But for Ibtihaj Muhammad, it wouldn’t have been the right thing.
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The 30-year-old Duke University graduate has been focused largely on the games since arriving in Rio, but has said her goals extend far outside the short time she’ll compete in Rio. “The honor of representing Muslim and black women is one I don’t take lightly”, she said.
“There is that silver lining in the sense that you do have that team event”.
“I have so many messages across my social media platforms”, Muhammad said.
When she returned, she was composed, analytical and well spoken. And it’s not just to challenge the misconceptions outside the Muslim community, but also within the Muslim community.
“I told her before that win or lose she’s already gold to me”, her father said.
“It’s hard to even put it into words”.
“It’s nearly not even about me at this point”. “Its been a really remarkable experience for me”.
The swarm of journalists on hand to record history were not quick enough to intercept Muhammad after her loss.
“It represents who she’s been her entire life”, said Ibtihaj’s brother, Qareeb, who was overcome with emotion when he saw his sister compete.
Muhammad became the first American athlete on Monday to compete in the Olympics with a hijab.
Your stepping back will allow this moment to become something bigger than just another opening ceremony. All these emotions, it was nearly overwhelming.
Muhammad will compete again Saturday in the team sabre event.
“We even forgave that youthful indiscretion of being photographed smoking from a water pipe of the type that is often used for smoking marijuana”, along with two other indiscretions, Kamau says. “Each one of us has a destiny of what we’re supposed to do in life. It’s like, well, where do we go?” She spoke earnestly, eloquently and frequently, encouraging Muslim-American girls to be more active and challenging society’s perceptions of who Muslims are.
“She was just soaking in the moment”, he said.
El-Ghobashy told the Ahram website previous year that she had been stared at when she took part at the 2015 Mediterranean Beach Games in Italy.
She also had a pointed response to recent calls by presidential candidates to restrict Muslim immigration to the U.S.
Asked Monday if she thought Trump watched her match, she said she didn’t know and didn’t seem to particularly care. She and fellow Americans Mariel Zagunis and Dagmara Wozniak should be highly motivated after each were bounced early in Monday’s competition.
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United States’ Carmelo Anthony (15) signals ager make a score against Venezuela during a men’s basketball game at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Monday. “Especially during the Olympic Games, it’s our time to shine, but of course you have all the other bigger, more popular sports”. We’re conservatives and liberals. “Anyone who has paid attention to the news at all would realize the importance of having a Muslim woman on Team USA. The Saudi Arabian team, the Kuwaiti team and now the American team”. She said, “When I heard that there had never been a Muslim woman on the USA team to wear the hijab, that is when I made this conscious decision to go for 2016″. “I want to be that image for minority youth”.
