On Saturday November 20, I attended an Indiana pacers game with some members of Nur Allah. During the game, I talked to the weekend school students and the adult members of the organization. I enjoyed talking to the other members and learning more about them and their lives. There were not very many aspects of the night that are easily relatable to the class, so I will talk about sports in the Islamic Middle East.
Most of the sports that are popular in the United States are also popular in the Middle East. Basketball, soccer, and cricket are all very popular in the Middle East. Like most places in the world, soccer is the most popular. Qatar will host the next World Cup in 2022. The Middle East is also home to some other major sporting events, such as the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and the Dubai Tennis Championship.
There are also two popular sports in the Middle East that are uncommon in the rest of the world. The first is camel racing. This sport is most popular in the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Jordan, although the sport has caused some recent controversies. Camel racing is similar to thoroughbred racing, but the camels are slightly slower. The camels are also controlled using remote jockeys. Remote jockeys were required after camel owners were caught trafficking children from North Africa and South Asia. Breeding camels has become a very lucrative business to breed the fastest camels. The breeding practices and training of the camels has also caused some recent controversies.
The other popular sport is falconry. Today falconry is especially popular in the Gulf countries however, the sport originated in Central Asia. Falconry was originally a way for nomadic people to hunt for food. People would try to catch wild birds and train them to hunt for a season. The birds would catch prey for the people to eat. Today, the falcons are bred to excel in the sport and major cities ban hunting. Although hunting is prohibited, falcons are used in Dubai to control the increasing pigeon population. Falconry now involves one falconer to release the bird from their arm and another falconer with fake prey. The falcon with the shortest time to catch the fake prey wins.