• News
  • Articles
  • Videos
  • Podcast
  • Campaigns
    • Stand4Uyghurs
    • In Their Shoes
  • Prayer
  • Members
  • Donate
  • More
    • About Us
    • Advertise Your Business
    • Contact
    • Jobs
    • Submit an Article
    • Subscribe
    • Write
Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube WhatsApp Telegram
Islam21c
  • News
  • Articles
  • Videos
  • Podcast
  • Campaigns
    • Stand4Uyghurs
    • In Their Shoes
  • Prayer
  • Members
  • Donate
  • More
    • About Us
    • Advertise Your Business
    • Contact
    • Jobs
    • Submit an Article
    • Subscribe
    • Write
0 Shopping Cart
Islam21c
Home»Opinion»Ever thought of wearing a bright orange thobe?

Ever thought of wearing a bright orange thobe?

In part three of this special series, Islam21c's regular contributor, Alim Hasan Islam, continues to document his adventures at the 2022 World Cup
Opinion 22/11/20222 Comments5 Mins ReadBy Alim Hasan Islam
A beautiful sunset captured prior to the Netherlands vs. Senegal game at al-Thumama Stadium

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Epilogue

Tonight was the big night. I had waited 8 months in anticipation for this evening to come. It was finally here, my first time watching a match live in a stadium at the World Cup. The match that I was attending was Senegal vs. the Netherlands, due to start at 7 PM local time/ 4 PM GMT. We left our accommodation three hours before the kick-off, a little before Maghrib.

The sun was progressively getting lower, the sky changing from light blue to shades of orange to pink. I walked to the stadium from where we were dropped off. Scores of people were ambling across the bridge. As I meandered up the ramp, I saw the stadium in all its glory. The greyish white stadium reminded me of Bayern Munich’s Alliance Arena, although this stadium was more circular, to reflect the gahfiya, the traditional hat worn by males in the Arabian Peninsula. It is said that this cap is a symbol of coming of age, from youth to manhood. This reflects Qatar’s coming of age on the world stage, using football as a vehicle.

Would you ever wear an orange thobe?

As I approached the stadium, a man caught my eye, wearing the traditional Arab thobe that was blindingly orange – the colour of the Dutch national team. This was a prime example of two cultures meshing together. The man was also wearing a ghutra in the colours of the Dutch national flag: red, white, and blue.


  • Helps complete development and release our brand new website where all the above happens
  • Helps run National Khutbah days with 100s of Imams reaching 100,000s on Jummah highlighting social issues
  • Helps produce Unscripted podcast shows with global influential figures tackling todays challenges
  • Helps produce Unscripted podcast shows with global influential scholars and activists tackling today's challenges
  • Helps research featured articles by leading scholars/activists offering guidance and solutions
  • Helps write NewsViews articles setting our narrative to major breaking stories
  • By proceeding, you will be added to the Islam21c mailing list. Your data is safe with us and will be protected in accordance with our data protection policy.
  • £ 0.00
  • per month
  • NOTE: Donating Zakat? Please proceed to our Zakat applicable emergency appeal here.
  • Donation Top Up

    Are you trying to increase your Rizq? Did you know by increasing your donation right now, Allah promises to give you back MUCH MORE
  • Helps write NewsViews articles setting our narrative to major breaking stories
  • Helps research featured articles by leading scholars/activists offering guidance and solutions
  • Helps produce Unscripted podcast shows with global influential scholars and activists tackling today's challenges
  • Helps produce Unscripted podcast shows with global influential figures tackling todays challenges
  • Helps run National Khutbah days with 100s of Imams reaching 100,000s on Jummah highlighting social issues
  • Helps complete development and release our brand new website where all the above happens


Did you think I was joking?

The process of getting into the stadium was fairly simple. My ticket was activated via Bluetooth, once I got close enough to the site. A quick pass through security and I was then within the stadium grounds.

At this point, to the right of me was the merchandise tent. The tent was overlooked by a jumbo screen showing the England game. There was another checkpoint to navigate and into the stadium, I was.

