Aisam-ul-Haq to Protest Against Blasphemy in Paris Masters Tennis Tournament

Pakistan Tennis star, Aisam-ul-Haq, announced that he will be protesting against the Islamophobic rhetoric of French President, Emmanuel Macron, by wearing a white armband in the Paris Masters Tennis Tournament.

Aisam is set to play in a mixed doubles tournament along with Greek partner, Stefanos Tsitsipas. They will face the pairing of Jamie Murray and Neal Skupski of Great Britain on Wednesday.

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Aisam was vocal against the stance of the French President and caricatures of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) by French publication, Charlie Hebdo, and said that “Islam only preaches the message of peace and love and respect for all the prophets.”

I will be wearing a white armband all this week at Paris Masters as a peaceful protest against the French president who, sadly and disappointingly, is endorsing and encouraging this kind of behavior where people are allowed to disrespect the religion of Islam and make fun of our Prophet Mohammad (PBUH).

Aisam added that as a tennis player he has learned to respect all religions, cultures, faiths and beliefs and it is one of the most valuable lessons as an athlete. He said that freedom of speech does not entitle a person to target any specific race or religion. It does not grant a person the liberty to hurt the sentiments of other people, he added.

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He asked his fellow athletes to join him in protesting against the comments of Macron and requested them to denounce what the French government has been doing.

He concluded, “I urge not just Muslim athletes but athletes all over the world who respect other religions  to show solidarity and unity by wearing a white armband and raise awareness that we, as human beings and athletes, can’t accept disrespect and mocking of other religions.”