Islam and Sport. Muslim female athletes in diasporic contexts

Abstract

This article aims is to analyze the relationship between Islam, sport and sporting practice. In recent years, in fact, Islamic countries are increasingly protagonists on the world sports scene, in terms of events organizations, investments in football foreign clubs by entrepreneurs, as well as a general increase of Muslims who play sports. But how does the Islamic religion interpret the sporting phenomenon? And how is it possible to practice sports for Muslims without breaking the prescriptions of their faith? Through an analysis of the sources of Islamic law and of various authors who have dealt with these topics, I tried to answer these questions, in order to trace a sort of "Islamic vision" of sport. In addition, a brief analysis of the problems that Muslims, especially as regards women, are faced with when they decide to practice sports in Western contexts.