Only an Indian wouldn't celebrate

Now if Pakistan had won yesterday, I wouldn't have cared about anything! People could talk and write all the crap they want but for me, the fact that we had the cup would be the be all and end all of my happiness. Obviously, Indians don't share my sensibilities and they have picked up on Shoaib Malik's comments during the post-match presentation and are trying to make it into a political event.

Shoaib said:

"First of all I want to say something over here. I want to thank you back home Pakistan and where the Muslim lives all over the world."

This wasn't the most grammatically correct or wisest of things to say, but I don't think that making it into a huge deal is going to achieve anything. Maybe not all Muslims are like me and put being a Muslim before anything else...but I think we do have some loyalty to our religion and if it came down to two teams taking each other on, and we didn't have a higher alliance, wouldn't you support the Muslim team?

Bangladesh against anyone besides Pakistan in the cricket? I'd support the Bengalis.
Saudi Arabia vs. Portugal in soccer? Saudi Arabia, though I know they suck and are gonna lose, that's besides the point.

So all Muslims in the world don't support Pakistan but I don't think Shoaib was making Pakistan the representatives of Islamic cricket. I'd like to think that he was thanking Muslim's for their prayers or it was just a slip of the tongue, where he couldn't find the words to thank Pakistani's living all over the world and said 'Muslims' instead. Maybe I'm making excuses and putting religion in a secular sport was a bit dodgy, but hey, he's a new and learning captain. So what if he said something that wasn't 100% politically correct? And if it insulted Indian Muslims or any other Muslims who didn't support Pakistan, then you just have to get over it. The world is not a pretty sparkling place where unicorns frolic and people say everything you want to hear.

And is it just me, or did an Indian Hindu make the most fuss about it on Cricinfo? You can read his article here. I know that his comments are relevant, but have you seen Shoaib Malik spouting off jihadist nonsense through the tournament? No he hasn't, this Pakistan team isn't the religious team of 6 months ago and aren't going to bring religion into the game, except for the occasional "Inshallah" and "I'd like to thank Almighty Allah"...what's wrong with that? Shoaib will learn from his mistakes and I'm sure someone is there to point them out. But I know some people won't shut up and will milk this opportunity to the end instead of letting it rest as the words of a inexperienced captain, trying to express himself in a language that isn't his own, especially considering how bad he must feel about the whole situation. And of all people that realises that there are Muslims that are loyal to India only, who better to know this than the captain, who has an Indian Muslim wife?

So seriously, let it go and move on!