Her career as a fencer began when she was just 13 years old.
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“For her, being a Muslim-American and an African-American female, in many ways she represents the most disadvantaged and can be a role model for a lot of communities”, said US sabre fencer Daryl Homer. “I realize this moment is bigger than me”.
Team U.S.A. fencer and New Jersey native Ibtihaj Muhammad made Olympic history on Monday, becoming the first Olympian to compete while wearing hijab.
In particular, Muhammad has become a vocal opponent of Donald Trump, the Republican nominee for president who has called for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States in response to Islamist terror attacks in the country and overseas.
“Muhammad carrying the flag would be much bigger than your one moment”, Bell said.
So was the attention for her family, all of whom showed up in Rio and were beaming after her first-round victory on Monday.
“I’m definitely a sprinter first, but I like to entertain”, he said.
Backed by “USA” cheers from the crowd, Muhammad faced Olena Kravatska of the Ukraine.
In the stands, her brother Qareeb was screaming himself hoarse.
“It’s just more motivation, more fuel to the fire to make sure that we’re geared up for team”, she said. She is not a Muslim and in many ways she is still curious about her friend and her faith.
Her father, a retired narcotics detective, acknowledged that watching his daughter venture into the public spotlight had not been easy.
American Olympic fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad faces the media during a press conference on August 4, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
If you don’t know Ibtihaj Muhammad already, get to know her now. “How often do we tell our girls there are things they shouldn’t do?”, she said after her loss. Specifically Muslim women who wear their religion every single day. As a Muslim woman, she can compete while covering her head, arms and legs.
Muhammad, 30, didn’t immediately fall in love with swordplay, finding fencing tedious at first.
Points came at a premium for Muhammad in the second with Berder’s lead ballooning to five. Berder won, 15-12. “If you can control yourself and execute the actions you want in a way you want, you’ll be successful”. Waiting for some research&hope I can leave today.
She added that she’s seeking to overturn the notion that all Muslim women are “docile, oppressed, that we’re all Arab”, instead wanting to showcase the potential that a Muslim woman has on as grand a stage as the Olympics. “It’s just been a really remarkable experience for me”. Reports at the time suggested she received a mix of praise and criticism back home.
“CNN took over the house for like six hours, they was all outside”. And at the early pace they are scoring at the Rio Games, they might break the 1996 team’s record average of 102.4 points a game. They always want to ask where I’m from, where my parents are from, where their parents are from.
Muhammad could take solace in a larger objective.
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‘I feel like it’s a blessing to be able to represent so many people who don’t have voices, who don’t speak up, ‘ Muhammad said.
