletes. It’s interesting what you say about Imran Khan. I wasn’t sure how he got to where he is now.
Infidel says
Tim, I happen to be 50, but think that some of the changes in cricket that happened are for the good – like the dominance of limited overs matches which have made all batsmen score fast, and improved the fielding, as opposed to the old school tests that often ended in draws. On the flip side, there is no way that cricketing great bowlers like Dennis Lillee, Malcolm Marshall, Michael Holding could have gotten where they did had modern bowling rules limiting the number of bouncers, banning beamers and so on been in effect in those days. Also, one West Indies man I met some years ago told me that back in the day, almost nobody wore helmets, and so batsmen had to have very quick reflexes, if they didn’t want head injuries. But the number of injuries that did happen were rare. I agree w/ you: it’s sad to see the decline of the West Indies, that used to be dreaded back in the days of Grenidge, Richards, Marshall and Holding.
These days, the teams to watch are Australia and England, followed by India and South Africa. South Africa were at the top, but recently lost their top 4 players to retirement, and replacing them is not easy. West Indies, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Pakistan are all next tier: I wouldn’t bother watching them.
While Imran Khan has proven to be a joke as his country’s political leader, he was a great cricket all-rounder and captain. As a bowler, he was right there w/ Lillee, Marshall and Hadlee. As a batsman, he was solid enough to defend his side from a total batting collapse, and pretty aggressive against weaker bowling attacks. Although a part of his predicament is also that he’s inherited a basketcase of an economy, which is why he has to put up w/ humiliating treatment from both Beijing and Riyadh
tim gallagher says
I agree with what you say, infidel. Of course, batsmen wearing helmets is progress. They have to look after the players’ health. Steve Smith would almost certainly have been killed by that delivery from Jofra Archer, which flattened him, during the test match in England during the last Ashes series. And, of course, Phillip Hughes did get hit and died not so long ago out here in Australia. I occasionally think that it must have been terrifying to face the fast bowlers back in the old days with only a cap on your head, instead of a helmet. But things have progressed in the same way that, in American football and Rugby League, they are now very worried about the brain damage players receive from being concussed during their careers, and are trying to find ways to reduce the damage to players’ brains.
tim gallagher says
infidel, I realised that I forgot to make the point that Phillip Hughes got hit and died even though he was wearing a helmet. Just a million to one incident of terrible luck really. It’s a very dangerous game sometimes, that’s for sure.
Infidel says
The injury Phil Hughes sustained was a freak accident, that almost never happens: causing a vertebral artery dissection that led to a subarachnoid haemorrhage. Only 100 such cases had ever been reported, and his was the only one that happened as a result of a cricket ball. In other words, it’s more the exception rather than the rule
sidney penny says
I am surprised he made it on the team! ( the infidel)
Why was Pakistan created in 1947/
Infidel says
There have been only 2 Hindus in Pakistan’s cricket team – this guy Danish Kaneria, and his uncle Anil Dalpat, who was briefly a wicket keeper in 1982.
Infidel says
sorry, Anil Dalpat was his cousin
gravenimage says
Thanks, Infidel–this does not surprise me. Also, do you know if Kaneria was rightly banned or if these charges were trumped up?
Infidel says
Kaneria was banned in England for an incident in county cricket spot fixing, and then his ban was upheld by the ICC. Also, he recently admitted his guilt in the spot fixing.
It was somewhat water under the bridge: his cricketing days were behind him anyway, he wasn’t gonna get anywhere in Pakistan’s cricket administration, nor the ICC’s. I don’t justify what he did, but I can see if he thought that he had few other options.
gravenimage says
Thank you, Infidel.
Of course, I was not meaning to imply that an incident of spot fixing has anything to do with how this Hindu was mistreated by Muslims.
sidney penny says
The infidel teams do not play in Pakistan.
Pakistan’s home ground for international matches is in the Middle East Dubai.
Mark Spahn (West Seneca, NY) says
“Pakistan’s banned Test leg-spinner Danish Kaneria on Friday said there were a “few players” who targeted him for being a Hindu during his time with the national team but he never felt the urge or the pressure to change his religion. The spinner, who is serving a life ban for spot-fixing, has been brought into focus after former pacer Shoaib Akhtar alleged that some Pakistani players refused to even share food with him due to his faith.”
(1) Why did this cricket player’s parents name him “Danish”? There must be a story behind this.
(2) What is a “spinner”? Is a spinner the equivalent of a pitcher in baseball?
(3) What does “banned Test leg-spinner” mean?
(4) What is “spot-fixing”? In cricket, what does it mean to fix a spot?
(5) Why did Danish want his teammates to share their food with him?
