Woolmer complained about OTT Islam in team

[King Tendulkar]

Latest reports indicate that bob comlained about OTT islam in team and that they were more interested in praying etc and forcing players to pray etc. They say may have been reason for death was this complaint of OTT islam. He also complained about team being linked with extreme islamic group. Former media manager says that many players complained to him about being forced to pray etc. He said it hampered develpopment of players etc. As players complained they wanted to relax and were being forced to pray.

[King Tendulkar]

Re: Woolmer complained about OTT Islam in team Mark Shields, Jamaica's deputy commissioner and the chief investigator in the case, told BBC Panorama programme that on March 18, nine murder cases had been registered across the country. "But the difference between Bob Woolmer's murder and most of these is that Jamaican killers tend to use knives or guns. The fact that Bob Woolmer was strangled has led the police here to conclude that his killer came from outside Jamaica," Shields reasoned. Meanwhile, Pakistan team's media manager in the World Cup, PJ Mir, told the programme that Woolmer felt players were focusing more on religion than their game. He went on to claim that Woolmer could have even invited a fatwah had he gone public with his feelings. Recalling an incident, Mir said, "A CD was being played which was a Tabliqhy CD and Bob, who was sitting behind me, said 'why don't you tell them to stop? If they want to listen to that they could on their iPods or personal devices', and he thought that he shouldn't be subjected to all that and I agreed with Bob." Mir said Woolmer had his apprehensions about the players' dwindling focus on cricket. "He wasn't particularly pleased when players were going out to say their prayers in the middle of the game? and a substitute was coming in and then again... and this continued. He was totally against it," he said. Mir's observation that Inzamam-ul Haq and his teammates prayed more and played less irked some quarters back home and the media manager had to flee Pakistan after a 'fatwah' was issued against him. Mir had no doubt that "there would have been a fatwah against him (Woolmer) as well", had the coach made his observations public. The BBC programme said Inzamam and other key players of the Pakistani squad had become members of the Tabliqhy Jamat and the group listened to prayers and sermons while traveling with the rest of the squad on the team bus.

[kumble_rocks]

Re: Woolmer complained about OTT Islam in team Looks like Fatso is a two faced hypocrite. I remember this son of a gun and his stooge Mustaq Ahmed stoned immaculately along with their other pals waqar and moin during earlier tours in the 90's. What a turnaround for this hypocrite from a pot smoking ninja to now Tabliqhy Jamat . And why force his Tabliqhy beliefs on others.

[King Tendulkar]

Re: Woolmer complained about OTT Islam in team I find the whole pak team and their obssession with islasm awful. I pointed out how awful it was that they all celebrated tons by going on their hands and knees etc and punctuated all interviews with islamic references and got hammered by all. These were clear signs of fundie behaviour of team. It looks like i was not the only one, as those close to team and some of those in it were also not happy with it!

[kumble_rocks]

Re: Woolmer complained about OTT Islam in team Personally , I do not have any problem if they celebrate their tons by thanking Allah . I guess it's a cultural thing for them to thank their god. My only problem with characters like Inzi/Mushy is that they are trying to make Pak team more like a madrassa . I mean these guys were caught smoking weed in the caribbean tour in the 90's and now this change of heart . They are hypocrites, that's all. Also , these guys should not force their religious belief on players like akhtar, maik , butt , hameed etc who are not that overtly religious.

[King Tendulkar]

Re: Woolmer complained about OTT Islam in team Woolmer called his book Inshallah! Enough for some islamic nutter to want to kill him I reckon ----------------------------------------------------------------- LONDON: The Pakistan cricket team?s ?descent? into praying rather than playing because of the infiltration of an other-worldly proselytising sect of Islam called the Tableeghi Jamaat (TJ) worried their murdered coach Bob Woolmer so much he was writing a book titled 'Inshallah', TOI has learnt. The book, due out at the end of March, had been accepted by a South African publisher. It has now been shelved. Woolmer openly expressed his irritation at the Pakistan World Cup Squad?s pronounced TJ sympathies almost as soon as the team arrived at Montego Bay in Jamaica for the opening ceremony. The squad?s former media manager PJ Mir confirmed on Tuesday that Woolmer told this to him and team manager Talat Ali with the wailing backdrop of a TJ CD: ?While all of us are on our way to the hotel (with the team), can?t you ask them to turn it off?" Mir said Woolmer?s irritation was sparked after a series of incidents that appeared to underline some Pakistan players? determination to ?make a political statement of their faith.? Mir, a former Pakistan player who was part of the squad during the first World Cup in 1975, said Woolmer could hardly have failed to notice that his boys appeared to be ?concentrating more on a Tableeghi CD rather than talking cricket.? He added that it was absurd for Pakistan players to say the azaan on the aircraft to the World Cup venue because ?Pakistan is a moderate nation, we have a moderate president, a modern prime minister, and it is not right to depict Pakistan like this.? On Tuesday, Mir's concerns were echoed by Qamar Ahmed, a London-based veteran cricket correspondent, who knew Woolmer for 25 years and has travelled with the Pakistan team for decades to cover eight World Cups, 351 Tests and 667 one-day matches. He told TOI that Woolmer personally informed him of his forthcoming book, Inshallah , last February. ?He had obviously been watching the Pakistan cricket, its culture and the religious bent. He had seen that some of the boys would call in a substitute for fielding and go off to say namaaz,? said Ahmed. Mir, who has spent considerable time in London for the last 30 years and now presents a popular programme on the Pakistani TV channel ARY, added in a reference to former captain Rashid Lateef that he was equally ?disappointed that a former Test cricketer, who has led the team, should have said there should be a fatwa on me (for saying the players were more interested in praying than playing).? Mir?s concerns over the rising religiosity of the Pakistani team came as cricket experts and aficionados here recounted jokes that chronicled the Pakistan team?s increasing faith in prayer power rather than player power. According to one apocryphal joke, alleged to be fact, the team?s half-baked fanaticism was best reflected by captain Inzamam-ul-Haq who responded to an English journalist?s congratulations on the birth of his son with these words: ?Thanks to Allah, it?s a team effort.?

