Aha Dua Permata: MMA star Khabib posts support for Palestinians

Tuesday 10 October 2023

MMA star Khabib posts support for Palestinians

FILE PHOTO: Khabib Nurmagomedov poses during a ceremonial weigh-in
©Ethan Miller/Getty Images via AFP

Khabib Nurmagomedov, the Russian former MMA fighter who was the first Muslim to win a UFC title, has shared a message of support for the Palestinian people amid the fighting in the Middle East.

On Monday, the Dagestan-born former lightweight champion shared a post with his 35 million Instagram followers that featured a prayer for Allah to defend those who cannot defend themselves. The message included emojis of raised open palms – a gesture of supplication in Islam – the Palestinian flag and a heart, but no other content.

Fellow Russian MMA star Khamzat Chimaev, who was born in the Chechen Republic and is based in Sweden, has also reportedly posted a graphics-only message of support. His picture, as shared by Russian media, included the outline of the land of Palestine, with the Palestinian flag and a drawing of Al-Aqsa Mosque in Old Jerusalem.

Israel is retaliating for the deadly incursion and hostage-taking raid conducted last weekend by the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Its military has fully blockaded Gaza, where the organization’s power base is located, denying its two million residents access to electricity or water. The stated Israeli goal is to fully destroy Hamas “terrorist infrastructure” in the area.

Ramzan Kadyrov, the head of Chechnya and an influential figure in the Russian Muslim community, has urged pressure on Israel, so that it exercises restraint.

“Create a coalition and call on those who you call friends, Europe and the entire world, so that [the Israelis] do not bomb peaceful citizens under the pretext of destroying the militants,” he said on Monday, addressing the heads of Muslim nations.

The conflict stands out among other flare-ups in the region, because it can “turn into something bigger,” Kadyrov warned.

The Russian government has condemned violence against civilians regardless of who perpetrates it. President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday the crisis was evidence of failed diplomacy by the US. He argued that Washington was never concerned with the core interests of the Palestinian people.