"One Jewish life is equal to one Muslim life is equal to one Hindu life" - emotional Usman Khawaja vows to fight for approval for his shoes
An emotional Usman Khawaja has vowed to fight the ICC's decision to ban him from wearing shoes written with phrases of freedom and equality during the first Test against Pakistan in Perth on Thursday. He said he respects the ICC's opinion but would try his best to get approval for the 'humanitarian' cause.
In a video on Instagram, Khawaja rejected ICC's stance that the slogans - "Freedom is a human right” and “All lives are equal" were 'political'. He started the video by requesting those who took offense from the slogans to ask themselves whether freedom was not a human right or should all lives not be equal.
He added that, without taking sides, he feels for the thousands of children who have died in the Israel-Palestine war. The left-handed batter added that growing up as a Muslim, he always felt his life wasn't equal but the inequality didn't mean death.
"What I have written on my shoes isn't political," Khawaja said. "I am not taking sides. Human life, to me, is equal. One Jewish life is equal to one Muslim life is equal to one Hindu life and so on. I am just speaking up for those who don't have a voice," Khawaja said.
"This is close to my heart. When I say thousands of innocent children dying without any repercussions or remorse, I imagine my two girls. What if this was them? No one chooses where they are born. And now I see the world turn their backs on them. My heart can't take it. I already felt my life wasn't equal to others when I was growing up. Luckily for me, I never lived in a world where that lack of equality was life or death," he continued.
"The ICC have told me that I can't wear my shoes because they believe it's a political statement under their guidelines. I don't believe it is so. It's a humanitarian appeal. I will respect their view and decision but I'll fight it and seek to get an approval. Freedom is a human right. And all lives are equal. I'll never stop believing that, whether you agree with me or not," the Aussie added.
Khawaja wore the shoes in a training session on Tuesday and their photo went viral. While some former Australians criticized him for bringing his personal beliefs onto the cricket field, Aussie captain Pat Cummins offered him complete support.
"Bigger problem" - Usman Khawaja on people taking offense
Khawaja added that he received tons of calls since the news came out, saying that people taking offense to his statements of equality and freedom were part of the "bigger problem".
"To me, personally, it doesn't matter what race, religion, or culture you are, let's be honest about it, if me saying, 'All lives are equal' has resulted in people being offended to the point where they are calling me up and telling me off, well isn't that the bigger problem? These people obviously don't believe in what I've written. It's not a handful of people, you'd be shocked, at how many feel this way," he said.
The first Australia-Pakistan Test will begin at 7:50 am IST on Thursday.