Imane Khelif, who recently sparked an international gender controversy, comes from Algeria, a country in North Africa where most of the people practice Islamic religion predominately.
Khelif, who also appears to be religious, often credits Allah for everything she has achieved so far.
After her fight against Italian Angela Carini at the 2024 Paris Olympics, she became the center of attention due to the debate over transgender athletes.
While some claim that it was an unfair fight, others urge people to fact-check before speaking up.
Imane Khelif grew up in a conservative area where it is illegal to transition gender and to be homosexual!
Born on May 2, 1999, Imane Khelif grew up in a rural village in Tiaret Province, in northwestern Algeria and the people living in this area mainly followed the Islamic religion.
So Khelif is also a Muslim and appears to be religious, devoting her time to Allah. She often mentions Allah on her social media posts.
For instance, in January 2022, the boxer shared a series from the Tokyo Olympics and wrote a lengthy caption.
She mentioned that a number would not change anything in one’s life except what Allah willed for them and what they wanted for themselves with work, patience, self-review, and mistakes from the past.
The Algerian boxer went on to write, “So live your present without hurting people, as for the future is made by God, if we bid farewell to the passing year and welcome another coming one, and in between, the hope remains present and standing And that goodness should spread among people.“
Furthermore, the area she grew up in was a conservative area, where people deemed it illegal to be gay and to transition gender. Also, she lived around people who thought only men were suitable enough for boxing.
Ever since the controversy arose, she also received backlash from a few of the religious groups. Several Americans, including some Christian leaders, were using their social media platforms to express outrage regarding the fight.
Colin Smothers, currently an executive director of the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (CBMW), talked about this.
He stated that the world was at war against Nature and Nature’s God, and one would be a fool if they didn’t think it had entered a new stage of hostility.
The worship leader and right-wing activist Sean Feucht said, “The feelings of weak men now mean more than the safety of REAL women. This is sick. This is demonic.” Feucht added that they should call out the Olympic committee and every democrat politician supporting this.
Well, now that her childhood photos have surfaced, people seem to have calmed down a bit regarding the issue. As for Khelif, she seems to be working really hard to prove herself.
Additional Information
- Imane Khelif had to sell scrap metal to fund her training because her father believed girls didn’t box. He preferred football to boxing, and it was her teacher who encouraged her to become a boxer.
- She also had to sell bread in the street and collect dishes and other objects to sustain and move around. In January 2024, Imane Khelif became a UNICEF national ambassador.
