HOUSTON (AP) \u2014 Houston Texans defensive end Will Anderson Jr. and linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair were brought together by football, but it is a relationship forged by faith.<\/p>\n
Anderson, a Christian, and Al-Shaair, a Muslim, didn\u2019t let religious differences divide them. Instead, they leaned into their shared piousness to build a bond through faith that has paid dividends both on and off the field.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m a Christian through and through, but I also think it\u2019s very important to see how other people \u2026 think and how they feel about certain things,\u201d Anderson said.<\/p>\n
Added Al-Shaair: \u201cI\u2019m open about my faith and I use my faith and the things I\u2019ve experienced in conversations with guys and the same for him. So, every time we talked we were always hitting on the same cylinder, like dang that\u2019s exactly how I feel \u2026 so, I feel like it just worked out perfectly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before they lead the Texans\u2019 top-ranked defense into the postseason against the Steelers on Monday night, these captains will find a quiet place away from the game-day chaos for a private talk to center themselves and discuss their faith. Anderson, who was named a first-team AP All-Pro on Saturday, and Al-Shaair, a first-time Pro Bowler who leads the team with 103 tackles, aim to help Houston get its first road playoff win.<\/p>\n
Anderson said Al-Shaair has given him a boost from the moment he arrived in Houston before last season. Those pregame chats, though, might mean the most.<\/p>\n
\u201cI could truly say our talks before the game really help me,\u201d Anderson said. \u201cWe try not to miss that talk before the game and that really helps both of us just get in that mindset and both of us really just (knowing) what we\u2019re doing it for, why we\u2019re doing it, and everything like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Though there are fundamental differences in their religions, they both have values they feel are universal.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlthough Azeez is a Muslim and I\u2019m Christian, we share a lot of the same similarities with our faith and our morals and beliefs,\u201d Anderson said. \u201cTalking to Azeez \u2026 it\u2019s kind of the comparison, but it also leads back to just being a moral person \u2026 and having great values, and I think the biggest thing that we talk about is how we treat others.\u201d<\/p>\n
They also exchange stories of faith working in their lives and confide in each other with personal doubts and worries related to the physical game they play.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust (about) trusting God, believing in God and knowing it\u2019s God\u2019s timing and really just being there for each other,\u201d Anderson said. \u201cWhether it\u2019s a story from the Quran or a story from the Bible, it really doesn\u2019t matter because we\u2019re both sharing our faith and we both know who we believe in, which is God.\u201d<\/p>\n
The pair have grown so close that Al-Shaair says it sometimes feels like they\u2019re the same person. On the day both were selected to the Pro Bowl this season, in separate interviews both players noted that the honor meant more because they shared it and each mentioned their faith-based relationship.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut that\u2019s just how me and him have always been since we\u2019ve met each other,\u201d Al-Shaair said. \u201cIt\u2019s like we\u2019re literally just kind of in each other\u2019s brains.\u201d<\/p>\n
As a Muslim, growing up mostly in Florida, Al-Shaair has had relationships with Christians his entire life. The opposite isn\u2019t true for Anderson, who was raised Baptist in suburban Atlanta.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh no, no, no, I didn\u2019t know any Muslims growing up,\u201d Anderson said with a laugh.<\/p>\n
Anderson said he didn\u2019t even meet a Muslim until he trained with current Titans linebacker Ali Gaye while preparing for the combine. He isn\u2019t sure why some people are so reticent with those who don\u2019t share their beliefs, but he has found it illuminating.<\/p>\n
Al-Shaair appreciates that Anderson has worked to understand his religion, especially since he\u2019s dealt with many throughout his life who have made no effort to do so.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s just been the coolest thing,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen you talk about faith it\u2019s almost funny because I tell people there\u2019s a lot of Muslims that know a lot about Bible and not really a lot of Christians that know anything about Islam other than all the Islamophobic \u2026 propaganda stuff and things like that. People don\u2019t actually understand.\u201d<\/p>\n
Though he had plenty of relationships with Christians before building the one with Anderson, he believes their religious discussions have enriched his faith.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn Islam, it\u2019s actually encouraged to learn about other religions, other faiths, so it should reinforce your belief in your own, where I feel that\u2019s just not always the case,\u201d Al-Shaair said. \u201cThat\u2019s been the cool part with me and him, is we\u2019ve been able to kind of piggyback and bounce off the knowledge of both faiths. It\u2019s been very transparent and open. We\u2019ve both learned a lot from each other because of that.\u201d<\/p>\n
They\u2019ve also been there for each other through difficult times, particularly last season when Al-Shaair was suspended three games for an illegal hit on Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence. In the wake of the hit, Al-Shaair dealt with racist and Islamophobic online abuse that coupled with the suspension put him in what he called a \u201creally dark place.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anderson witnessed Al-Shaair leaning heavily on his faith during that time and revels at how much things have changed for his friend since that tough chapter.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn religion and faith and everything like that, it always comes with pain and suffering,\u201d Anderson said. \u201cAnd that\u2019s when I say God literally gets the final word because the world can persecute you, the world can say all this stuff about you and look where God has brought him this year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Along with being named to his first Pro Bowl and leading the team in tackles, Al-Shaair was named Houston\u2019s Walter Payton Man of the Year award winner this season. He almost can\u2019t believe how far he\u2019s come from last season, when he wasn\u2019t sure if he\u2019d ever play football again. He credits his faith for the turnaround.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been the No. 1 thing to why I was able to get over the hump and go through all that adversity and still be able to come out on the other side,\u201d he said. \u201cNot just come out on the other side but flourish. I\u2019m better now than I was even before all that stuff even happened and I think that\u2019s the biggest blessing.\u201d<\/p>\n
And at a time of increased divisiveness in this country, these 20-something-year-old football players wish more people would see things the way they do.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you just have compassion and are able to not be so stuck in your own head and your own mindset, and \u2026 just open up your heart, you\u2019ll realize, like, wow OK, that makes sense, we\u2019re a lot more similar than we are different,\u201d Al-Shaair said. \u201cAnd it just makes everything a lot better for everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n
___<\/p>\n
AP NFL: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/NFL<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HOUSTON (AP) \u2014 Houston Texans defensive end Will Anderson Jr. and linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair were brought together by…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":119175,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[52062,25380,557,56,58,57],"class_list":["post-119174","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-houston","tag-ap-religion","tag-ap-sports","tag-associated-press","tag-houston","tag-houston-headlines","tag-houston-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119174","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=119174"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119174\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/119175"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=119174"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=119174"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=119174"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}