Exposing the role that Islamic jihad theology and ideology play in the modern global conflicts

Muslims enraged as Brazilian soccer star arrives in Saudi Arabia wearing a cross

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Meanwhile, there are millions upon millions of Muslims in Western countries, with no restrictions whatsoever on the practice of their religion. Yet even most Westerners would never dream of holding Saudi Arabia to the same standard.

“Brazilian Soccer Star Neymar Widely Condemned By Muslim Clerics, Social Media Users For Arriving In Saudi Arabia Wearing Cross Pendant Necklace,” MEMRI, August 24, 2023:

On August 18, 2023, Brazilian soccer star Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior arrived in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, following the signing of a lucrative two-year contract with Al-Hilal Saudi Football Club. As he stepped off the plane, Neymar was greeted by club officials amid the presence of a throng of reporters, all capturing the historic moment of this globally renowned player’s arrival. However, the spotlight unexpectedly shifted from his arrival to the Saudi club to the diamond-studded cross pendant necklace he was wearing. This seemingly innocuous accessory stirred a wave of reactions on social media and among Muslim clerics worldwide, who perceived it as a potentially offensive and disrespectful gesture toward the birthplace of Islam. There was also a significant subtext in the criticism, particularly by Islamists, criticizing not just the Brazilian soccer player but his Saudi sponsors.

Indeed, some critics have gone so far as to interpret Neymar’s choice of jewelry as an intentional statement. Conversely, Saudi users, including prominent figures, have chosen to downplay the significance of the soccer star’s necklace. They have accused the critics of attempting to undermine the considerable efforts of the Saudi government in advancing the sports sector in the country and of displaying traits of envy, intolerance, and inconsistency. This report focuses on the criticism that Neymar received on Arabic-language social media for wearing a cross necklace. It also highlights the different opinions from users with contrasting views on the issue.

Condemnations Of Neymar’s Cross Necklace: ‘By Wearing The Cross, This Player Is Provoking All Muslims, And No One Has Done So Before Him’

In his commentary on the incident in an August 21 video, Moroccan Islamist cleric Abdellah Nhari emphasized the sanctity of the “Arabian Peninsula.” He recited a hadith that states “two religions do not coexist in the Arabian Peninsula” and a verse from the Quran 9:28 that says: “Truly the Pagans are unclean; so, let them not, after this year of theirs, approach the Sacred Mosque.” In the video titled “Neymar Provokes Muslim Sentiments and Enters the Holy Land with a Cross Pendant,” Nhari expanded on his point, asserting that Allah has designated the Arabian Peninsula as the land of Islam and monotheism, and “trying to alter the purpose of that land from the worship of God to a land of entertainment… is a dangerous matter.”

Criticizing Neymar for wearing the cross-pendant necklace, he stated: “He could have come like the other players who were presented to the public without bearing, God forbid, the trinity emblem on the land of monotheism. The emblem contradicts the Quran, as Christ was not killed or crucified, but rather God raised him to Himself.”

Algerian cleric Moussa Azzouni has also condemned Neymar for wearing the cross in “the land of the two holy Mosques.” He regarded Neymar’s act as a provocation to Muslims and urged the Algerian people to at least condemn his action in their hearts. In an August 21 video, Azzouni went on to state that Neymar should not be regarded as a role model for Algerian youth, asserting that “the mujahideen and the martyrs are our role models.”

Turkey-based YouTuber Samir Al-Ahmad leveled a similar accusation in an August 19 video in which he said that Neymar’s action amounts to “a provocation to Islam and a provocation to the most sacred place on the face of the earth.” Al-Ahmad remarked, “By wearing the cross, this player is provoking all Muslims, and no one has done so before him, including Cristiano [Ronaldo].”

The London-based writer and translator Muhannad Al-Obaydi argued that Neymar’s act was intentional and accused those who disagree with him of being naive. In an August 20 post on platform X, he wrote: “Neymar’s action sends a message of provocation to the conservative Islamic community. He is essentially saying, ‘My wealth and my ties to power are stronger than your religion, customs, and traditions.'”…

Comments

  1. So most of Neymar’s critics are muslims from countries outside Saudi Arabia? Like Morocco, Turkey, Algeria, UK…. rather than Saudi Arabia itself

    • In Saudi, lese majeste is a capital crime. Saudi clerics take great care what and who they criticize.

