Azeem Rafiq stirs deep-seated emotions at literature festival

Jeddah - Yasmine El Tohamy - At the Hay Festival last week, on the border of England and Wales, I listened to Azeem Rafiq talk about the experiences which provide the cornerstone of “It’s not banter, its racism,” his new book.

This was not the first time I have listened to him speak about those experiences — my interview with him on Oct. 9, 2023, is available on the Arab News website. Since then, his life has continued to be buffeted by Shakespearean “slings and arrows of outrageous fortunes,” from which there seems to be little prospect of escape.

The book, published by Trapeze, an imprint of the Orion Publishing Group Ltd, will be launched formally on June 13. However, it was available at Hay, where the author signed copies after the panel session. Apart from Rafiq, this comprised actor Stephen Fry, former president of the Marylebone Cricket Club, Claire Taylor, who made 167 appearances for the England women’s cricket team, and the moderator, Adam Rutherford. An audience of some 350 people revealed significant empathy for Rafiq’s moving and insightful summary of his experiences of racism in cricket and the changes wrought to his and his family’s lives.

Little did he or the audience know that, in the days to follow, such levels of empathy would be in short supply in the comments section of the Times newspaper’s website. These were fanned by Rafiq’s comment towards the end of the hour-long session. He spoke about the low rate at which Muslim children progress from playing cricket in England as youngsters to participation when they become young adults.

When asked for possible explanations, he contended that one reason could be the omni-presence of alcohol in cricket. In his view, this is also one of several factors which explains why Muslim-only cricket clubs have been set up in certain cities.

This became the headline of a report on the session — “Boozy culture pushes away Muslim cricketers, says Azeem Rafiq” — which proved incendiary. Common themes quickly emerged amongst the comments, most of them unremittingly negative towards Rafiq. Inevitably, allegations about human rights in the Gulf were raised, coupled with an encouragement for Rafiq to move there as quickly as possible. He was accused of being the man who brought down a great institution, based on lies.

Most commonly, it was claimed he wanted to change the culture of cricket, and wider society, in England and Wales. Mentions were made of how Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid, both Muslims, have integrated and been integrated into the England team and English cricket. This does beg the question as to how many others might have been integrated under more propitious circumstances. Rafiq, despite having captained England’s Under 19 team in 2010, is disparagingly referred to as a bitter and failed professional cricketer.

These personal attacks on him overlook or ignore his reference to the economy of cricket. It is true that some parts of the game are dependent on sales of alcohol. As president and former chair of a village club, I can attest to this. Many other clubs will be in the same situation. At the moment there is no clear alternative but the interpretation of Rafiq’s questioning of cricket’s economy as a blatant attack on British culture is symptomatic of deeper issues within British society. It also reveals wide distaste for the man himself, inflated by sections of the media.

In Rafiq’s book, he talks about his parents’ decision to leave Karachi because it had become an unsafe place for them. Originally planning to emigrate to Canada, his father was persuaded to stay in the UK during a stopover. One month after 9/11, they moved to Barnsley, when Rafiq was aged 10. When the summer came, he was eager to play cricket and joined Barnsley Cricket Club. His potential was quickly spotted and soon he was in Yorkshire’s Under 12 team.

This selection was one of many pivotal points in his life. His parents had been thinking of returning to Pakistan because of difficulties of settling in Barnsley, a situation exacerbated by bricks thrown through their windows one night. The letter informing his parents of their son’s selection for Yorkshire caused them to stay. He was not aware of this at the time.

Two acquaintances of mine, both originally from Yorkshire, have been adamant in telling me that the county brought Rafiq over from Pakistan, that he became homesick and demanded that his parents be flown over to provide him with moral support. This folklore is at complete odds with reality. It is an example of how insidious the propaganda machine that has been built up against Rafiq has become. Sadly, he is a focus for a particular type of Britishness that does not consider itself to be racist, that rejects any questioning of its values and does not like to be told what to do.

The question is whether this circle can be squared and, if so, over what time horizon.

Rafiq is very clear in his book’s conclusions that the starting point has got to be “acceptance that cricket has a real problem when it comes to racism.” If so, he believes that progress in addressing the problem can be swift. He does not discuss the implications of a failure to accept and there do seem to be many in denial.

He has three key areas where progress can be made — education, opportunity and accountability. In my view, the educative aspects have been overlooked in British society for many decades. As a result, there is a gap to be bridged in understanding different beliefs and cultures. Unless bridged, mutual respect and an acceptance of these differences cannot be achieved, with cricket continuing along divided lines. Nevertheless, Rafiq remains hopeful of a positive outcome.