Ibtihaj Muhammad (born December 4, 1985) is an American

sabre A sabre ( French: �sabʁ or saber in American English) is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the early modern and Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such as th ...

fencer and member of the United States fencing team. She is known for being the first Muslim American woman to wear a headscarf while competing for the United States in the Olympics, as well as for winning an

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

medal (bronze) wearing it.

Early life

Ibtihaj Muhammad was born and raised in Maplewood, New Jersey, a suburb 25 miles (40 km) from

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, and is of

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

descent. Her parents were born in the United States, and

converted to Islam Religious conversion is the adoption of a set of beliefs identified with one particular religious denomination to the exclusion of others. Thus "religious conversion" would describe the abandoning of adherence to one denomination and affiliatin ...

. Her father, Eugene Muhammad, is a retired

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area. She is the third child of five siblings. In accordance with their Islamic beliefs, Ibtihaj's parents sought out a sport for her to participate in where she could maintain her '' hijab''. Ibtihaj attended

Columbia High School Columbia High School may refer to: *Columbia High School (Huntsville, Alabama) *Columbia High School (Georgia) *Columbia High School (Florida) *Columbia High School (Idaho) *Columbia High School (Illinois) *Columbia High School (Mississippi), a Mis ...

, a public high school in Maplewood, graduating in 2003. She attended Duke University and graduated in 2007 with dual bachelor's degrees in international relations and African and African-American studies. According to

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...

, Ibtihaj Muhammad started to wear the hijab at a very young age. When growing up and pursuing a career in fencing, she thought keeping her hijab would inspire women and young girls around the world to break boundaries and pursue their desires even while wearing the hijab.

Fencing career

At Columbia High School, she joined the school fencing team at age 13. Her former coach Frank Mustilli had her switch weapons, from épée to sabre. In late 2002, Ibtihaj joined the prestigious

Peter Westbrook Peter Jonathan Westbrook (born April 16, 1952) is an American former sabre fencing champion, active businessman and founder of the Peter Westbrook Foundation. A former U.S. champion and Olympic medalist, Westbrook's career began when his Japanes ...

Foundation, a program which utilizes the sport of fencing as a vehicle to develop life skills in young people from underserved communities. She was invited to train under the Westbrook Foundation's Elite Athlete Program in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

Ibtihaj Muhammad 2014-15 Orleans WC teams t130543

Ibtihaj attended Duke University on a scholarship. She was a 3-time All-American and the 2005 Junior Olympic Champion. Ibtihaj graduated from Duke University in 2007 with an International Relations and African American Studies double major. Ibtihaj has been a member of the United States National Fencing Team since 2010. She, as of 2017, ranks No. 2 in the United States and No. 7 in the world. She is a 5-time Senior World medalist, including 2014 World Champion in the team event.

2016 Summer Olympics

Ibtihaj was defeated by Cécilia Berder of France in the second round in the Women's Individual Sabre in the

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...

2016 Summer Olympics but still left Rio with a bronze medal. Despite the loss, she attracted significant media attention. She is best known for being the first woman to wear a ''hijab'' while competing for the United States in the Olympics. Ibtihaj became the first female Muslim-American athlete to earn a medal at the Olympics. She earned a bronze medal in the Team Sabre, by defeating Italy 45–30 in the medal match. This came after defeating Poland 45–43, and losing to Russia 42–45.

As symbol of America's diversity and tolerance

The 2016 Summer Olympics occurred during the U.S. Presidential campaign in which questions of Muslim assimilation were being discussed, including with respect to U.S.-born Muslims. Ibtihaj as visibly Muslim (due to her hijab) became "one of the best symbols against intolerance America can ever have", according to ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

''. However, Ibtihaj drew some criticism during the Olympics by describing the United States as a dangerous place for Muslims, saying that she did "not feel safe" as a Muslim living in America.

Other activities

As a child, noticed all her dolls looked nothing like her as she started to wear the hijab at a very young age. She was then inspired to cut pieces of cloth and fabrics to make little hijabs and wrap them around her dolls. In 2014, Ibtihaj and her siblings launched their own clothing company, Louella, which aims to bring modest fashionable clothing to the United States market. She is also a sports ambassador, serving on the

U.S. Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other ...

’s Empowering Women and Girls Through Sport Initiative. She has traveled to various countries to engage in dialogue on the importance of sports and education. In 2017, as part of its International Women's Day campaign,

Mattel Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. The company has presence in 35 countries and territories and sells products in more ...

introduced a line of female role model

Barbie Barbie is a fashion doll manufactured by American toy company Mattel, Inc. and launched on March 9, 1959. American businesswoman Ruth Handler is credited with the creation of the doll using a German doll called Bild Lilli as her inspiration. ...

s, including one in a Hijab; and Barbie's first doll fencer, which is designed after Ibtihaj. Through the creation of a hijabi Barbie, it reinforced her belief that young girls and boys should see themselves through these toys while valuing inclusiveness and diversity.

Bibliography

She has also penned two books about her life growing up in New Jersey and her Olympic experience: * Muhammad, Ibtihaj. (2018) ''Proud: My Fight for an Unlikely American Dream''. New York:

Hachette Books Hachette Books, formerly Hyperion Books, is a general-interest book imprint of the Perseus Books Group, which is a division of Hachette Book Group and ultimately a part of Lagardère Group. Established in 1990, Hachette publishes general-inte ...

. * Muhammad, Ibtihaj. (2018) (Young Readers Edition) ''Proud: Living My American Dream''. New York:

Little, Brown and Company Little, Brown and Company is an American publishing company founded in 1837 by Charles Coffin Little and James Brown in Boston. For close to two centuries it has published fiction and nonfiction by American authors. Early lists featured Emily ...

. * Muhammad, Ibtihaj. (2018) ''The Proudest Blue: A Story of Hijab and Family''. New York:

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Muhammad, Ibtihaj 1985 births Living people African-American Muslims African-American sportswomen American Muslims American female sabre fencers Columbia High School (New Jersey) alumni Duke University alumni Fencers at the 2011 Pan American Games Muslim fashion designers People from Maplewood, New Jersey Fencers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Essex County, New Jersey Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in fencing Pan American Games medalists in fencing Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games 21st-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women Fencers at the 2015 Pan American Games American women fashion designers American fashion designers African-American fashion designers