      • Not to mention all the re-educating they’ve been undergoing for the last 8 years

      • The government directs what the clerics say in their sermon before the Friday prayers.
        One of the positive implications of this has been that the use of loudspeakers in mosques has been banned, except for broadcasting of ‘azaan’ – the call to prayers. This is a relief for those living around mosques. This would not have been possible in other more ‘democratic’ Muslim countries. It all depends on the leadership.

        • With all respect, your belief that Saudi Arabia is a “moderate” Muslim nation is mistaken.

  2. Ah but don’t you realize, that there is no compulsion in religion, according to muslims. Yes, how true.
    Just try to wear that yamulka, and you’ll get your dirty looks from the skull capped muslim cros.
    No compulsion in religion. And of course a cross, how dare you……!
    Because as we know…. there’s no compulsion in religion, not in muslim countries no sirree.
    And that loudspeaker blaring five times a day…. why how dare non muslims complain when their ears are assaulted with this, in non muslim countries.

  3. Muslims enraged yet again. Oh, surely not. Surely, islam, that peaceful. mellow and oh so tolerant religion would keep them calm. What annoys me is that we, in our western countries, show tolerance towards the totally intolerant Muslims. This soccer player is showing quite a bit of courage to display the cross like that. I applaud him for his courage. He had better watch his back while in primitive, islamic Saudi Arabia or some Muslim piece of shit might try to follow the Koran’s instructions and try to murder him as a non-believer when the opportunity arises. I hope Neymar stays safe while he is there among the intolerant, hate-filled Muslims.

    • They’re enraged that an “unbeliever” has worn a Christian cross in their Muslim majority nation, and laughing their asses off because we allow them wear their religious garb in your country and mine.

      • That is what annoys me enormously, PRCS. We are so nice and pleasant towards Muslims and they don’t deserve it. As you say, they would be laughing at our misplaced tolerance. The Hungarians and those other Visegrad bloc countries have the right attitude towards Muslims and just slam the door shut on them.

        • There are an increasing number of mosques in Hungary. Islam is pretty much unstoppable.

        • Thanks for the information about mosques in Hungary, OldBrumie. That’s a damned shame. Still, I would imagine taht the Hungarians will not put up with as much crap from the Muslim invaders as many western countries do. I imagine they might throw the Muslims out if they begin to cause trouble. The Burmese did that a few years back, no doubt because they were sick of the endless strife Muslims caused.

      • “your country and mine”

        That right there is so subtle but absolutely true. I cannot think of four words that describe a problem better than yours have. Well done! Right now, in the West, it is a one way street with muslims vs indigenous populations. That, along with our total enemy, the western left, is a street where everyone goes whichever way they want at the time. That leads to, well, not a very good destination.

        • Hope you’re doing well shipmate.

          Yes, it has definitely become a one-way street. A problem with democracy: ignorant people vote, too, and those with bad intent exploit that.

    • Fine post, tg. In complete agreement. And yes, I hope this brave Brazilian continues to live—and prosper.

      Eff Islam and all its control freak and lethal aspects. So utterly sick of Islam. How can anyone of sense and knowledge not be?

      • Thanks, Wellington. Like you, I put islam on the same level as Nazism and accord it the same amount of respect, none whatsoever. And, like you, i am also stunned that, by now, far more of our fellow citizens have not woken up to what a vile and barbaric ideology it is. I do hope Neymar does manage to stay safe while spending time in that verminous Muslim country, Saudi Arabia. There’s bound to be quite a number of Muslim scumbags already thinking that they should try to murder him for daring to wear that crucifix in their islamic country. It is all straight out of that evil book, the Koran.

        • We all have to remember:

          The throat-slitters have had their feelings provoked.
          The stoners-to-death have been upset.
          The head-choppers have had their sensitivities offended.
          The slave-owners have had their sensibilities hurt.
          The limb-choppers have had their sensibilities hurt.
          The girl-cutters have been upset.
          The wife-beaters have had their sensitivities offended.

          Copious tears must be shed.

        • Spot on, Michael. There are always plenty of things that the endlessly offended Muslims are enraged about. Because Muslims are so evil and treat non-Muslims so viciously, along with fellow Muslims who step out of line, and Muslim women just for being female, I have no sympathy or respect at all for these barbaric knuckle draggers.

      • I honestly believe that the vote in all Western nations has been corrupted. Take some time and talk with locals, anywhere, you will find that there is a three to one divide between what is now called right vs left. Three of us on the right to one of them on the other end. But still their people keep getting elected. I smell a rat. I would still smell a rat even if I was incapable of smelling a rat.

