"I want to keep my feelings for myself," said Troussier.
RABAT, March 24, 2006 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Famed French
soccer coach Philippe Troussier and his wife Dominique have reverted to
Islam in the Moroccan capital where they live, sources close to the
couple confirmed Thursday, March 23.
"Troussier is no longer Philippe, he has taken the name Omar and
his wife is no longer Dominique but Amina," the French-Moroccan daily
L'Opinion reported Thursday.
A source close to the couple confirmed the reversion to Agence
France-Presse (AFP), adding that the ceremony took place last
Friday.
The widely-travelled Troussier, 51, is former coach of the Moroccan
national team and French club Marseille.
He also had spells in charge of South Africa, Nigeria, Ivory Coast,
Burkina Faso, Qatar and Japan, whom he guided to the second round
of the 2002 World Cup.
"Wonderful Surprise"
L'Opinion hailed the reversion as "a magnificent and wonderful
surprise."
"Welcome Omar and Amina to the Kingdom of the All Powerful, the
Kingdom of the Truth," it wrote.
"As Muslims we are happy to see such a strong and well recognized
personality as Philippe Troussier become part of this religion of
peace and tolerance."
The newspaper added that when contacted Troussier said he "did not
want to elaborate too much on the subject."
"I want to keep my feelings for myself," Troussier was quoted as
saying, adding: "as you see things evolve ..."
The Moroccan Evening newspaper reported that
the couple have adopted two local girls Selma and Mariam.
Thousands of French revert to Islam every year in France, but not
all of them declare their new faith outright, fearing discrimination at
home or work and a stereotypical view that reverts tilt towards extremism,
according to recent studies and surveys.
Anelka, who played for Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal, Real Madrid,
Liverpool and Manchester City, eventually had to leave for the Turkish
league after increasing harassment.
Some imams in France have ruled that it was permissible for new reverts
to conceal their faith if they feared rejection from family members
and colleagues or security harassment.
Many Arabs and Muslims were even forced to change their names and
hide their roots to spare themselves police and employers'
discrimination.
A Sorbonne research released earlier in the year by the French
Observatory Against Racism found that Arab names and dark
complexion represent an obstacle to jobseekers.
France is home to some six to seven Muslims, the largest Muslim
minority in Europe.
err are you sure?I mean c'mon we once heard Neil Armstrong reverted to Islam which turned out to be a lie,then that girl turning into a goat...
And it would depend why. Presumably non-Muslims cannot adopt Muslims. So if they wanted to adopt two Moroccan girls, they might have decided to become Muslims on paper. We will see when they go back to France.
Le coeur a ses raisons, que la raison ne connait pas. - Blaise Pascal
I'm a big fan of football but it's no surprise to me as Troussier has worked with Muslim teams (e.g. Morocco). Btw, what happened to Ronnie O'Sullivan? I thought he had reverted to Islam but I'm unsure now.
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