Ramadan puts Muslim soccer players in Germany in a bind

FAZ - Mamadou Diabang had always wanted to become a professional soccer player. So when he was traded to first-division team VfL Bochum it was a dream come true. But then, when the holy month of Ramadan came around, the Muslim found himself no longer in high spirits. Instead, he faced a moral predicament.

Diabang had to fulfill the athletic requirements on the one side and the demands of his religion on the other. Ramadan, when eating and drinking are forbidden between dawn and sunset, made practice a tormenting experience. “I was constantly thirsty and hungry. I felt tired and weak. Sometimes, I would get really dizzy during practice,“ Diabang said.

The striker was able to reconcile the conflict between his career and religion only by using a good amount of pragmatism and spiritual support. “Now I make up for the missed days of fasting during vacation,“ the native of Senegal said. Before doing this, however, he first got the approval of his imam back home. “When the job you do to make a living doesn't allow for you to fast, then it's all right not to,“ the imam assured him. Islamic law does not require children, pregnant woman, the sick, travelers or those with physically demanding jobs to fast.
Fasting during Ramadan, which this year lasts until Sunday, is one of the five pillars of Islam and is therefore a central part of the religion's requirements. But not all Muslim soccer players in the German Bundesliga find it easy to meet the requirements. There is reason to believe that most Muslim athletes do not fast during Ramadan, but many refuse to publicly comment on the issue because they would like to avoid having to admit this to their fellow countrymen and family members.

Still, others are more stringent. The Iranian Ali Daei refused in 1998 to take part in an advertisement for a large brewery with his new team, FC Bayern Munich. He was opposed to promoting the consumption of alcohol, which is forbidden by the Koran.

Professor Wilfried Kindermann, director of the Institute for Sports and Preventive Medicine at the University of Saarland, also raised questions about the value of fasting for athletes. “Ramadan and competitive sports just don't fit together,“ Kindermann said. The lack of liquids, minerals and electrolytes, and the limited intake of carbohydrates directly after strenuous physical activity can create cramps, a higher risk of muscle injuries and an increased rate of infections, Kindermann said.

Volker Finke, who has coached a number of Muslim athletes at SC Freiburg, said he found it hard to imagine the relationship between Islam and soccer becoming an open issue in Germany. One of his Muslim athletes still continues to fast during Ramadan, he said. But he won't reveal any names. “I don't know whether the public can appropriately handle this topic. If the tabloid papers get their hands on it, the next thing you know they'll be saying that's why he's playing so poorly right now, and with that kind of salary,“ he said.