Infidel says
1. Danish may be a variation of Dinesh, which is a common Indian name
2. A spinner is like a pitcher who pitches ‘spin balls’. Difference b/w cricket and baseball here: whereas in baseball a pitcher stands in one position and throws the ball at the batter, in cricket, a bowler (the equivalent) has a run-up before he releases the ball. In cricket, the ball cannot be thrown i.e. the elbows cannot be used during the point of delivery. Oh, and one more thing – in cricket, the ball can bounce once on the pitch, whereas that doesn’t seem to be the case in baseball, from what I’ve observed
3. A leg spinner is a spinner who causes the ball to spin towards the side away from the bat. If it’s a right hand batsman, a leg spinner will send the ball towards the left, and if he’s good at it, the ball will change direction towards the batsman. A test match is a 5 day match b/w 2 countries. A banned test leg-spinner is a leg spinner who has been banned
4. Well, there is match fixing, where a player deliberately sabotages his own team to lose a match, and thereby win gobs of cash on the side. That was prevalent in the 90s, and got a number of teams – South Africa, India and Pakistan – in trouble. The cricket authorities cracked down on that, banning several players involved in such activities for life. So some players tried their way around it by having bookies bet on just certain events during a game, such as a certain delivery being hit for a six (home run in baseball) or losing a wicket on a particular delivery. Something that wouldn’t necessarily throw a game, but would still allow people on the side to make money. That too has attracted the attention of cricket boards
5. No, the issue was that certain members of the Pakistani squad refused to have meals together w/ him, say during team lunches or so on. That’s what Shoaib Akhtar was referring to here. Kaneria wasn’t wanting or trying to double-dip into their gravy (a pretty disgusting way that Muslims eat by sharing the same plate)
Mark Spahn (West Seneca, NY) says
Thank you, Infidel. Your explanation is much clearer than the first paragraph of
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cricket
, which is virtually useless for someone who does not already know cricket, and is a good example of how not to explain something. In trying to analyze why this Wikipedia article is so unexplanatory, my conclusion is that (1) it uses terms before they are defined, and (2) its grammar is ambiguous (does “with the bat” modify “striking the ball”, or does it modify “bowling at the wicket”?).
Infidel says
Bowling at the wicket means aiming for the 3 stumps that stand behind a batsman. If a bowler aims at the stumps, that’s called bowling at the wicket.
When you say ‘with the ball’, can you use it in a sentence, so that I know what you’re asking?
JMB says
Dear Infidel, Thank you for attempting to explain some of the rules of cricket. A real understanding cricket is both subtle and complicated and the sport is only really appreciated (or understood) in countries that were part of the former British Empire. This includes India, Pakistan and the West Indies where cricket stars are national heroes.
In the meantime, most of us, the uninitiated who live outside of the USA have no idea what the rules of Grid Iron Football are….
Happy New Year to All Jihad Watchers.
gravenimage says
Thank you, Infidel.
Infidel says
The period in question was a time around the 2000s when Pakistani cricket became more Islamic than it ever was. They started allowing the Tablighi Jamaat – a dawa group – into their team meetings, and players who were nominal Muslims started becoming visibly more Islamic – w/ beards, marking landmarks on the field like centuries w/ bowing (forgetting the exact islamic term for it) and so on. It was in this environment that both Yousuf Youhana (a Christian) and Danish Kaneria (a Hindu) were probably bullied. Youhana reacted to that by converting both himself and his family to Islam and becoming Mohammed Yousuf, while Kaneria remained a Hindu but gradually dropped out of favor. Kaneria then played minor league cricket in England, but was banned after a spot fixing incident w/ another English player.
What surprised me was this controversy coming up now, b’cos there is a lot of factionalism in Pakistani cricket, and so this is convenient for some teammates of Kaneria to bring this up.
While he may feel a loyalty towards Pakistan, he should think about his kids and whether he sees them having a future there. I hope his daughter doesn’t become one more of those Hindu girls who disappears and surfaces later as a Muslimah bride
JMB says
Back in the apartheid era in South Africa it was impossible for the S A Cricket team to play here in Australia or anywhere else due to demonstrations and protests.
There are obviously many very serious human rights issues in Pakistan. Just where are all the demonstrations and protests? Where are the calls to boycott Pakistan?
Australia still plays cricket against Pakistan, it is a very popular sport in both countries.
Infidel says
Very good point. Nothing that South Africa was guilty of in the 70s or 80s came even close to what Pakistan is guilty of today, but since it’s Islam, the world doesn’t officially care
Krishna says
Just imagine outcry if it was faced by Muslim cricket players in India
gravenimage says
Pakistan: Some Muslim players on national cricket team refused even to share food with Hindu player
……………….
Grimly, this does not surprise.
Jayell says
Frankly, I wouldn’t want to share any halal food with a muslim, knowing the absolutely appalling conditions in which their meat is produced. I’d rather declare myself vegetarian or go on a fast for as long as it was necessary to ‘enjoy’ their company.
gravenimage says
I take your point, Jayell–but on a Muslim team in a Muslim country, this may have resulted in this non-Muslim player going hungry at times.