A report on a German TV channel linking the Moroccan national team’s index finger-raising with the ‘ISIS’ organization has sparked angry reactions among Moroccan fans and Muslim communities in Germany.
The service of the German channel WELT compared an image in which the players of the Moroccan national team, Abdel Hamid Al-Sabri, Zakaria Abu Khalil and Elias Al-Shaer, raised their index fingers upwards with “ISIS”, considering it “a disturbing image and a scandal”.
I was so shocked by what I saw and still can’t believe my eyes.
An official German channel accuses Morocco of spreading the values of extremism and terrorism because players raised their finger in the tashahhud movement and raised the flag of Palestine, and were compared to ISIS in a match.
gross
pic.twitter.com/MyDr3ygByo— Hassan ⛥ (@Hassan_khalile) December 12, 2022
The channel’s news anchor described the image as “disturbing”, adding: “Three players appear with the Moroccan flag, folding their arms and pointing the index finger of their right hand upwards, in a salute known to the so-called State Islamic”.
“Fighters often stand up and make the same gesture after their victories,” the TV report said, adding: “It’s unclear whether Moroccan World Cup players realize what they’ve done.”
According to the channel, “Before the jihadists made this gesture, it was universally considered a sign of unity in Islam.” As the announcer talked about the three players, the German channel showed images of ISIS fighters waving their index fingers.
Twitter users dismissed the contents of the German channel’s report, noting that it contains messages that “incite racism and hatred”, while others mocked “this strange link”.
German journalist Tariq Bey said the TV service incites hatred and a classic conspiracy theory, accusing the channel of “fabricating” this link between the image of gamers and ISIS.
Bild and taz also had a good chance, but the prize for the most disgusting and dangerous bait goes to the world.
Morocco would pose “with a gesture of the Islamic State”. This is hate speech and classic conspiracy theory.
Let’s examine the nonsense for a moment. pic.twitter.com/5U3NII8Rqq
— Tarek Baé (@Tarek_Bae) December 12, 2022
For his part, the Greek researcher, Rene Wildangel, mockingly wrote the channel’s report, “Describing Moroccans as anti-Semites because they carry Palestinian flags is not enough,” adding: “They also found that they are ISIS terrorists because they also have a index.”
So calling Moroccan anti-Semites for 🇵🇸 is not enough… @bruise found out they are ISIS terrorists because they too have an index finger…🙈 You’d hope it was satire – well it’s not. But then hey, Islamophobia is just an invention of Islamists and the left, right…? https://t.co/uSk999dm11
— René Wildangel (@real_wildangel) December 13, 2022
In their interaction with the channel’s report, a group of tweeters posted images of European and Latino players raising their index fingers, while celebrating their victory.
One of them said, in a tweet attached to a photo of Brazilian Ronaldo, “I knew Ronaldo was a member of ISIS all along. Thanks for opening my eyes!”
I knew. R9 has always been a member of ISIS. Thanks for opening my eyes! https://t.co/i6mcl7daub pic.twitter.com/c3whhRXEbv
— Yamm. (@MapleGlazed_) December 13, 2022
Another tweeter also posted an image showing former and current German national team players, making the same move that angered the German channel.
Before the report of the channel “Valt”, the German newspaper “Tazz” had previously accused the players of the Moroccan national team of “adding an anti-Semitic touch” to their celebrations, because they had raised the Palestinian flag after the end of the matches played in the World Cup in Qatar.
