Technically we are British Asian not English Asian. Similar analogy is if a Scots in England is watching a Scotland-England game; who does he support?
— Zac X (@XerxestheMagian) June 30, 2019
In the recent World Cup my heart says Pakistan for some reason. I was feeling somewhat traitorous and disloyal because of the infamous Tebbit test as to whether a British Pakistan would (or rather would not) support England in a match against Pakistan.
As I grow older and wiser I realise now this is simply coded racism. The concept of British nationality is the Union of the 4 Nations (Ireland sort of broke away but no matter) and 3 Kingdoms.
So nobody would bat an eye lid if a Welshman, living in England and maybe even born in England, would loudly cheer for Wales in an England-Wales rugby match.
We don’t have team Britain in the Cricket but Team England. I don’t feel English and Asians have never been asked to be English. If an Asian came up to me and told me they were English; I would look down on him as a coconut.
This is different to Scotland, where a civic nationalist has arisen. The largeish Pakistani community there feels both Scottish and Pakistani whereas Englishness is linked to blood and soil (there are exceptions for mixed race individuals and the Black community since there are almost an extension of the working class).
Would I have it any other way? Not really but then if the Welsh, Scots and the Irish can be fiercely patriotic and still be welcomed as British, I can’t see why the same shouldn’t apply for me.
Supporting Pakistan doesn’t make me any less British.
I don’t really understand the class and race issues in England, and how they relate to sporting loyalties. But I’ll restate my opinion from the other thread that though it’s natural for immigrants to remain loyal to their origin countries’ teams, it seems quite strange for people born and bred in those countries to still choose to do so. To me, it speaks of a ghetto mentality.
As for Wales and England, they are really sub-nationalities, aren’t they? Can they be compared to India-England or Pakistan-England?
It’s like within India, I support regional sports teams where I grew up or where I live, not where my ancestral roots are (Tamil Nadu.) It would seem strange to me to support a TN team in anything, given my lack of links to the state other than the ability to speak Tamil and a bunch of distant relatives living there.
So nobody would bat an eye lid if a Welshman, living in England and maybe even born in England, would loudly cheer for Wales in an England-Wales rugby match.
If this is really true (and you can replace Welshman with Australian or South African), I agree there’s a racism angle to the Tebbit test.
Yes while England and Wales are a Kingdom in their own right, Scotland is a separate Kingdom (so is NI).
However Wales is *considered* to be a separate nation strangely enough.
But what if the British Asian was born in England and spent their entire life there? If an Anglo-Indian who was born and raised in India supported England over their actual home, I’d imagine you would be peeved by it.
Lulz Anglo Indianz would do well to support England innit, cuz people of the book >> hindoo kuffar. Best behaviour favoured by Almighty Allah (SWT) is to increase level of support with increasing number of rightly-guided Muslim players in any team. Muslims who play for India are murtads worse than kuffar because they play for an idolatrous kuffar country under a kuffar banner. Alhamdulillah England’s Muslims playin for a Christian people of the book where they have full rights to proselytise and preach so Alhamdulillah that is team al-salam bruvz. Mashallah Bangoliz becoming better Muslims and Muslimahz day by day so thatz good. They need to get rid of the few kuffar that play zoumiya or whatevz his name is. Can use sharia or dawah on him also. Pakistan is the closest to ideal team for the Ummah. Always a pleasure to support people in submission to the Tawheed. They should pray together in the field more often I believe and they carry on the dawah as Mohammad Yusuf brother’s example shows. Follow Islam in a more disciplined way and treat every match as Jihad fi Sabilillah and fath al Islam is guaranteed Alhamdulillah.
#MyTwoRiyals
#IslamiTarbiyatOverTebbit