Mohamed Salah‘s time at Liverpool has coincided with a distinct decline in Islamophobia and in the city, a recent study has found.
Research conducted by Stanford University’s Immigration Policy Lab has revealed an 18.9 per cent dip in hate crimes in Merseyside since the Egyptian was signed from AS Roma two years ago compared to the expected rate had he not.
His arrival has also seen anti-Muslim tweets from Liverpool fans halved.
“Taken together, the evidence points to Salah’s rise in prominence causing a decrease in hate crimes in Liverpool FC’s home county,” the report stated.
“The survey experiment suggests that these results may be driven by increased familiarity with Islam.”
“These findings suggest that positive exposure to outgroup celebrities can reveal new and humanising information about the group at large, reducing prejudiced attitudes and behaviours.”
Salah’s “charismatic” personality and talent on the field are deemed to have helped people accept Muslims given the Kop star’s open practice of his faith.
“Salah is often seen joking with his teammates with a signature grin, entertaining his young daughter on the sidelines, and respecting his opponents almost to a fault, for instance, by refusing to celebrate goals against his former clubs,” said the report.
Meanwhile, his lighthearted nature with his team-mates and genuine shows of affection for his loved ones may have also helped counter the perception of some people that Islam is threatening.
“By watching games, post-game interviews, promotional videos released by the club, and content on Salah’s social media pages, fans are exposed to rich information about Salah’s life on and off the field. Viewers see what a Muslim prayer looks like, perhaps for the first time, when Salah scores,” the authors wrote.
“Few Muslims in British public life have been as open about their Muslim identity, and are as well-liked, as Salah,” the research said.
“The public image of Salah as a hero of sorts, and the resulting normalisation of some Muslim identities practices, may have dampened the appetite for harassment and violence toward the city’s Muslims,” it added.
However, there has been some increase in anti-Muslim comments from opposition fans.
The study analysed the data of 25 police departments, between 2015 and 2018, 15 million tweets from followers of well-known English football clubs and took in the views of 8,060 Liverpool fans.
Researchers maintain that their findings were not part of a wider fall in crime in Liverpool – indeed, drug and public order offences had increased.
“Overall, we interpret these results to support the hypothesis that Salah’s arrival at Liverpool FC caused a decrease in extreme acts of bigotry,” they said.
Salah scored the opening goal in Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Tottenham in the Champions League final on Saturday, only furthering his popularity in Liverpool.
