Olympic athlete and Muslim fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad is taking a stance and making history in this year’s Rio games as the first American to compete while wearing a hijab. Though she is much more than what she wears, this is her way to remain true to her faith and to stand up to bullies like Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, whom she calls out in a CNN interview/video below:
“I think his words are very dangerous,” she said. “When these types of comments are made, no one thinks about how they really affect people. I’m African-American. I don’t have another home to go to. My family was born here. I was born here. I’ve grown up in Jersey. All my family’s from Jersey. It’s like, well, where do we go?” “And when you think things like you want to ban Muslims from entering the country or you want to build a wall to separate the U.S. from Mexico I think these are things that are reminiscent of really dark times within, not just our country, but worldwide.”
In the Twitter video below, Muhammad talks about her decision to wear her hijab while adding,
“If you’ve ever been told your dreams are too big, this Olympic team is for you.”
Here is the Ibtihaj Muhammad’s videotweet:
When asked about her motivation to become an Olympic athlete, Muhammad says:
“For me, I’m doing it for other minorities like myself who may have been told at some point when they were younger or even now that it’s not something they can do, and for them to believe they can.”
And here is a short 41-second video clip of Muhammad giving instructions to First Lady Michelle Obama.
Here’s to the integrity of this great Olympian who was already making history before the games began.