Adil Najam
Given all the discussion about cricket and Islam (here), sooner or later we will come to beards and cricket and whether beards of a certain length or style are ‘religiously intimidating’ for some (related story here).
I thought I would pre-empt the discussion by sharing some images of a few ‘great beards’ of cricket. Readers are, of course, welcome to add to the list. You can also look into Joshua Bartlett’s blog to get more information about men’s grooming and the products often used for it.
For that it seems to me that the obvious choice is one of Pakistan’s most graceful batsmen ever (and that is saying something!) Saeed Anwar. He is also generally considered a mentor to many of the more religiously inclined players in the current Pakistan team.
His, however, is not the only set of religiously motivated set of facial hair to adorn cricketing fields. One of my all-time favorite cricketers and all-time favorite famous persons is former Indian Captain Bishen Singh Bedi. His fine-looking facial hair and head-dress – and of many others – were also clearly religiously-motivated and a constant expression of his faith.
By way of disclosure I should add that I occasionally sprout facial hair of my own but am mostly clean-shaven. But as a deep and committed adherent of people’s right of expression (how can a blogger not be that!) I stand committed to defend people’s right to facial hair, whether they are grown for stylistic elegance or religious expression.
To be fair, in these pictures the unkempt and ‘in the wind’ beard is of W.G. Grace. Saeed’s seems to be the best groomed.
Could it be that we react not to the beard but what we think it represents :-)
But you are right, messy and unkempt hair do look bad, whether it is someone’s beard or hair (like the 60s hippies). So, yes, all of you who have beards (or hair), please keep them neat :-)
Good article….and Adil, you won’t be your tolerant self when your son (if you have one) grows some ‘creative’ facial hair of his own….look at MTV if you want a preview :D
You are absolutely right, Yahya.
Another thing is, does the beard have to be long and unkempt? Is there a particular length that is considered Islamic? Does one really think that Yousuf Youhana’s beard looks oh-so-tidy extending beyond his helmet strap? The Sikhs also keep beards for religious reasons, but theirs are usually neatly tied up, hence presenting a neater appearance, if you will.
Has anyone seen a long beard on a motorcycle on a windy day? If you have, you know what I am talking about :)
Beard for men and hijab for women! (I better duck…here comes Adnan Siddiqui :))
ATP guys, you really want another religious fist-fight on your hands, do you ? :-)
I very much doubt beard is an issue in itself (and not because I support a beard and for years too). It is the in-your-face attitude of some Muslims that is irritating, beard or no beard. This in turn may make “Muslimâ€