Too many speakers in the Gulf, but Ghanim Al Muftah stole the show.
The young disability activist, having large number of following on social media, stole the opening ceremony of the Fifa World Cup 2022 held in Doha.
Al Muftah is of 22 years old shared the stage with well known Hollywood actor Morgan Freeman.
The young soul recited the verse from Quran and helped the actor welcome the world in a show themed around unity and tolerance.
“We sent out the call, because everyone is welcome. This is an invitation to the whole world,” said Al Muftah, dressed in a thobe and walked to the stage using his hands.
Then, reciting a verse from the Quran, he added: “We were raised to believe that we were scattered on this earth as nations and tribes, so we could learn from each other and find beauty in our differences.”
“I can see it,” Freeman replied. “What unites us here, in this moment, is so much greater than what divides us. How can we make it last longer than just today?”
“With tolerance and respect, we can live together under one big home,” Al Muftah replied.
Disable activist was born in Qatar with a rare condition called as caudal regression syndrome, a congenital disorder in which the foetal development of the lower body is abnormal.
Mostly using his hands to move forward, he has shared his continuing medical challenges, turning it into an inspirational journey and eventually becoming a motivational speaker.
Currently he is studying political science, hoping to become a diplomat. Moreover, he also have a strong fan following on social media having more than 7million followers on TikTok while 3.3 million on Instagram and nearly to a million subscribers on YouTube.
Furthermore, he also proved that disability is just in mind as he also enjoy to be a part of extreme sports such as scuba diving, skateboarding and rock climbing, and hoping to be a Paralympian one day.
In April, Al Muftah was named a Fifa World Cup 2022 ambassador.
Recently, 30-minute opening ceremony was meant to share Qatar to the world through its culture and with a theme of “bridging distances”.
Ahmad Al Baker, Creative director informed that he wanted the ceremony to be signify “a gathering for all mankind, an invitation to come together as one, bridging all differences with humanity, respect and inclusion”.
