Middlesborough striker Ahmed Houssam, who is better known as Mido, appears in a documentary produced recently called “Show Racism the Red Card.” The producers of this movie want to deal with racism, expose it, and convince people that racism of any kind is despicable.

Mido was interviewed because he is a Muslim, and Muslim football players are facing increased discrimination (since Islam is not a race, it is a bit awkward that people dub Islamophobia racism) from fans (of opposing teams).

When his team traveled to Newcastle, to play against Newcastle United, Mido scored a goal. The home fans were obviously not happy and, instead of simpling booing Mido or cheering extra loudly for their own team, they started chanting, “Mido’s got a bomb.”

Such remarks are not only frequently uttered in football stadiums, but also in daily life, and not just in Britain, but also in, for instance, the Netherlands. Discrimination towards Muslims is becoming increasingly visible, with some shopkeepers, for instance, refusing to help customers they suspect of being Muslim.

In case readers wonder whether that might be an exaggeration: no. It is not. I’ve witnessed it myself with my fiancee (who is obviously not a Dutch person, but from a majority Muslim country – and yes, Dutch people can tell whether someone is from Turkey or the Middle East). She has been discriminated against on more than one occasion, sometimes even in my presence. On one occasion, for instance, she went to a bicycle shop because her bike had broken down on her. The shop keeper looked at her, telling her that the shop was closed. She then pointed out that the shop was not closed, it would remain open for another 20 minutes, and that there were actually others inside who were being helped. The shopkeeper smiled, told her he would not help her, and went into his shop.

On another occasion a person who sold french fries looked at my fiancee as if she were a cockroach and pretended not to understand a single word she said. For those who are interested; yes, my girlfriend speaks Dutch (a bit), and yes, those who are native speakers can most certainly understand her, especially in this case because I had practiced with her myself, and had encouraged her to go to the city and shop, so she could communicate with people, practice her Dutch, and so forth. People in the fast food restaurant knew what she said, as did the saleswoman, but the latter repeated what my fiancee said a number of times, seemingly making fun of her. I then had to walk into the shop myself, and tell the woman to give my fiancee the freaking french fries immediately. Suddenly, it seemed, the woman had a revelation which made her understand my fiancee’s exact order, and I walked out within a matter of seconds.

Ironically, people discriminate on religion based on the color of someones skin; when you like a Turk or Arab, you’re likely a Muslim, the reasoning goes, and you’ll be treated differently.

As such, I think that the documentary is a great initiative. It is not done, these days, to discriminate against people on the basis of the color of their skin. Discrimination based on religion, however, seems to be perfectly acceptable.