Mo Salah’s goals help to tackle Islamophobia in Liverpool

“IF HE SCORES another few then I’ll be Muslim too,” chant Liverpool fans whenever Mohamed Salah, an Egyptian striker, finds the net. Since arriving in June 2017, he has done so with record-breaking frequency. On June 1st he scored his 71st goal in 104 appearances, to inspire the Reds to victory in the Champions League, Europe’s most prestigious competition. As usual, he celebrated by kneeling in prayer.

It is unlikely that Mr Salah—whom another chant describes as a “gift from Allah”—has converted many fans to Islam. But a working paper by political scientists at Stanford University has found signs that his popularity might have helped to tackle anti-Muslim sentiment on Merseyside.

The cleanest evidence came from a Facebook experiment on 8,000 British Liverpool fans. The academics gave each respondent a survey containing footballing facts and questions; a third of surveys also included a slide describing Mr Salah’s commitment to praying. Then all users were asked about their attitudes to Muslims. Of those who saw the slide about Mr Salah’s faith, 23% thought Islam was compatible with British values, compared with 18% of the other fans. Although most Liverpool supporters may know about Mr Salah’s faith anyway, the experiment showed that a reminder could alter their opinions.

The academics also hunted for signs...