Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) all-rounder Moeen Ali has been in news after he refused to wear the logo of an alcohol brand on his IPL jersey. Author Taslima Nasreen spoke against Moeen Ali, she wrote: "If Moeen Ali were not stuck with cricket, he would have gone to Syria to join ISIS," on Twitter. This irked a lot of reactions from fans and celebrities, alike. But Moeen Ali’s father, Munir Ali wrote a full article describing the struggles of Moeen Ali as a cricketer and especially, a Muslim cricketer with a beard. He was shocked at the statements made by Taslima Nasrin, he wrote: “Of all the people to pick on for her agenda, I can’t believe she has chosen my son. Everyone in the cricketing world knows the person he is,” in an article in the Indian Express.
On Taslima Nasrin’s Tweet
“I am hurt and shocked to read Taslima Nasreen’s vile remark against my son Moeen. In her “clarifying” tweet, where she described her original remark as sarcasm, she also says she stands against fundamentalism. If she looks into a mirror, she will know what she tweeted is what is fundamentalist – a vicious stereotype against a Muslim person, a clearly Islamophobic statement.
“If I get to meet her someday, I will tell what I really think of her on her face. For now, I would ask her to pick a dictionary and see the meaning of sarcasm,” Munir Ali wrote in the article.
On Moeen Ali’s Struggles As A Cricketer
“I remember sitting at the ground at Worcester years ago when Moeen walked out to bat. A loud voice shouted, “shave off the beard!”. I had already been hearing some murmurs in the cricketing world about Moeen’s faith. “Even some coaches. They would gently tell you, “look, this is England, think about that beard”. I was worried and went to Moeen, who told me in a clear voice that this was him. That he wasn’t going to bother about the criticism. That’s his strong character.”
In the concluding remarks Munir Ali also wrote that English cricket has changed and everyone in the England cricket loves and respects Moeen Ali.