Mo Salah, Ambassador for Moderate Islam

AP PHOTO/MANU FERNANDEZ

Liverpool\'s Mohamed Salah celebrates their victory after winning during the Champions League final soccer match between Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid, Saturday, June 1, 2019.

Nagrig, a modest village some 130 kilometers to the north of Cairo in Egypt, is suddenly pushed into the global spotlight, and it has something to do with the fame of the village’s soccer superstar, Mohamed Salah.

Soccer observers, enthusiasts and lovers, especially in Europe and Africa, are now familiar with the name of the village. Many come all the way from Europe to Egypt just to see everyday life in Nagrig, the birthplace of Salah, who has remained down to earth despite his global fame.

Salah, 27, or Mohamed Salah Hamed Mahrous Ghaly, or “Mo Salah”, as he is popularly known, is now the idol of Liverpudlians and Kopites – as Liverpool FC’s fanatic fans are known. Liverpool fans are so in love with Salah that they are famous for chanting: “If he scores another few, then I’ll be a Muslim too,” every time Salah scores a goal.

KOMPAS/MUSTHAFA ABD RAHMAN

A rumpled banner hangs across the quiet street leading to Nagrig village in Cairo, Egypt, Thursday (13/6/2019), the birthplace of Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah.

Nagrig is located in Basyoun district, Gharbia province, some three hours by car from Cairo on the road to Alexandria. It has a population of around 10,000, with farming as the main livelihood.

During Kompas’ visit on Thursday (13/6/2019), the village looked serene and modest. Its roads are dirt roads between three and four meters wide. Most vehicles roaming the streets were three-wheeled ones that the locals call tuk-tuk.

Sometimes, motorcycles and cars were seen on the streets. When two cars pass each other, they have to slow down, as the streets are narrow.

“This is the school Mo Salah built,” said Mohamed Shahata, 40, who took Kompas to the school building. Shahata is a barber. He said he had cut Salah’s hair several times when he still lived in Nagrig.

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A dusty, unpaved street leads to Mohamed Salah’s house in Nagrig village, Cairo, Egypt, Thursday (13/6/2019).

Salah also built a water-processing installation and a waste-disposal site for the equivalent of around US$419,267. When talking about Salah, several villagers brimmed with pride.

Salah’s face is seen on stickers plastered on walls in shops, stalls and homes. Such stickers were already seen in Basyoun district and practically all over the place in Nagrig. Several youths in the village were wearing Liverpool shirts with Salah’s face.

World recognition

Salah was born in Nagrig on June 15, 1992. The village is situated in the Nile Delta, the lifeblood of Egypt. The River Nile supports lush vegetation in the region. Many of Egypt’s respected figures in various fields are born and raised in the Nile Delta, like Salah.

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A well-maintained pitch is visible through the goal net at the football field Mohamed Salah built in Nagrig village in Cairo, Egypt, Thursday (13/6/2019).

After serving in several clubs, including Chelsea, Fiorentina and AS Roma, Salah reached superstardom with Liverpool. On 1 June, he helped Liverpool win the Champions League by defeating Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 in the final. One of the two goals was by Salah, in a penalty shootout.

However, even with all of his amazing skills on the soccer field, as HBO’s Last Week Tonight anchor John Oliver wrote in Time magazine, “Mo Salah is a better human being than he is a football player”. You would be hard-pressed to find a professional athlete in any sport less affected by their success or status. He always comes across as a humble, thoughtful, funny man who is not taking any of this too seriously, writes Oliver. Time includes Salah in its list of the 100 most influential figures in the world.

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A brick wall surrounds this Nagrig village school in Cairo, Egypt, Thursday (13/6/2019), where Mohamed Salah studied.

The Economist magazine on June 6, 2019, wrote that Salah had helped resolve Islamophobia in Liverpool. According to Mohamed Heghazi, 45, Salah’s cousin that Kompas met with, Salah spread many positive messages about Islam in Europe through his modest and moderately religious personality.

“The villagers here are very religious. Most people here are farmers, whose income depends heavily on nature,” Heghazi said in an interview in front of Salah’s home. “Do not be amazed that Salah is highly religious, because he was educated in Nagrig village, known for its religious and modest people.”

Heghazi said there were many sheikhs and ulemas in Nagrig. There is an Al-Azhar school just 3 km from the village. Salah’s extraordinary success in Europe thus far, Heghazi said, had been highly beneficial for Islam. Through his soccer superstardom and his fame as a modest and religiously moderate person, Salah has helped alleviate the stigma on Islam in the West.

KOMPAS/MUSTHAFA ABD RAHMAN

Dirt, rock and a few pieces of litter are scattered across an empty lot in Nagrig village, Cairo, Egypt, Thursday (13/6/2019) where Mohamed Salah played football as a child.