UK Muslims Pass Cricket Loyalty Test

Many British Muslims of Pakistani origin will wave the white and red rather than the green in the July 13 game.

"I have to support England. As much as I love the land of my parents this is my adopted country," Zahaar Qurashi, president of the Islamic Society in Britain, told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Sunday, July 9.

The 39-year-old manufacturing systems consultant moved to Britain from Pakistan when he was 12.

"For many people this is it, England is their home, there is no going back. They have love for England as much as our parents have for their own respective countries," said Qurashi.

He insists that second generation British Pakistanis like himself and their third generation children often felt closer to England than Pakistan.

"There is a genuine change, my son also wants to go and support England against Pakistan," as the two sides clash in the first Test of a four-match series starting at London's Lord's Cricket Ground on July 13, added Qurashi.

Former minister Norman Tebbit, once a close ally of former prime minister Margaret Thatcher, invented the "cricket test" or "Tebbit test" in 1990 when he infamously spoke about the supposed split loyalties of immigrants to Britain.

His theory, which caused an uproar at the time, is that a person could only be classed as truly British if he or she supported England at cricket.

A poll showed in February that 91 percent of British Muslims are "loyal" to Britain and 80 percent still want to live in and accept Western society.

Former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw praised in March 27 the valuable contributions by British Muslims to society, calling the some 1.8 million minority an integral part of Great Britain.

Green Flags

Others, however, will be waving green flags rather than the red and white, and tooting horns for Pakistan.

This, they argue, is not proof of treachery to the country in which they live and prosper, but of a deep-rooted sense of pride for the nation of their forefathers.

Khalid Hussein, a teacher in his early 40s who lives in Yorkshire, northern England, was born in Britain to Pakistani parents and has always supported Pakistan at cricket.

"I do fail the 'Tebbit test' and I am pretty proud to fail it," he said, noting that Britons living in Australia would also flunk as they would never back Australia over England.

"We, as a minority people, should strictly believe in the rules of the country we live in but equally we should not then lose our culture and background," Hussein told AFP.

Between 1970 and the late 1990s, many Pakistanis living in Britain suffered racist abuse, which discouraged them from wanting to support England at anything.

Some claim they were discouraged from joining cricket clubs because of the color of their skin, while others tried to support England but were laughed at for doing so.

In addition, the British press fuelled racist sentiment and there were barely any Asian faces on the England cricket team.

But things have changed now, according to Hussein, who himself had a tough time growing up in Britain because of racism.

He said attitudes were changing, with British Pakistanis being made to feel more welcome and many British Asians, such as India-born former England captain Nasser Hussain, playing cricket for the country.

"As a result, my kids certainly don't support Pakistan, they support England," Hussein said.

British Factor

Professor Muhammad Anwar, of the Centre for Research in Ethnic Relations at the University of Warwick, said the "British factor" plays a key role in British Muslims' affinity towards England.

"The main thing is that 99.9 percent of these people regard themselves as British Pakistanis and British Muslims. That British factor is important for identity and loyalty," he said.

But Anwar insisted that it was impossible to judge an immigrant's Britishness on the cricket team he or she backed.

He maintained that more and more second and third generation British Asians were rooting for England when it came to the crunch.

Naeem Akhtar, an IT analyst who runs a website for Pakistan cricket fans, agreed that it does not matter whether British Pakistanis want England or Pakistan to win they are all still British citizens at heart.

"Being British isn't just supporting the team, it is more about your way of thinking," said Akhtar, who is a life-long Pakistan supporter despite moving to Britain as a child.

"I accept multiculturalism 100 percent. The way I talk, the way I bring up my kids is more in the British way than the Pakistani way. The future for me isn't Pakistan, the future for me is being British."