CNN
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Amir Malik is a person in love with golf. But golf has not at all times cherished him again.
A faithful sports activities fan since his childhood in Kingston upon Thames, London, he was fascinated with golf lengthy earlier than he took his first swing. However understanding no one else who performed, Malik settled for a sideline view.
That each one modified in 2012, when his former boss invited him to strive his hand at a driving vary.
“From the primary ball I believed, ‘That is it. This recreation is unbelievable,’” Malik, now aged 38, advised CNN.
“I’ve performed quite a lot of sports activities, however there aren’t too many once you go to mattress fascinated about it and you’ll’t wait to rise up to return and play once more.”
Ultimately, Malik was able to take his recreation to the subsequent stage. Becoming a member of a municipal membership in 2017, he started competing in Sunday morning tournaments.
It was at these occasions that the “ugly facet” of the sport was swiftly revealed to Malik, who felt remoted by the jarring conflict of membership tradition and his Muslim religion.
The discomfort would start earlier than a ball was struck, as Malik says he drew questioning seems to be at his refusal to partake in wagers over in-house competitions, as playing is forbidden in Islam. Out on the course, stepping apart to look at salat – ritual Islamic prayers carried out 5 instances a day – additional heightened his anxieties.
“You’d really feel scared, intimidated. How are individuals going to react?” he recalled.
“We at all times made positive we have been out of the best way, however you have been made to really feel very, very uncomfortable.”
His unease was exacerbated by the commonplace custom of clubhouse ingesting after competitions. As Malik doesn’t drink alcohol, he was left at hand in his scorecard and make an early exit.
As he improved and performed extra prestigious programs, discomfort typically escalated into outright hostility. Malik, who’s of Pakistani descent, mentioned he has skilled racism on the golf course.
“You flip up and instantly you may really feel the vibe and the ambiance, the best way you’re spoken to, the best way you’re handled,” he mentioned.
“And also you’re similar to ‘Wow, simply because I’ve obtained a beard, I’m brown, and I don’t seem like you, you in all probability assume I can’t play otherwise you don’t assume I do know the etiquette.
“It used to essentially frustrate me since you sense it, you’re feeling it, you develop up in it, you understand what it seems like. And it’s not till you hit one straight down the center of the golf green – once you’ve smoked a drive – that individuals then assume, ‘Oh, he can play,’ and it’s too late by then.”
Malik’s ardour for golf was not soured by his experiences. Quite the opposite, they spurred him to scout out different British Muslims who shared his love of the sport.
Inspired by “pockets” of curiosity he had seen on his travels, in December 2019 Malik put a reputation to his new enterprise – the Muslim Golf Affiliation (MGA) – and despatched out invites to a charity golf day at The Grove, a prestigious venue simply outdoors London.
The MGA’s maiden occasion could be open to all religions; prayer amenities could be offered and there could be no alcohol or playing. Malik was shocked by the response. Inside 24 hours, all 72 locations had been booked, with over 100 individuals on the ready checklist by the week’s finish.
The occasion, held in August 2020, raised £18,000 for charity, and the sight of over 60 gamers praying collectively within the Grove’s courtyard marked a watershed second for Malik.
“That for me was simply superb,” he mentioned. “That we may get guys collectively, feeling secure and comfy and simply be on our personal platform.”
Since then, the MGA has partnered with the Marriott lodge chain to stage a tri-series match starting in 2021, with the winners of this yr’s version securing an all-expenses paid journey to the Turkish {golfing} paradise of Belek.
“I checked out golf and thought, it’s a sport performed by White, outdated, wealthy males, interval,” Malik mentioned. “We’ve now obtained a possibility to truly present the world that non-Whites can play this recreation and we’re fairly rattling good at it.”
The overwhelming response to MGA occasions amongst Muslim ladies has been equally thrilling for Malik. After launching a trio of pilot periods in Birmingham final yr, 1,000 gamers have already signed as much as the string of women-only taster occasions scheduled throughout the nation over the subsequent two months.
Malik believes Muslim ladies within the UK are being held again from taking part in additional sports activities due to an absence of all-female amenities and periods.
The MGA has no gown code, which implies ladies can play in a niqab (face veil) and an abaya (lengthy gown) if they want, and it hires sections of programs for its unique use for taster occasions, to make sure a snug expertise for brand spanking new gamers.
“The response has been completely unbelievable, mindblowing,” Malik mentioned. “I say to ladies, ‘I don’t care what you put on, what you seem like, simply include a smile and with a pair of trainers and we’ll maintain every little thing else.’ We’ve not completed something revolutionary, we’ve simply made it accessible, and the demand is unbelievable.”
Up to now, MGA occasions have attracted over 1,300 members. Trying ahead, the group goals to take its efforts world to succeed in as many new gamers as potential.
Rising up, Malik needed to look to different sports activities for Muslim function fashions, corresponding to England cricketer Moeen Ali. From Muhammad Ali, to Kareem Abdul-Jabaar, to Mohamed Salah, numerous Muslim athletes have carved out glittering careers throughout a variety of sports activities, but skilled golf provides a comparative shortage of examples.
In line with a survey cited by England Golf, the nation’s governing physique for novice golf, simply 5% of golfers in England are from ethnically various teams.
By working alongside teams such because the MGA, England Golf’s chief working officer Richard Flint believes the boundaries which have contributed to an absence of range within the recreation will be understood and damaged down.
“No-one ought to really feel uncomfortable strolling by the doorways of a golf membership or facility merely due to their age, race, ethnicity or gender,” Flint advised CNN.
“As a contemporary, forward-thinking group, we wish golf to be open to everybody and alter unfavorable perceptions across the recreation that belong prior to now.”
Whereas Malik hopes to quickly see Muslim gamers competing on skilled excursions, he says he didn’t type the MGA to provide a Muslim Tiger Woods.
“If that occurs as a byproduct, then nice,” he mentioned. “But when we will get the golf trade to take a protracted, exhausting take a look at itself and make itself accessible, make itself open and various, then that’s an enormous achievement.
“The golf course doesn’t discriminate. The ball doesn’t ask what shade, race or gender you’re … but it’s been a really closed membership that’s been open to only a few individuals.
Malik believes it’s time for change. “Golf has quite a lot of distinctive values and traditions, which I nonetheless assume it must preserve agency, however it has to evolve … if it have been to open itself up and let different cultures and traditions deliver all that nice stuff to this recreation, it could possibly be completely great.”
