Where Mo Salah succeeds and his fellow Egyptians fail
The prominent Egyptian football player Mo Salah is not only a source of pleasure for the entire Egyptian population — he has also become a phenomenon and an icon in the eyes of our society at large. However, and unfortunately, Salah’s success has not yet constructively inspired Egyptians to emulate him. This is not his fault, but more that of our static society that declines to change for the better, preferring to remain within our established cultural boundaries. Meanwhile, with his success, Salah — quite apart from his footballing talent — has managed to overcome many of our ingrained shortcomings.
Salah, who was born and raised in one of our poor and neglected rural villages, managed to overcome his circumstances and become one of the top players in the world. In his football career, Salah has had to confront the usual ups and downs, just like the rest of us. However, many of us tend to surrender when we feel that our career is stagnating, whereas during his unlucky phases Salah’s determination to become an outstanding football player invariably saw him bounce back.
Salah was able to recognize the line between performing and being a good Muslim. Many of us spend too much of our time praying and preaching while neglecting our work. While Salah often tries to challenge himself on the football field, we tend to be busy with many issues at our workplaces — except working. Salah might be lucky in having a profession that he obviously loves and that is clearly in harmony with his athletic abilities and talent, but he still deserves credit for his persistence and determination.
A few Egyptian intellectuals argue that we should not be over-excited about a football player while under-rating renowned scientists, for example. In fact, we should assess people’s performance and success based on their true achievements and perseverance, regardless of their specialization. Salah has certainly given Egyptians real pleasure during a very difficult time, whereas many intellectuals have failed to apply their theories to reality.
The prominent Egyptian football player was able to recognize the line between performing and being a good Muslim. Many of us spend too much of our time praying and preaching while neglecting our work.
Mohammed Nosseir
Many Egyptian players were probably more talented than Salah, but they definitely did not have the necessary personality traits that he has. Additionally, credit for the rise of Salah must go to his respective football coaches, who managed to move him forward from one milestone to another, while he showed his strong willingness to obey their instructions. In contrast, regardless of our fields of specialization, many of us believe that we can easily be both the player and the coach — and even the referee too.
Sadly, a large portion of Egyptians believe that success in life lies in accumulating wealth; thus, many professionals tend either to retire or to adopt a reckless work attitude once they possess enough money to ensure they will be financially comfortable for the rest of their lives. This philosophy has demotivated many talented Egyptian football players who were able to realize their financial goals early in their career.
Unfortunately, Salah’s success has not yet positively reflected on our society; we haven’t identified the personality traits behind his success and worked on using these qualities (which most of us lack) to advance ourselves. Millions of Egyptians are now addicted to watching Salah in each of the games he plays. While they become excited during the game, few have thought of imitating his success in their respective fields. We are still a society that enjoys applauding more than working hard.
Intense discussion is underway in Egypt on how best to capitalize on Salah to strengthen and promote Egypt. He certainly could add substantial value to our country, but what is more important is to objectively study both his success and our failures. Capitalizing on his success from our deficient platform won’t be of any benefit to our country. We tend to recognize Salah’s football talents but, in fact, his success lies more in his stimulating mindset, which many in Egypt lack.
• Mohammed Nosseir, a liberal politician from Egypt, is a strong advocate of political participation and economic freedom.
Twitter: @MohammedNosseir
