Ibtihaj Muhammad
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Ibtihaj Muhammad (born December 4, 1985) is an American
sabre A sabre or saber ( ) is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the Early Modern warfare, early modern and Napoleonic period, Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such a ...
fencer, author, entrepreneur and Olympic medalist. At the
2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...
, she became the first American woman to compete in the Olympics in hijab, the first American Muslim woman to win an Olympic medal, and the first Black woman to win an Olympic medal in the sabre event, when she won bronze in the women’s saber team event. Muhammad is a five-time World medalist (2011, 2012, 2013, 2015) and at the
2014 World Fencing Championships The 2014 World Fencing Championships were held in Kazan, Russia, from 15–23 July. Schedule The schedule of the competition. Medal summary Men's events Women's events Medal table References External links Official website
{{Worl ...
, won gold with the United States women's sabre team. Muhammad was named one of
Time 100 ''Time'' 100 is a list of the top 100 most influential people, assembled by the American news magazine ''Time''. First published in 1999 as the result of a debate among American academics, politicians, and journalists, the list is now a highly ...
's Most Influential People in the World (2016), is a sports ambassador for the
United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy of the United State ...
and is a New York Times Bestselling author.


Early life

Muhammad was born on December 4, 1985, in
New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
and raised in
Maplewood, New Jersey Maplewood is a township in Essex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The township is an inner-ring suburban bedroom community of New York City in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's popula ...
. She has two older siblings, Brandilyn and Qareeb, and two younger siblings, Asiya and Faizah. Her parents are of
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
descent. Muhammad began fencing at age 13 at
Columbia High School (New Jersey) Columbia High School is a four-year comprehensive regional public high school in Maplewood, in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It serves students in ninth through twelfth grades, as the lone secondary school of the South Ora ...
.


Career


Fencing

In 2002, Muhammad joined the Peter Westbrook Foundation in New York City. After graduating from
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 ...
in 2003, Muhammad attended
Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...
in
Durham, North Carolina Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County, North Carolina, Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County, North Carolina, Orange County and Wake County, North Carol ...
, where she was a three-time All-American. She graduated in 2007 with an International Relations and African & African-American Studies double major. Muhammad qualified for her first United States National Fencing Team in 2010, becoming the first woman of color on the women's sabre team. She was a member of the United States National Team from 2010-2017. As of 2017, she is a two-time National Champion (2009, 2017), a 19-time World Cup medalist, and has ranked as high as No. 7 in the World. She is a five-time Senior World medalist (2011, 2012, 2013, 2015) and at the 2014 Fencing World Championships, won gold with the United States sabre team.


2016 Summer Olympics

At the
2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...
, she became the first American woman to compete in the Olympics in hijab, the first Muslim-American woman to win an Olympic medal, and the first Black woman to win an Olympic medal in the sabre event, when she won bronze in the women’s saber team event. The team defeated Italy 45–30 in the bronze medal match. Visibly Muslim (due to her hijab), Muhammad 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 Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' in 2016.


Other activities

In 2014, Muhammad and her siblings launched a clothing company, Louella by Ibtihaj, which aims to bring modest fashionable clothing to the United States market. Muhammad is also a sports ambassador, serving on the
U.S. Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the 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 o ...
’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 2019, Ibtihaj was recognized as a Special Olympics Global Ambassador for the
Special Olympics Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, providing year-round training and activities to 5 million participants and Unified Sports partners in 172 countries. Special Ol ...
. In 2017,
Mattel Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company headquartered in El Segundo, California. Founded in Los Angeles by Harold Matson and the husband-and-wife duo of Ruth Handler, ...
honored Muhammad as a
Barbie Barbie is a fashion doll created by American businesswoman Ruth Handler, manufactured by American toy and entertainment company Mattel and introduced on March 9, 1959. The toy was based on the German Bild Lilli doll, Bild Lilli doll which Hand ...
“Shero,” a woman who has broken boundaries to inspire the next generation of girls, modeling the first hijabi and fencer Barbie in her likeness.


Books

Muhammad released her debut memoir in 2018 titled ''Proud: My Fight for an Unlikely American Dream''. She is also the author of a series of children’s books— instant New York Times’ Best-seller The Proudest Blue: A Story of Hijab & Family (originally published in 2019), The Kindest Red: A Story of Hijab and Friendship (2023), and The Boldest White: A Story of Hijab & Community (2024). Her children's books have been finalists for the
Forest of Reading The Forest of Reading is Canada's largest recreational reading program, featuring ten award programs and run by the Ontario Library Association (OLA). Programs are primarily geared towards French and English readers in kindergarten to grade twelve ...
's Blue Spruce Award twice, for ''The Proudest Blue'' in 2021 and ''The Kindest Red'' in 2024. * 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 (publisher), Hachette Book Group and ultimately a part of Lagardère Group. Established in 1990, Hachette pu ...
. * 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 Emil ...
. * Muhammad, Ibtihaj. (2018) ''The Proudest Blue: A Story of Hijab and Family''. New York: Little, Brown and Company. * Muhammad, Ibtihaj. (2023) ''The Kindest Red: A Story of Hijab and Friendship''. New York: Little, Brown and Company. * Muhammad, Ibtihaj. (2024) ''The Boldest White: A Story of Hijab and Community''. New York: Little, Brown and Company.


See also

* Muslim women in sport * List of USFA Division I National Champions


References


External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Muhammad, Ibtihaj 1985 births Living people African-American fashion designers African-American Muslims American female sabre fencers American women fashion designers American fashion designers Muslims from Georgia (U.S. state) Columbia High School (New Jersey) alumni Duke University alumni Fencers at the 2011 Pan American Games Fencers at the 2015 Pan American Games 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 gold medalists for the United States in fencing Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games 21st-century African-American sportswomen 21st-century American sportswomen 21st-century Muslims American children's writers Writers from Maplewood, New Jersey Writers from Georgia (U.S. state) American women children's writers 21st-century American women writers