Muslim football tournament under fire for team names
Chelsea J. Carter, Associated Press Writer
Sunday, December 28, 2003 Irvine, Calif. -- The idea was innocent enough: A group of young men organize a holiday football tournament and give their teams such innocuous names as "4th and Goal" and "1988'ers."
It was some of the other team names that raised eyebrows: Intifada, Soldiers of Allah and Mujahideen.
The furor that followed has forced some teams to change their names and a handful of players to quit. It also sparked a debate that threatens to overshadow the tournament, which was planned primarily for young Muslims and scheduled for Jan. 4.
"This was really just supposed to be about the youth playing football. Now it's become so political that a part of me thinks we shouldn't even play," said Tarek Shawky, 29, one of the tournament's organizers.
Those involved in the league said they never set out to upset or offend anyone. But critics say such names as Intifada, which is used by Palestinian fighters, and Mujahideen glorify terrorism.
In Arabic, Intifada means "uprising" and Mujahideen means "holy warrior," which is associated with several Islamic groups that are on the U.S. list of terrorist organizations.
"The issue is these are words that are linked to real terrorists, real threats, real murders today," said Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center.
"There shouldn't be young Americans chanting the name Mujahideen as American soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq are put in danger and attacked daily," Cooper said. "As for Intifada, it has been a disaster for the Palestinians and the nearly 1,000 Israeli children and parents murdered by suicide bombers."
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He passed out fliers at an Orange County mosque and set up a Web site, inviting teams to register and submit names. Although most submitted names such as "4th and Goal" and "Muslim Football Allstars," three came under fire.
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While two teams -- Soldiers of Allah and Mujahideen -- agreed, Intifada has not. Shawky said the team was considering a name change before the tournament.
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The letter also defended the use of the word Intifada, citing the Palestinian movement.
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"Controversy comes and goes," he said. "Today it's about the tournament; tomorrow it will be something else." __________________________________________
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