Grace under cover
Ibtihaj Mohammad, the first Muslim American to wear a hijab at the Olympics, tells tabloid! about how she discovered fencing and fought her way to the top
When she was young girl, Ibtihaj Mohammad and her mother were driving past a high school in her town of Maplewood, New Jersey, located 30 minutes south-west of New York City. They saw fencers outside of the school cafeteria competing with one another. They had white pants and a white jacket on and a fencing mask. “I don’t know what this sport is, but you are going to do it,” her mother told her.
That is how she discovered fencing.
CHAMPION
Mohammad is an American sabre fencer, and a member of the United States fencing team. She is a 2016 Olympic bronze medallist, five-time Senior World medallist and World Champion and is also known for being the first Muslim American woman to wear a hijab while competing for the United States in the Olympics. To Mohammad, it wasn’t about being the black kid in the room, or being the girl who wears a hijab. As a fencer, no one knew who was under the mask, so there is this element of secrecy and an opportunity to show what she is made of without any assumptions about her skill.
“I remember being a young kid, I put the hijab on when I was 12 years old. I was really trying to find myself in an athletic space. When I put my fencing mask on for the first time, I felt like a super hero,” she told tabloid! during a recent trip to Dubai.
Mohammad does not care what other people think. She completely rejects the idea that you need people around you to
Her religion made headlines during the Rio Olympics and she patiently faced the media in recent months.
love you. All that matters is you. “I don’t need anyone’s acceptance. I don’t need anyone to tell me that I’m great. I don’t rely on other people in order to believe in myself. I accepted and learn to love myself all on my own,” she said.
Her religion made headlines during the Rio Olympics and she patiently faced the media in recent months, answering every question, determined to serve as an example at a time when Islam is so controversial in US politics and the news. She has since written a book called Proud: My Fight for an Unlikely American Dream. Last year, toy maker Mattel released a hijabi Barbie inspired by her.
“Growing up in the States as a religious minority is hard. We were the only Muslim family in our town, but I don’t feel like any part of this journey of mine has been a burden,” she said. “I feel like it has been a blessing to represent so many people who don’t have voices.”
“This small piece of fabric is so meaningful to Muslim women. But in America, as an ethnic and as a religious minority, there are a lot of factors that exist and are put in place to hinder us from achieving our goals. Going to the Olympics was literally the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. If you tell me you want to go to the Olympics I will try to talk you out of it,” Mohammad added.
She described that qualifying for the USA Olympic team is like going to work with a group people who don’t like you and who don’t want you there. They threw obstacles in her path and took cheap shots about her faith and where she was from. “They tried to break my psyche, and that was my experience for the eight years. I still think back and wonder how I did it and how I arrived at