Mumma Ali Discrimination

In the blink of an eye, Muammar Ali went from answering questions about being a star tailback to answering questions about ties with Al-Qaeda. In his article Muslim-American Running Back Off the Team at New Mexico State published in The Progressive in 2005, Author Mathew Rothschild tells the story of Muammar Ali and his personal struggle to play a game that he loved, while fighting discrimination for his Islamic beliefs. This event took place during a time that was marked by Islamophobia and religious discrimination that followed as a result of the horrific terrorist act of September 11, 2001. Although religious discrimination has largely been seen as a part of our past, it is very clearly seen as part of our present and has power to negatively

He uses the story of a great football player with tremendous potential to show the devastation that results from religious discrimination. Ali was seen as a star on the team, and the prediction from many was that he would have great opportunities to shine at New Mexico State. Rothschild stated that in an interview with Ali’s father he explained, “In 2004, he was honorable mention All-American in his sophomore year. He was the fastest, strongest, quickest person on the team” (294). In spite of these accolades, Ali was talked to multiple times about Islam and also it’s connection to Al-Qaeda. He was even denied playing time and not allowed to travel with the team at times. Ali believed that the turning point for him and the two other Muslim players came when he was asked to pray, and instead of praying in the traditional manner of reciting the Lord’s prayer, he and the other two players prayed in a way that was customary to their Muslim beliefs. After that incident, Ali, along with the other two players were released from the team. Throughout the article, Rothschild showed that the Muslim players for New Mexico State were made to feel uncomfortable and unwanted because of their beliefs when inevitably led to them being dropped from the team. Rothschild further explained that there was no explanation

Rothschild used the primary source of an interview with Ali’s father to come to the conclusion that New Mexico State was at fault, and that it was in fact discrimination to cut the three Muslim players from the team. Although the information is presented in a clear way, it is not completely fair for both sides since the author did not have access to any statement from New Mexico State regarding their opinion of the allegations. This leaves the reader to both agree and disagree with the conclusion of discrimination. Since the reader is not given much information surrounding New Mexico State’s decision to cut the players, it is easy to conclude that this is a case of discrimination based on religious beliefs. However, the fact that most of the information received came from the interview with Ali’s father does not make this article the most credible source to use when making a decision on discrimination. The reader cannot be sure that Ali’s father is a trustworthy source and might only have his son’s best interest at heart. This is supported by the quote from Rothschild saying, “I asked to speak to his son, but Mustafa Ali said that would not be possible. ‘He’s not talking to the media at this time,’ he said. ‘He’s a very shy person’ (295). Although this could be a true