Covered in Glory – Top Player at High School a Muslim Woman

A top student and now the top high school scorer in state history, Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir knows there is more to life than a game. But does she have game.

By Marty Dobrow, Globe Correspondent  |  February 8, 2009

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.

Kareem Salama Interviews on Sky News and France 24

For those who haven’t heard the exciting news, Muslim country/western singer, Kareem Salama, (from Oklahoma, holla!!!) is touring Europe. Kareem has made stops in England, France, and Holland just to name a few. Below are two interviews that were done during this past month while he has been touring.

2008 Evening of Inspiration US Tour

For those who have not had a chance to attend yet, this year marks the third year that Islamic Relief will hold its Evening of Inspiration tour in the United States. Previous years consisted of acts such as Sami Yusuf, Hamza Robertson, Nazeel Azami, Native Deen, and Allah Made Me Funny. This years show showcases some awesome acts never before featured on this tour, including Zain Bhikha, Seven 8 Six, and Baba Ali. Check out the video below for more info:

Desert Heat – Under Her Feet

As a fan of hip hop music since my young days, I have heard the best and worst in hip hop over the years. Included in that, is middle eastern hip hop artists who attempt, and mostly fail, at combining east and west in hopes of acheiving a hip hop sound that will attract both new and old. Desert Heat seemed to be one of those who would try and fail like many before them after their debut single ‘Keep it Desert’. However, they have impressed me with their newest single ‘Under Her Feet’. I am now looking forward to finding a way to pick up their debut album when it drops this year, and checking it out. FYI, Desert Heat is a rap duo based out of Dubai, UAE. Find out more about them at http://desertheatarabia.com

Kumasi – Amazing Grace Music Video

One of my favorite songs from the past few years. Watch out for Kumasi, he is going to be big inshAllah!

Tomorrow Never Comes – Ummah Films

The first feature lenght short film from Ummah Films productions. I loved this video, and look forward to seeing what comes next!

Lupe Fiasco New Video – Paris, Tokyo

I can’t say that I love this video that much. In fact, this is Lupe’s third video from his album “The Cool”, and I must say that I have enjoyed the video for ‘Hip Hop Saved my Life’ best, which I will also post below the ‘Paris,Tokyo’ video.

I love the song for the above video, but not feeling the video that much. However, I love both the song and the video for ‘Hip Hop Saved my Life’ below:

Peace,
* AM *

Muslim Funnymentalists Comedy Tour

The latest, freshest comedy tour to hit the scene focused at a Muslim audience. Although the trio of Baba Ali, Aman Ali, and Asif Ali do stand-up comedy (which is hilarious I might add), they also include improv as part of their show which makes it even better (think “Who’s Line is it Anyways?”). Anyhow, check out the trailer for their new tour below, and be sure to visit their website at www.funnymentalists.com

Ask Baba Ali Episode 1

What can I say? I love this!! May Allah bless Baba Ali to continue his awesome work.

Greg Sellnow: Are Americans ready for ‘Little Mosque on the Prairie’

Source: Post Bulletin

Here’s a question for you. If there were a TV sitcom about the trials and tribulations of a Muslim community “up north” would you watch it?

Let’s say it’s a good sitcom, well-acted and cleverly written with enticing, on-location camera work. It includes a group of quirky characters in a small, rural town just trying to get along in a changing world. Think “Northern Exposure” meets “The Jeffersons.”

Could such a program survive here? Or is it still too soon after 9/11 for the masses to embrace a sitcom that focuses on those who follow Islam.

Minnesota native Mary Darling believes such a program can thrive here.

Darling, who grew up in Lotus Lake near Minnetonka, is an executive producer for “Little Mosque on the Prairie,” a highly successful (in Canada) sitcom that takes place in the fictitious community of Mercy, Saskatchewan.

She sent me an e-mail last week after reading a column in which I mentioned “Little Mosque.” I used the program, which I saw a promotional spot for while on a hockey trip to Virginia, Minn., as an example of the sort of thing you can see only on Minnesota’s Iron Range.

Darling lives north of the border with her Canadian-born husband, Clark Donnelly. Together, they own Toronto-based WestWind Pictures, which produces “Little Mosque.”

The sitcom is the brainchild of Zarqa Nawaz, a Muslim Canadian who approached Darling and Donnelly with the idea for a comedy focusing on misunderstandings between the Muslim and non-Muslim communities.

“Clark and I were immediately attracted to the idea,” Darling said. “We knew in our heart that the idea was viable because it brings a common humanity forward.”

I watched the first three episodes of “Little Mosque” on YouTube over the weekend, and I found it to be smart, funny and addicting.

The show explodes some of the stereotypes about Muslims. For example, the Imam for the Mosque in Mercy is a clean-shaven, ex-lawyer from Toronto in his late 20s or early 30s. Another main character is a feminist Muslim doctor. (In Episode 2 of Season One, she protests the installation of a barrier — made of discarded hockey boards — to separate the men from the women during worship in the mosque.)

The funniest lines are reserved for Baber, the most conservative Muslim in Mercy, who distrusts and misunderstands non-Muslims. In Episode Three, when Baber’s teenage daughter comes out of her bedroom wearing a top that exposes her belly-button, he tells her to change into something that doesn’t make her look like a Protestant.

“Don’t you mean prostitute?” the girls asks. “No, I mean Protestant,” Baber responds.

Darling says her production company has received a lot of interest from U.S. networks intrigued about the possibility of broadcasting “Little Mosque” the states.

I hope it does fly here. I’ve always found Canadians (my father-in-law is a native of Canada and my wife has a slew of relatives there) to be a little ahead of us when it comes to seeing comedy in potentially divisive issues such as race, gender and religion.

But I hope Darling is correct when she says the United States is ready for a program like “Little Mosque on the Prairie.”

“It focuses on our oneness where most stories these days focus on differences,” she says. “We actually believe that there is unity in our diversity.”

I do, too.