Some Muslim personalities have made a positive impact in sports while confidently speaking about their faith. Muhammad Ali was an impressive personality. However, we have many examples in our modern times. Mohamed Salah of Liverpool captured the hearts of football fans, and we have heard the chant “Mo Sa-la-la-la-lah, Mo Sa-la-la-la-lah, if he’s good enough for you, he’s good enough for me, if he scores another few, then I’ll be Muslim too.”

We sat in amazement when Saudi Arabia took over Newcastle United; the Geordie fans draped themselves with Saudi flags that had the Shahadah written on them. The New Zealander Sonny Bill Williams made headlines when he converted to Islam. Williams converted in 2009 and said at the time it helped him when he was losing his way in the chaotic world of professional sport. His brother and mother also converted at the time. Williams authored a book ‘You Can’t Stop the Sun from Shining,’ which encouraged many to accept Islam. However, I feel Khabib has had the greatest impact. I am no fan of UFC, nor do I take interest in the game; even then, I watched Khabib’s fight with McGregor, touting it as a victory for Islam. Many others probably did the same. Khabib has also led many people to Islam, from female UFC fighters to ex-Mexican Cartel members. These people are impressed by the disciplines of Khabib, how he takes religion seriously, and how he respects his elders, particularly his father. These were great traits in the Western world, now sadly in decline. I’d like to share with you the story of Huw, who took Shahdah with me in Glasgow in April 2024. The seeds of Islam were planted in his heart by watching and admiring Khabib.

Huw caught a taxi from his house in Glasgow to the airport. He regularly travels to Dubai for work. Whilst in the taxi, he spoke to the driver about his interest in Islam. He mentioned he had been looking into Islam for around 5 years, he has read the Quran translation, and was reading on Muslim history. The taxi driver listened patiently with a smile, offering his support. When they reached the airport, the driver said, “If you are interested in the faith, you may wish to speak to my nephew, who is very learned and could help.” The taxi driver was my uncle. Huw thanked him and off he went to Dubai.
A few months later, I received a text message. It was Huw! He wanted to meet up. Ramadan had just started, so we met up for Iftaar at Khyber. Huw was also fasting, except it was a little different. He was fasting intermittently for 18 hours, only drinking tea and coffee. We broke fast together and spoke for around 2 hours. Huw mentioned his interest in Islam started with Khabib Nurmagomedov. Huw was a professional athlete and had to give up due to his injuries, but he enjoyed sports. What he liked about Khabib was his discipline and commitment to religious values despite being the best. The money, girls, and fame didn’t faze him. This really impacted Huw, and he decided to research about Islam. We spoke about Muslim history, Christianity, his upbringing, etc. I said to Huw, “Why don’t you come along with us to a friend’s house for Iftaar?” He happily agreed. So we both turned up at Nabeel Sheikh’s house. It was a lovely event bringing together many beautiful brothers from Glasgow. Huw was overwhelmed by the welcome. After the Iftaar, I texted Huw saying perhaps take some time to process all of this, and he agreed, saying he needed the space.

After Ramadan, lo and behold, I received a text. ‘Hi Hassan, Hope you’re well! Also, really hope Ramadan & Eid went well! I’m looking to take the next steps and take my Shahada soon, would you be free at any point to talk about how I go about it? 🙂’
So, Huw and I met at the Ottoman Coffee Shop. He was really taken aback by the decor and mentioned how he had been reading about the Ottomans and has recently watched the acclaimed documentary on Netflix ‘Rise of Empires: Ottoman’. We had a good catch up and discussed the following steps.
The following day, we met at Zia-Ul-Quran Mosque (Glasgow). I gave him a tour of the mosque and the library. Alhumdulillah, I took his Shahadah, we did wudhu and prayed 2 Nafl. We both made heartfelt duas. The Shahadah coincided with the Mosque classes. So Huw accepted my invitation to speak to the students about his journey to Islam.
After that, we walked to Junaid Jamshaid. Huw wanted a Jubba as he had seen many people wear it in Dubai, so we tried a few on and he finally picked his favorite with a matching hat!
InshaAllah, I’ll be taking Huw in a few weeks to Juma at Heriot-Watt University so he can experience that.
One thing Huw did mention was the Iftaar party he went to. He said that really accelerated his wish to take the Shahadah. He was so warmly welcomed by everyone; he said if the whole world acted like that, we’d be in a much better place.
I request you all to do dua for him as he embarks on this most beautiful journey.