Salah, in the world of football, was challenging the Islamophobia that encircled it and the people around it. This "Salah effect" was not just anecdotal, but measurable. "Per the Stanford University Immigration Policy Lab, Salah is credited with singlehandedly reducing Islamophobia and hate crimes in Liverpool since he signed with the club in June 2017." … The Stanford University study found that hate crimes in the metropolitan Liverpool area declined by 19 percent and anti-Muslim comments were down 50 percent since Salah joined Liverpool F.C. in 2017.

XREF: The "Salah effect" parallels the contact hypothesis from social psychology, and connects to the Stanford Immigration Policy Lab's broader work on attitude change.

Khaled A. Beydoun, The New Crusades_ Islamopho…, loc. 1075