The Arab outfit, known as the “bisht”, grabbed the lights after the end of the World Cup in Qatar, after the Argentine player, Lionel Messi, wore it before lifting the World Cup, which Doha hosted for about a month.
Argentina was crowned World Cup champion on Sunday evening after its victory over France on penalties (4-2), and the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, dressed Messi in this expensive Arab outfit that is usually worn by kings and princes, and the Argentine legend continued with it when taking pictures. Before and after lifting the trophy, before taking it off and continuing the celebrations in the colors of his national team.
This was followed by the conversations of a Western newspaper and media criticizing what it called the moment Messi wore the “bisht”, and they spoke of it as “an attempt to impose a certain culture and selfishness and rob Argentine joy.”
This was met with Arab tweets rejecting and supporting that step for the second day in a row, and the Argentine Football Association understood this in a tweet on Twitter: “Surely..you are a king,” in praise of Messi and his position after wearing that Arab uniform.
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** A symbol of pride and prestige
For his part, the Kuwaiti academic, Abdullah Al-Shayji, described, through his Twitter account, these criticisms as “a continuation of a Western campaign of hatred, intolerance and racism against Qatar and Arab and Islamic traditions,” attaching a picture in which Messi appears smiling while wearing a “bisht.”
Agreeing with him, the Saudi academic, Ahmed Al-Faraj, tweeted, saying: “If the World Cup was in Africa and Messi wore an African uniform, or if it were in Latin America and he wore a Latin uniform, or in Europe and he wore a Viking warriors uniform, Western journalists would have praised this step that enhances coexistence between Nations”.
He added, “Do not believe their pedantry (their criticism): Their problem is not with the bisht, but with what the bisht symbolizes.”
Emirati journalist Adnan Hamad Al-Hammadi tweeted, saying: “Western media found nothing but to criticize the bisht worn by the legend Messi (..) They forgot that (this outfit) is a symbol of pride, prestige, pride, and pride, and this is another evidence of racism and hatred.”
The Jordanian sports analyst, Muhammad Awwad, wrote on Twitter, saying: “The Argentine national team’s account celebrates the” Bisht “, and Gary Lineker (former England player) and others like him reject it (..) and the British Telegraph (considers it) as spoiling a historic moment.”
He added, “They (Westerners) force their foreign players to wear things that do not fit their principles,” referring to wearing the gay badge in their matches.
** Smart gesture and best marketing initiative
Another team praised the “bisht” scene, so Djibouti’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Diaa al-Din Bamakhrama, tweeted, saying: “Messi deserved the World Cup, and dressing him in the bisht was a smart gesture from the organizers, because it is an authentic Arab dress that extends from the East to Morocco, and it is one of the characteristics of honor, appreciation and respect.” .
The announcer of the Qatari Al-Jazeera channel, Tunisian, Mohamed Krishan, said on his Twitter account: “For the Emir of Qatar to wear the luxurious traditional Qatari bisht is the last smart Qatari touch in a World Cup that excelled in everything.”
Mauritanian journalist and blogger, Mohamed Sidi, tweeted: “This historical snapshot is perhaps the best marketing initiative in history. In every tournament, the world will remember the symbolism of wearing the bisht and its cultural and civilizational significance.”
** “Impulsiveness” to buy bisht
The “Bisht” did not stop at the station of rejecting the criticisms facing it, and supporting it with words, but rather went beyond the “great demand” for its purchase.
The local news network, “Mersal Qatar”, reported on Monday, through its documented account on “Twitter”, that there is “a great demand from the Argentine masses to buy bisht in Souq Waqif (the most important tourist and heritage attraction in the heart of Doha).”