SPRINGFIELD – Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir walks quietly through the halls of the New Leadership Charter School. She is soft-spoken and polite. The youngest child of a devout Muslim family, the 5-foot-3-inch senior believes in modesty, and is determined not to call attention to herself.
It is an impossible dream.
Bilqis cannot help standing out. For one thing, she is the top-ranked student in her class. She wants to study pre-med in college with an eye toward being a cardiac surgeon. “The heart,” she says, “is most interesting to me.”
Then there is her presence on the basketball court, where she is a magnet for the eyes of all fans, and not just because she competes with her legs and arms completely covered beneath her uniform, and with a hijab (or head scarf) over the top of her head. The point guard dazzles every night with a game that is a nonstop whir of creative fury. She darts into the lane against much bigger players, flicking in layups and reverses and hitting teammates with no-look passes. She drains pull-up jumpers and step-back 3-pointers. Despite a steady diet of double-teams and box-and-one defenses designed to stop her, she is averaging, this season, an astonishing 41.3 points per game.
A fifth-year varsity player, Bilqis (pronounced BILL-KEACE) will attend the University of Memphis this fall on a full scholarship and will become the first player at a top tier Division 1 school to compete in full Muslim dress.
Her look has drawn some curiosity, and, at times, some taunts.
I just ran across this awesome video from out brothers and sisters at MAS Media foundation. It gives a really good perspective on issues that Muslims have gone through since the inception of the patriot act, and does so with some light humor. I hope those who are not of the Muslim faith will have the opportunity to see this, and understand how we, as Muslims, have had to adjust out very lifestyles due to the actions of an ignorant few.
The Tampa chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is calling on the Pinellas County School District to investigate a shooting threat and assaults made against a sixth-grade Muslim girl by a fellow student.
11-year-old Hannah, a student at Azalea Middle School in St. Petersburg, said a male classmate tore off her head scarf and threatened to shoot her and that’s she’s been the victim of.
Personally, I think Islamophobia is a bad term. Islam is perfect, Muslims are not. Therefore I can understand concern over “extreme” Muslim (or Christians, Jews, Hindus, etc.), however concern over Islam itself is a bit beyond my comprehension.
CAIR Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper supports the “good faith” provision of the so-called “John Doe” bill on MSNBC’s “Tucker.”
Found on CAIRTV channel on YouTube.
I might have posted this before, but I love this short Public Service Announcement so much, I thought to post it again.
Ibrahoom Hooper discusses with MSNBC’s Tucker. I am sorry, but this Tucker guy is outright biased, prejudiced, and full of pre-conceived notions that it seems no one could change him of. I really dislike him.
