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Cricket and the faithful **
- As Saeed Anwar begins preaching at a mosque, his former team-mates rethink religion too *
Hasan Mansoor
http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=30122
Saeed Anwar. File Picture Karachi’s Sonehri Mosque in the Martin Quarters area usually spills over with the faithful especially on a Friday. Even by normal standards the crowd gathered at the mosque was big.
A young, bearded man with a green turban was lecturing with a passion, his voice booming through the loudspeakers of the mosque.
The crowd was in rapt attention. While most were obviously there to listen to the young preacher, quite a few also wanted to get a glimpse of him, the face they had only seen on the TV screen and at stadiums.
The unglamorous preacher in a simple salwar-kameez was the once-glamorous opening bat for the Pakistan cricket team, the man whose 194 runs against India in Madras remains the highest score in one-day international cricket.
Saeed Anwar is a changed man, as he himself says. The sermon was not about cricket; it was about Islam, its fundamentals and why it is important for all Muslims to practise their religion and seek guidance from the word of God.
Saeed doesn’t want to talk about himself; gone are the swashbuckling days of the cricketer who would be thronged by crowds for his autograph. The man now is one who has effaced the ‘‘self’’: ‘‘I am not here to talk about cricket or about myself,’’ he told the crowd, ‘‘I am here to talk about our religion.’’
The 34-year-old Anwar, who bid cricket farewell on August 15, reverted to religion two years ago after the death of his daughter, Bismah. It all happened suddenly and fans were surprised to see Saeed’s picture in a newspaper with a beard and a turban. But he did not seek retirement at the time even as he took to his new Islamic look and dress off the field. So different did he look that at one point a groundsman refused him entry.
‘‘People say that becoming religious has affected my form. That’s not true. I never come late for practice and performed better than any Pakistani batsman in the World Cup. The transformation doesn’t mean I am going to quit the game. I am not distracted,’’ he told reporters some months ago.
But he has ended up retiring prematurely. Although Anwar managed to score a century and was Pakistan’s highest scorer in the World Cup, he was one of eight players dropped from the squad. He had read the writing on the wall.
Today, Anwar feels the time he spent off the field was a waste and wants to make amends. ‘‘After retirement there is only one aim in my life and that is to follow Allah’s path and to prepare for the Day of Judgment,’’ Anwar says. He is satisfied with his decision, ‘‘I am a different Saeed Anwar and to me the material world is meaningless.’’
After his transformation while he was still playing cricket, Anwar, a computer engineer from Karachi, announced he would not go to parties and functions that were not in keeping with his religious obligations. ‘‘I see nothing unusual in Anwar’s transformation. People sometimes change and discover God,’’ Anwar’s first captain, Imran Khan, says.
Anwar, now a preacher, also went on a 40-day mystic seclusion (chilla) soon after he was dropped following Pakistan’s first-round debacle in the World Cup. His father Mohammad Anwar, also an engineer, and wife Lubna, a doctor, are also religiously inclined. ‘‘I have turned to Allah for solace and am committed to spread the religion to all parts of the world,’’ Anwar says. He denies being a jehadi or a fanatic. ‘‘Islam is a moderate religion and I am not a fanatic or a jehadi.’’
Would the wristy sensation now only be found in mosques and religious gatherings? Anwar disagrees: ‘‘Whenever someone calls me for cricket I will be there. I would love to transfer my talents to youngsters so that they can serve the country.’’ Saeed’s passion for cricket is the same as it was when he took his inspirations from movies and music.
‘‘It’s a good omen to have our heroes follow Islamic teachings,’’ said Maulana Mushtaq, prayer leader at the Sonehri Masjid. ‘‘At least, the world would know now that we don’t only produce playboys,’’ he added, alluding to the legendary Imran Khan.
To be fair to Anwar, he is not the only one. The Pakistani team has emerged as a side with strong religious tendencies. This is evident from the gestures they make on the field. More often than not, they thank God for their success even before greeting team-mates.
Ramiz Raja was on bended knees as soon as he took the catch off Imran clinching the World Cup for Pakistan in Melbourne, 1992. Former captain Salim Malik has also jumped onto the Raiwind bandwagon. He has formally joined the Tableeghi Jamaat and is busy spreading Islam. Yes, this is the same Salim Malik who was banned by the Pakistan Cricket Board on the recommendations of the Justice Qayyum Commission investigating corruption.
In 2002, Malik spent three days at Raiwind accompanied by Anwar, Waqar Younis and Inzamamul Haq. A close friend of Malik’s, former test cricketer Akram Raza, arranged for him to meet with Anwar, who introduced Malik to Maulana Tariq Jamil, the spiritual leader in Raiwind. The Friday Times
