A Muslim athlete’s public faith display provoked crowd hostility at the UFC weigh-in.

Evidence

During the lead-up to his match with his nemesis and the sport’s most bankable star, Conor McGregor, Khabib put his faith, Islam, on center stage along with him. … With Joe Rogan to his right, and thousands of fans shouting a mix of praise and expletives at the still-faced fighter, Khabib tapped his chest then nodded his head. “Not me,” he whispered, and then pointed toward the sky—a quiet Islamic ritual of praise, giving all credit to God. … Khabib’s recognition of Allah spurred jeers and slurs from the crowd. Islamophobia, a day before the UFC’s biggest fight in its twenty-five-year history, was a more menacing foe than the charismatic Irishman Khabib would trade blows with the following night. — Khaled A. Beydoun, The New Crusades_ Islamophobia and the…, 1082