Algeria: Muslim athlete withdraws from Olympics to avoid facing Israeli opponent

He says it’s all about “Palestine,” but this likely formed his attitudes: the Jews in the Qur’an are called the strongest of all people in enmity toward the Muslims (5:82); they fabricate things and falsely ascribe them to Allah (2:79; 3:75, 3:181); they claim that Allah’s power is limited (5:64); they love to listen to lies (5:41); they disobey Allah and never observe his commands (5:13). They are disputing and quarreling (2:247); hiding the truth and misleading people (3:78); staging rebellion against the prophets and rejecting their guidance (2:55); being hypocritical (2:14, 2:44); giving preference to their own interests over the teachings of Muhammad (2:87); wishing evil for people and trying to mislead them (2:109); feeling pain when others are happy or fortunate (3:120); being arrogant about their being Allah’s beloved people (5:18); devouring people’s wealth by subterfuge (4:161); slandering the true religion and being cursed by Allah (4:46); killing the prophets (2:61); being merciless and heartless (2:74); never keeping their promises or fulfilling their words (2:100); being unrestrained in committing sins (5:79); being cowardly (59:13-14); being miserly (4:53); being transformed into apes and pigs for breaking the Sabbath (2:63-65; 5:59-60; 7:166); and more. They are under Allah’s curse (9:30), and Muslims should wage war against them and subjugate them under Islamic hegemony (9:29).

“Algeria: Athlete withdraws from Olympics to avoid facing Israeli opponent,” by Nur Ayoubi, Middle East Eye, July 23, 2021:

Algerian judoka Fethi Nourine has withdrawn from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in order to avoid facing an Israeli competitor.

Nourine, who was set to compete in the men’s under 73kg judo competition, announced his decision on Thursday, one day before the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony.

The 30-year-old athlete was set to fight Sudan’s Mohamed Abdalrasool on 26 July in the first round. If he won, he would proceed to a potential clash with Israel’s Tohar Butbul.

Nourine spoke to local Algerian media on his withdrawal, saying that his support for the Palestinian cause made it impossible for him to compete against Butbul.

“We have worked hard to qualify for the Games, but the Palestinian cause is bigger than all that.

“My position is consistent on the Palestinian issue, and I reject normalisation, and if it cost me that absence from the Olympic Games, God will compensate,” he said.

The athlete’s coach, Amar Ben Yaklif, told the media, “We were unlucky with the draw. We got an Israeli opponent and that’s why we had to retire. We made the right decision.”

This is not the first time Nourine has withdrawn from competition to avoid facing an Israeli opponent. In 2019 he pulled out of the Judo World Championships in Tokyo for the same reason. Several Iranian judoka followed suit, triggering strong protests at the time….