Morocco Are the Real Winners, Here’s Why.

If I were to ask you at the start of the World Cup: which team will be in the semi-final, I doubt the answer would have been Morocco.

Despite being an unprecedented underdog, Morocco’s World Cup journey has been a whirlwind. The team had not lost a single match until the heartbreaking semi-final which they lost 2–0 to France. Though they didn’t go down without a fight, showing resilience until the very last minute of play and dominating the ball throughout.

But it isn’t only their footballing talent that has captured hearts rather the Moroccan team’s display of ‘Muslim values’ as well as their humility and integrity.

The team enjoyed many viral moments during World Cup season, with them waving the Palestinian flag after their win against Portugal, a remarkable move which forced Palestine into the world’s eye. Palestine is often completely ignored in the media which bolsters its opponents who would like it to be forgotten about. In waving the Palestinian flag, the Moroccan team made their support for the Palestinian cause apparent when similar such displays of support in everyday life are wrongly marked as ‘controversial’.

Following the same match, Moroccan players were filmed during their celebrations on the pitch saying ‘it’s not us, it’s Allah’. Whilst it would be easy to attribute Morocco’s success solely to the players or the coach, the Moroccan team was humble in embodying the Quranic verse ‘my success is only by Allah’ [11:88]. This is not a team that allowed their successes to delude them or feed their ego, as the players offered ‘sujud’ or prostration to God as a sign of appreciation.

And who could not be moved by the players (and coach!) celebrating with their mothers after winning the Portugal match? Their actions contradict the narrative often perpetuated of Muslim men being misogynistic or oppressive of women. In fact, the Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) said ‘Heaven’ is ‘beneath [the] feet’ of your mother [Sunan al-Nasā’ī 3104].

In the lead-up to the World Cup, much coverage in the Western media was marred by latent (and sometimes overt) Islamophobia. Whilst Qatar itself has done much to behind-the-scenes to educate visitors from around the world on the true nature of Islam, by allowing people to visit Qatari mosques and to engage with Muslim preachers, Morocco exemplified Muslim values in their actions on the pitch.

Morocco may not have won the World Cup. But it has made history by being the first African nation in the semi-final; it has won the hearts of millions of new fans; and — even for a brief moment — it has united Muslims around the world.

Originally published on Medium