England cricket star Jofra Archer has issued a sharp response to an extraordinary comment by Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen that his team-mate Moeen Ali could have joined ISIS.
Nasreen, known for her writing criticising religious fundamentalism and oppression of women, commented on Twitter that England all-rounder Moeen would have become a terrorist if not for cricket.
In a post later deleted, she wrote: ‘If Moeen Ali were not stuck with cricket, he would have gone to Syria to join ISIS.’
Jofra Archer (left) has hit back at a suggestion by Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen that his England team-mate Moeen Ali (right) would have joined ISIS if not for cricket
The often controversial author and activist later claimed her post about Moeen was ‘sarcastic’
The astonishing comment sparked a backlash, with England pace man Archer replying: ‘Are you okay? I don’t think you’re okay.’
Nasreen defended the controversial remark in a later tweet, claiming it was ‘sarcastic’.
She wrote: ‘Haters know very well that my Moeen Ali tweet was sarcastic. But they made that an issue to humiliate me because I try to secularize Muslim society & I oppose Islamic fanaticism.
‘One of the greatest tragedies of humankind is pro-women leftists support anti-women Islamists.’
However, Archer, who won the 2019 Cricket World Cup alongside Moeen, wasn’t at all convinced with her explanation.
Nasreen wrote that England all-rounder Moeen ‘would have gone to Syria to join ISIS’ if he wasn’t ‘stuck with cricket’ in a Twitter post that drew a response from Archer
Nasreen later claimed that the post about Moeen Ali was meant to be ‘sarcastic’
Archer responded to that as well, saying ‘no one is laughing’ and saying she should delete it
He responded: ‘Sarcastic? No one is laughing, not even yourself, the least you can do is delete the tweet.’
Archer wasn’t the only cricketer to take offence at the remark. Nottinghamshire’s Ben Duckett wrote: ‘This is the problem with this app. People being able to say stuff like this. Disgusting. Things need to change, please report this account!’
Lancashire bowler Saqib Mahmood wrote: ‘Can’t believe this. Disgusting tweet. Disgusting individual.’
Cricketers Ben Duckett and Saqib Mahmood were among those to condemn Nasreen’s tweet
Practising Muslim Moeen, 33, is currently in India gearing up for the forthcoming Indian Super League with the Chennai Super Kings.
He played a limited role in England’s recent Test series in India, playing in only one match, but he did play in all three of the one-day internationals that concluded the tour.
Archer, 26, is hopeful of playing at least some of the IPL season with Rajasthan Royals after he underwent an operation to remove a piece of glass embedded in his right middle finger after smashing a fish tank.
Moeen has just played for England in Test and one-day internationals against India
Fast bowler Archer is pictured playing for England against India in a recent T20 international
He has also been going through a rest period to allow an elbow injury to settle but is hopeful of proving his fitness for the second half of the IPL campaign.
Nasreen, 58, has been living in exile since 1994 after being banished from her Bangladesh homeland for writing essays and novels that criticised ‘misogynistic’ religions.
Her tweet came a few days after Chennai Super Kings chief executive Kasi Viswanathan rubbished reports that teetotal Moeen had requested the franchise remove an alcohol brand logo from their match jersey.
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