As the World Youth Forum (WYF) was inaugurated last weekend in Sharm Al Sheikh, young Egyptian sculptor Mai Abdallah revealed her masterpiece of the renowned Egyptian footballer Mohamed Salah, known as Mo Salah, at the forum on Sunday. Contrary to common belief, Abdallah has been inspired to create the statue two years ago. However, she was only able to complete her carving approximately a month before the launch of the WYF. The clay-base figure is a depiction of Salah opening his arms, a trademark move he does after scoring to gesture appreciation towards his fans. “So, I found it is distinguished and executable,” Abdallah told Egypt Independent. While Salah is beloved by many, the statue received an overwhelming amount of backlash by social media users creating an ongoing controversy. The Minya-based artist has been subjected to various attempts of cyberbullying for her work. In response, she released a statement on social media addressing the criticism. “I gained the experience of two years in just two days,” she began,”I came across so many people who were supporting me and told me to keep doing what I am doing, and I also…
