Yesterday, social media buzzed with a multitude of posts centered around Ahmed Musa, the captain of the Super Eagles. Musa shared a picture of his wife, Juliet Ejue, and extended Christmas greetings to Christians worldwide.
Despite being a Muslim, Musa has been married to Juliet, a Christian, since 2017 following the dissolution of his first marriage to Jamila. As Christians around the world celebrated the birth of Jesus Christ, Musa chose to join in the festivities by expressing his love for his wife on social media.
However, this gesture from the Sivasspor player seemed to evoke dissatisfaction among some members of the Muslim community. In response, they took to the comment section of his post to articulate their displeasure.
Several Muslims believe that by participating in the celebration of Christmas, which acknowledges Jesus Christ as the Son of God, Musa may be perceived as contradicting the Islamic belief that God is incomparable to humans, and consequently, cannot have a son. While it is not a traditional practice for Muslims to celebrate Christmas, some may choose to participate in the holiday’s festivities.
One fan wrote ‘The religion of Islam prohibits Muslims from celebrating non-believers in any form of their celebration.’ While another supporter wrote ‘May Allah give you the ability to convert your wife to Islam’.
The 31-year-old becomes the second Muslim footballer to incur the wrath of Muslims worldwide after Liverpool and Egyptian star Mohammed Salah suffered similar a fate last year and this year.
Musa is expected to play an integral role in Jose Pereiro’s squad for next month’s AFCON as the Portuguese gaffer aims to restore the Super Eagles to international glory. Although Musa has fitness issues due to inactivity with the Turkish outfit, Peseiro will still have faith in him as one of his most-trusted generals on the pitch.
On current form that is a gamble but we know how we reliable Musa is when he happens to wearing a Super Eagles shirt. With 108 appearances, Ahmed Musa is the most capped Super Eagles player.
