The Cameroonian national football team is enjoying going through a positive run in their group stages of the African Cup of Nations as the squad is currently located at the top of Group D and even with the announcement of the retirement of Samuel Eto’o, the team has managed to deal appropriately with the departure of one of their most popular and worldwide known players of modern times.
The defensive midfielder of Sevilla, Stephane Mbia was designated with the captaincy armband following the departure of Samuel Eto’o but the national squad has experienced a more recent change which has come as a surprise to many.
After ending their 2 month training camp in Dubai, it was announced and unveiled that 23 African footballers of the Cameroonian squad have converted to Islam.
Players of the national squad began to show interest in converting to the Islam religion during the time they spent performing with the Muslin players.
The Cameroonian squad was taken to the Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities Department (IACAD) where they learned more about their new religion with Javeed Khateeb serving as their senior religious advisor.
“They were very impressed with the way Muslims behaved, but mostly they were impressed by the kindness and respect they received. These are poor young men and they were embraced like brothers. We spent two separate sessions, which were about a full day each, talking about Islam and answering all their questions and alleviating any doubts. We wanted to make sure they had proper understanding of Islam. Many of their questions were about halal and haram, consuming alcohol, and how the prophet Jesus is portrayed in Islam.” Khateeb said.
Cameroon is one of the favorites on advancing through the group stages of the African Cup of Nations as the squad is still considered to be one of the best in the tournament despite having witnessed Samuel Eto’o announcing his retirement from international football a few weeks ago.