[King Tendulkar]

Re: Woolmer complained about OTT Islam in team

Personally ' date=' I do not have any problem if they celebrate their tons by thanking Allah . I guess it's a cultural thing for them to thank their god. My only problem with characters like Inzi/Mushy is that they are trying to make Pak team more like a madrassa . I mean these guys were caught smoking weed in the caribbean tour in the 90's and now this change of heart . They are hypocrites, that's all. Also , these guys should not force their religious belief on players like akhtar, maik , butt , hameed etc who are not that overtly religious.[/quote'] The point is they all celebrated their tons by doing this! Every single one of them. Pak teams never did this in the past! It was clearly forced upon them. I think the pressure the fundies exerted would have a lot to do with YoYo's conversion! The pressure to fit in! I agree they were trying to make the team like a madrassa. I think this is one of the things that irked younis khan!

[Anakin]

Re: Woolmer complained about OTT Islam in team Most people in their right mind would have problem with bringing religion into a sports. It's one thing to celebrate something personally, quite another when everyone can't say a word without referring to someone up above, or when chucky said something along the line they were more united because they prayed together

[kumble_rocks]

Re: Woolmer complained about OTT Islam in team The irony of all this is , they had better winning record during the late 80's and early 90's when they were least religious. I guess PCB recognizes this fact and wants to make a changes in the right direction. Malik is a good choice from this POV. No more fatso influence in the team. I hope he gets booted from test squad also.

[beetle]

Re: Woolmer complained about OTT Islam in team Rashid latif..... He is a fundoo too...

[gs]

Re: Woolmer complained about OTT Islam in team Add Haji Saeed Anwar and Peer Saqlain Mushtaq to that tabliqhi list!!! :wtg:

[MundaPakistani]

Re: Woolmer complained about OTT Islam in team Ok so now PJ Mir has emerged as the latest clown in PAK cricket.

[MundaPakistani]

Re: Woolmer complained about OTT Islam in team

The irony of all this is ' date=' they had better winning record during the late 80's and early 90's when they were least religious. I guess PCB recognizes this fact and wants to make a changes in the right direction. Malik is a good choice from this POV. No more fatso influence in the team. I hope he gets booted from test squad also.[/quote'] Well as late as the March-April 06 when PAK had defeated ENG, SL and IND this focus towards religion was named as one of the REASONS to team's success as it united the players.

[MundaPakistani]

Re: Woolmer complained about OTT Islam in team

Looks like Fatso is a two faced hypocrite. I remember this son of a gun and his stooge Mustaq Ahmed stoned immaculately along with their other pals waqar and moin during earlier tours in the 90's. What a turnaround for this hypocrite from a pot smoking ninja to now Tabliqhy Jamat . And why force his Tabliqhy beliefs on others.

umm that was 1993 so don't you think a person can change himself in 14 years? i know that i made a lot of mistakes in my teenage years but i have learnt from them and try not to make the same mistakes. In normal circumstances i think there is no better way to polish your personality and sway away from the negative things than to get closer to your religion(could be any religion).

Rashid latif..... He is a fundoo too...

and...why is it a bad thing? If anything i consider it a great honor.

[King Tendulkar]

Re: Woolmer complained about OTT Islam in team What an idiot you are MP. Here you go defending the mullahs in the pak tean and the talibinisation of the team. Says a lot about your ways of thinking! A great honour to be a fundie! You loony!

[THX_1138]

Re: Woolmer complained about OTT Islam in team well my skeptic, agnostic, secularist ass would not have survived very long in that team!

[Rajiv]

Re: Woolmer complained about OTT Islam in team

What an idiot you are MP. Here you go defending the mullahs in the pak tean and the talibinisation of the team. Says a lot about your ways of thinking! A great honour to be a fundie! You loony!

Cool it pal, no need to get personal and insult others

[King Tendulkar]

Re: Woolmer complained about OTT Islam in team Only called him an idiot and a loony! Not exactly massive insults in terms of MB. Apologise if some see it as abuse. He is free to call me them back! :hic:

[talksport]

Re: Woolmer complained about OTT Islam in team I listened to Woolmer on radio claiming that Pakistan Teams religious beliefs bring more unity and Team Spirit... Ofcourse that was when Pakistan beat England 3 -0.

[King Tendulkar]

Re: Woolmer complained about OTT Islam in team Its not the fact about wether it helps the pak team to win or not. Its the whole morality of forcing people to pray, putting pressure on players to be more islamic and mullah like, pressure on others to convert etc etc. Mullah inzi was leading some kind of islamic fundie course in the pak team. Putting enormous pressure on others to tow the islamic/mullah/taliban line