Muslim American Fencer to Donald Trump: ‘I Don’t Have Another Home’
Seeing Americans stand up to Donald Trumps scapegoating is very rewarding and inspiring. A Muslim American of who lives for excellence in her athletic sport? Even better.
Ibtihaj Muhammad, the fencer who happens to also be the first American Muslim woman to compete in the Olympics while wearing a hijab, had strong words for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump about his immigration plans for Muslims.
“I think his words are very dangerous,” Muhammad, who is competing in team sabre competition Monday morning, told CNN last week. “When these types of comments are made, no one thinks about how they really affect people. I’m African American. I don’t have another home to go to. My family was born here. I was born here. I’ve grown up in Jersey. All my family’s from Jersey. It’s like, well, where do we go?”
[A fencing mask hid her hijab. Now, Ibtihaj Muhammad wants to be heard, and seen.]
Muhammad’s comments came as Trump drew heavy criticism for his comments about the Khan family, whose son was killed while protecting his troops from a car bomb in Iraq in 2004. Muhammad has said little about politics since arriving in Rio de Janeiro for the Olympics, offering only a “Who?” when peppered by reporters during a news conference.
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