This is so powerful. Ibtihaj Muhammad, a U.S. Olympic competitor, is taking a stand and calling out presidential nominee Donald Trump on his ‘very dangerous’ words. Find out what the fencer, who is also a proud Muslim, has said about the man who could become our next president.
With all eyes on the 30-year-old African-American, who will be competing in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, she is taking advantage of the spotlight to become a voice for the Muslim American community. Ibtihaj Muhammad, who will make history at this year’s Olympics when she becomes the first American to ever compete in a hijab, appeared on CNN on Aug. 3 and made it clear she wants to change people’s perception of Muslims, as portrayed by the Republican presidential nominee. When she was asked directly if she believed Donald Trump, 70, to be dangerous, she said, “I think that his words are very dangerous.”
Back in December 2015, when Donald announced he wanted to ban all Muslims from entering the United States — yeah, that happened — Ibtihaj, understandably, was upset by those “dangerous words.” She reacted by tweeting, “Friends don’t let friends like Trump.” Way to stand up for your beliefs!
“I’m African-American. I don’t have another home to go to,” Ibtihaj told CNN. “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?” The Olympic fencer said that the general way that Donald speaks is very troubling. “When these types of comments are made, no one thinks about how they really affect people.”
2016 Rio Olympics — SEE PICS
We are so excited to see this strong, African American, Muslim woman compete at the Olympics this year and give the world a positive view of her people. “I’m hopeful that, in my efforts to represent our country well as an athlete ― that they change the rhetoric around how people think and perceive the Muslim community,” she said. What a role model!
HollywoodLifers, are you excited to see Ibtihaj compete at the Games?
