Doha: Qatari youth Ghanim Al Muftah drew the world’s attention at the opening ceremony of the World Cup 2022, with his dialogue with the famous American actor Morgan Freeman on the grounds of Al-Bayt Stadium, where Al-Muftah started the ceremony by reciting a Quranic verse.
It is the first time in the history of the opening ceremonies of the World Cup, the beginning comes with the recitation of verses from the Quran.
A video circulated on social media at the beginning of the opening of the tournament, Sunday, November 20, 2022, showed the international actor walking on an interactive platform and approaching the inspiring young man, who began addressing the audience, welcoming the guest of Qatar, who sat next to him.
Ghanim Al Muftah recites verse 13 of Surat Al -Hujurat
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّاسُ إِنَّا خَلَقْنَـٰكُم مِّن ذَكَرٍۢ وَأُنثَىٰ وَجَعَلْنَـٰكُمْ شُعُوبًۭا وَقَبَآئِلَ لِتَعَارَفُوٓا۟ ۚ إِنَّ أَكْرَمَكُمْ عِندَ ٱللَّهِ أَتْقَىٰكُمْ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَلِيمٌ خَبِيرٌۭ
Translation— O humanity! Indeed, We created you from a male and a female, and made you into peoples and tribes so that you may ˹get to˺ know one another. Surely the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous among you. Allah is truly All-Knowing, All-Aware.
Morgan added, “It seems that the world is more divergent and divided,” and continued, wondering, “How can several countries and cultures come together if each has its own way?”
Al Muftah commented, “We grew up on this land as peoples and tribes in order to unite.”
Morgan replied, “I now see that what unites us is more than what separates us… How can we perpetuate harmony more and more?” The young Qatari man replied, “With tolerance and respect, we can live together under one roof.”
The Qatari Goodwill Ambassador added that the house of poetry is the tent of the Bedouin, which was set up to be a home for all, “and when we invite you here, it will be your home, and we will gather here as one tribe,” and continued, “The land is the tent in which we all live.”
Ghanim Al Muftah turned to Morgan, who stood up to tell him, “You are welcome in this tent and everyone is welcome.”
The dialogue aroused the admiration of the tweeters, one of them wrote: “Ghanim Al Muftah with the international star Morgan Freeman, and a wonderful scene at the World Cup party that embodies the dialogue between East and West.”
Who is Ghanim Al-Muftah, Qatar’s World Cup ambassador
Ghanim Al Muftah was born on May 5, 2002, in the Qatari capital, Doha and has been afflicted with a disease called caudal retraction syndrome since.
This syndrome is also known as “caudal regression” or “sacral dysgenesis”, and it is a rare congenital disorder that occurs as a result of the lower part of the spine not being fully formed before birth.
This disease affects one person out of 25,000 cases in the world, and accordingly, the Qatari Ghanim Al Muftah lived his life with half a body, after losing a large part of his bones, due to this disease.
Without lower limbs, Al Muftah continued his life moving using his hands and in a wheelchair. He studied, worked hard and learned, until he became one of the active people in Qatari society, and then the world.
Ghanim said in one of the videos, “Since I was young, I learned to reconcile with myself, and with things that I cannot change, so I reconciled with my body, I reconciled with my appearance.”
World Cup Ambassador
In April 2022, the Qatar World Cup Supreme Committee announced the appointment of Al Muftah as an official ambassador for the tournament, which is being held for the first time in the Middle East.
Al Muftah did not hide his extreme joy and pride in this choice, by publishing a short tweet on his official account on the social networking site “Twitter”.
Al Muftah wrote, “It is a great honor for me to announce that I have been selected as an official ambassador for the FIFA World Cup 2022, and I look forward to sharing with you the enthusiasm and excitement on our way to the tournament.”