    • You say that this soccer player is showing quite a bit of courage
      I’d say maybe just maybe he didn’t know anything about the fact that in Saudi Arabia you could lose your neck for wearing a cross around your neck .
      Maybe he really didn’t know anything about the stirr he would provoke .

      • You are quite likely correct, Maranatha. i did think that it was quite possible that Neymar would not know much about Muslim countries like Saudi Arabia, in the same way that so many people know next to nothing about islam, and that he is probably a Christian with a strong faith and simply wears the crucifix all the time. Anyway, I do hope he stays safe while in the Muslim country. The Muslim hatred for non-believers, as displayed in the Koran, with its calls for murderous violence, could put him in danger. I’d say that he is such a huge name in soccer and it would be such a scandal if he was harmed that the Saudi authorities will protect him.

        • “it was quite possible that Neymar would not know much about Muslim countries”

          Nor about Islam.

          I attribute that ignorance to educators (who aren’t teaching that) and politicians who apparently learned everything they know about that from those teachers.

        • No doubt about that, PRCS. There seem to be plenty of people, in the media and in the academic fraternity who are running a protection racket for islam and keeping many average people ignorant of islam’s malignant nature. It took me quite a while to begin to wake up to islam’s nature and I had to go and do some research into islam to discover the truth about it. A lot of people never seem to do that.

    • You’ve hit the nail on the head, Tim. With this cancer called islam, there is no tolerance for any other religion or philosophy. How to handle this situation?? Just look at what China is doing. I wish the US could do the same, though our constitution would never permit it.

      • Thanks for the comment, Lauren. Much as i loathe that regime that runs China,which is probably the biggest threat to peaceful life here in Australia and our whole region of the world in future years, I do understand why they got sick of islam and its followers and are treating them in a vicious way. I think the main thing to do is slam the door on the invading Muslims in all non-Muslim countries. The Muslims can face a stark choice, ditch barbaric islam or stay in their crappy Muslim countries living their primitive, disgusting islamic lives..

    • There’s a more than moderate chance he didn’t even think anything of it. So if that’s the case, I’m not sure courage is the word for it.

      • Yes, it could well be just naive behaviour, Uden, or it could be a courageous choice he made. Either way, I hope he stays safe in that intolerant Muslim country which is, no doubt, full of the usual islamic fanatics.

  4. So, let’s get this straight…. a muslim athlete can wear his islamic cap (I call it a diaper) on his head while fingering his worry beads (the tazbi) when competing in sports in a western Christian country… it’s all ok. But when a Christian athlete wears a cross in a muslim country (Saudi Arabia)… muslims go bat-shit crazy.
    So much for tolerance from a so called religion of peace (I call it a religion of piss)

  6. Dont the muslims provoke the Btitish people wearing Burkahs Nihabs and men walking around like they have just left the Afgan caves. But we tolerate them.

  7. You say that this soccer player is showing quite a bit of courage
    I’d say maybe just maybe he didn’t know anything about the fact that in Saudi Arabia you could lose your neck for wearing a cross around your neck .
    Maybe he really didn’t know anything about the stirr he would provoke .

  8. Fact is, — you don’t even have to do anything wrong to be the object of Islam’s Fury. — If you are anything other than a muslim, — you are by default, the Object of Islam’s Rage..

    The goal of Islam is to infiltrate the infidel’s countries, eradicate their culture, and eliminate their way of life.

    Islam is the same today as it was during the life of Mohammed. It’s goal is to make its followers more like Mohammed and then take over the world. —— If you don’t want to be like Mohammed then you are not really a Muslim.

  10. Cristiano Ronaldo literally made the sign of the cross after scoring a goal for Al Nasr. I guess the crybabies missed that.

  11. Muslims enraged as Brazilian soccer star arrives in Saudi Arabia wearing a cross
    ……………………………………….

    Note all the claims that Neymar is “provoking” Muslims. Provoking them to what? Violence, obviously.

    No Infidel should go to Dar-al-Islam.

  12. The time has come to condemn the radicalised Muslim countries. Either ask them to reform or restrain the local Muslim community to adhere strictly to avoid donning Muslim symbols like cap, purdah etc. Finally bomb such radicals into oblivion!

  13. Neymar wearing the cross next to his heart proves that CHRIST JESUS did have power over death and hell. That CHRIST rose the 3rd day. And willing to be a martyr for CHRIST!!! He has no shame for being a Christian. Would anyone else have the cajones to do the same??? That’s the question.

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