Ensuring Maghrib prayer was performed

My first thought was to look for a prayer room since Maghrib had entered. I’ve prayed at stadiums before, but never in a prayer room. I know they exist in English stadiums but they tend to be located in one part of the venue. It can be very difficult to find them, especially when you are in another part of the building. When I find myself at an English stadium, I usually just pray in the concourse.

Nevertheless, I found the prayer room and joined the jama’ah that was in progress, being led by a police officer, while I prayed next to other officers. Surat Quraysh was recited in the second rak’ah. The prayer room was a well-lit area, with light cream and burgundy carpets, reminiscent of the Qatari flag.

There was still ample time before kick-off. I was walking around the stadium and saw former Dutch international World Cup finalist, Rafael Van Der Vaart, who was on the broadcast. The area he was standing in was cordoned off, guarded by security. I tried to take a cheeky pic but was gestured away by security. I thought I was in trouble but that moment of anxiety soon turned to calm when I realised that the officer was actually telling me to come closer and get a better angle for my picture.

I then made my way to my seat in the third tier. On the way there, I saw another prayer room.

Regrouping with my brothers & taking my seat before the Netherlands vs. Senegal game

I walked up the stairs to my seat and saw the pitch for the first time. I took my seat, next to my brothers. The seats were wider and more comfortable than I’ve sat on in England, the seats at Anfield being particularly narrow.

The stadium was also a well-ventilated place, with air conditioning providing crisp, cool air. To quote John Hammond from Jurassic Park, the Qataris “spared no expense”. From my vantage point, I could see everything; there were no blind spots. On two corners of the stadium were big screens. Below me and to the left was a sea of orange.

The anticipation built for the game, with the MC coming on the screen every so often to hype the crowd. However, just before kick-off, all in attendance were given an unexpected surprise. A huge statue of the World Cup was placed in the centre circle. The lights dimmed, followed by an audible gasp around the stadium.

Around the trophy were about ten boxes. Then the pyrotechnics went off, fire filled the sky, surrounding the World Cup; purple and white strobe lights moved in a circular motion around the trophy. Oohs and aahs filled the stadium. It was pretty special.

Once the light show had ended, the game kicked off. One of my brothers bought me a shawarma wrap. Shawarma wrap at a football match, what a novel idea! At this point, the stadium was just over three quarters full. Seas of orange were interspersed with neutrals and Senegalese fans.

While the Dutch side won 2-0, it was the Senegalese fans on the opposite side from where we were sitting who captured hearts. They were in full song throughout the 90 minutes, painted in their flag colours of green, yellow, and red.

On to the next one, Denmark vs. Tunisia…

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Epilogue


Source: Islam21c

FIFA FOOTBALL SPORTS WORLD CUP
Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Telegram WhatsApp
Previous ArticleTurns out that alcohol isn’t needed to attend football matches!
Next Article FOSIS continues “Dismantling Islamophobia” tour despite institutional pushback

Related Posts

20 years on from the disastrous US-led invasion of Iraq

20/03/2023

Mother’s Day – innovation or Islamic obligation?

19/03/2023

Islam21c-Human Aid & Advocacy partnership announcement

17/03/2023

How can you benefit from the du’ā of the angels?

16/03/2023

We must fight for transparency from primary schools

15/03/2023

BBC publicly exposes its hypocrisy with Gary Lineker debacle

14/03/2023
View 2 Comments

2 Comments

  1. Yes on 22/11/2022 10:10 pm

    Interesting to get a first hand account. Keep doing this please.

    Reply
    • Shaheer Choudhury on 26/11/2022 5:33 pm

      Thank you for your comment, you may be pleased to hear that the next two parts are now live.

      Reply

Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

Alim Hasan Islam

Alim holds an LLB in Law and LLM in International Law: Crime, Justice and Human Rights. He was previously Head of Research and Development at Prevent Watch, a senior caseworker at Prevent Watch, and a senior caseworker at CAGE.

Islam21c
Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube Telegram
© 2023 Islam21c.com | All rights reserved

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.