Shafaqna English- From Lamine Yamal to Yasin Ayari and the converts from Cape Verde, a new generation of footballers is challenging the idea that Islam is foreign to Europe. At the 2026 World Cup, these players are showing that the Muslim faith is an integral part of the continent’s fabric.
There are an estimated two billion Muslims worldwide, making up roughly a quarter of the global population.
So at a World Cup featuring 13 Muslim-majority nations, public expressions of Islamic faith should come as little surprise.
Despite this, some of the most talked-about displays of the Islamic faith have come from players representing majority-Christian countries.
Lamine Yamal, the teenage prodigy leading Spain and FC Barcelona’s attack, made headlines when he performed the sujood (prostration) after scoring his first World Cup goal against Saudi Arabia.
Yamal’s faith had already been thrust into the spotlight in March during a friendly between Spain and Egypt in his hometown of Barcelona, when sections of the crowd chanted, “Musulman el que no bote” (“Who doesn’t jump is Muslim”).
Sources: Middle East Eye