Mohamad Salah plays an instrumental role in his side down the right flank. However, he’s been playing the role of the peace-keeper in the city of Liverpool as well, with statistics showing the same.
Arriving from AS Roma in 2017, the expectations from Salah were not sky-high. The winger has gone onto exceed all expectations with two consecutive golden boots to his name.
Apart from Salah the footballer, Salah the human has had a profound touch into the heart of Merseyside. His acts of humility have made people change their minds about people hailing from the Muslim religion.
Salah: Crunching The Numbers
What happened when @MoSalah joined @LFC?
Hate crimes in the surrounding area declined by 19%.
The # of anti-Muslim tweets sent by Liverpool fans was cut in half.
Evidence (by: @wpmarble @a_alrababah @salma_mousa_ @aasiegel ): "Can Exposure to Celebrities Reduce Prejudice?" pic.twitter.com/ue9QhduB1Z
— John B. Holbein (@JohnHolbein1) June 1, 2019
The study was carried out by Immigration Policy Lab at Stanford University, in the United States. The study, titled “Can Exposure to Celebrities Reduce Prejudice? The Effect of Mohamed Salah on Islamophobic Behaviors and Attitudes” concluded that hate crimes in Liverpool dipped ever since Salah’s arrival.
After reportedly analyzing 15 million tweets by football fans in the United kingdom and 8,600 Liverpool fans, it was found that hate crime reduced by 18.9% in the Merseyside region while also seeing a 53% drop in the anti-muslim tweets put up by Liverpool fans. Here are some takeaways from the study:
“Overall, we interpret these results to support the hypothesis that Salah’s arrival at Liverpool FC caused a decrease in extreme acts of bigotry,”
The survey experiment suggests that these results may be driven by increased familiarity with Islam,” says the study.
“Our findings indicate that positive exposure to outgroup role models can reveal new information that humanizes the outgroup writ large.”
The CEO of the Abdullah Quilliam Society believes that Salah has made a huge impact on the reduction of hate crimes against Muslims in Liverpool. He stated:
“He has broken the barriers of negative perceptions that the fans and the general public hold about the Muslim community.
“It is about Islam and he has taught people a lot of tolerance and understanding about Islam. Not only is he an iconic player on the pitch but he is also a game-changer in the community.”
The Egyptian is often seen performing the act of sujood after scoring a goal and is one of the four Muslim members in the squad which includes Sadio Mane, Xherdan Xhaqiri, and Naby Keita. His influence has enabled people to embrace the Muslim religion as a whole and not discriminate it.
Salah’s calm demeanour and the positive figure has made several see him as a role model figure. The Liverpool fans have grown to adore the 28-year-old’s performances on and off the pitch. The incident where Salah offered to help the robber who broke into his house, had a lasting impact on the fans.
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