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Meet Ibtihaj Muhammed, The First Hijab-wearing US Olympic athlete
On Aug. 5, more than 10,500 of the greatest athletes in the world will stream into Maracanã Stadium for the opening ceremony of the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Give or take a few samba dancers, the scene in Rio de Janeiro will look much like all the other Olympic pageants before it, save for one crucial detail: for the first time, a member of Team USA will be wearing a hijab. The fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad, a Muslim from New Jersey, earned that distinction in late January when she clinched a spot in the Games at a tournament in Athens. Days later, President Obama called her out by name during the first visit of his presidency to a U.S. mosque.
Less than a week after Obama’s shout-out, Muhammad sits unnoticed at a Manhattan Starbucks, talking about something that scares her far more than a sword darting toward her face. “If Donald Trump had his way, America would be white,” Muhammad says between sips of a skinny hazelnut latte. “And there wouldn’t be any color. And there wouldn’t be any diversity here.”
This is charged turf for an Olympian.
These athletes, the bulk of whom attract attention only once every four years, tend to shy away from politics. Even a whiff of controversy has the potential to turn off potential fans and alienate the corporate sponsors that help subsidize their dreams. But Trump’s rise to the front of the Republican presidential pack, along with his call to temporarily ban Muslims from entering the U.S., is more than Muhammad can abide.
“When you incite hateful speech and rhetoric like that, the people who say it never think about the repercussions and how that affects Muslims,” says Muhammad.
“Specifically Muslim women who wear their religion every single day. So then you start to think, Am I going to be safe?”
With that, Muhammad touches on the critical issue that sets her apart from all the other fantastically talented, maniacally driven members of Team USA. The scarf covering her head is, above all, a deeply personal statement of her faith. But it is also a decidedly public signal of her beliefs: to supporters, it’s a sign of arrival; to detractors, it’s a mark of otherness. It is the reason millions of Americans are cheering for a sport that ranks somewhere below darts in the public consciousness.
“I was jumping up and down, and immediately starting texting friends and calling family members,” says Edina Lekovic of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, an advocacy organization. “This is such a moment of pride and progress, and there’s no going back.”
TIME Magazine
Foreign
Decimated Hezbollah says it is ready for cease-fire talks with Israel
Hezbollah said Tuesday it is now ready to engage in cease-fire talks with Israel, after suffering serious blows to its leadership and ranks in recent months.
The terror group in Lebanon made the announcement after firing more than 100 rockets at the Jewish state hours earlier.
Hezbollah’s deputy secretary general, Naim Qassem, publicly endorsed a truce with Israel, the first such time the terror group has proposed a cease-fire not conditioned on the war in Gaza.
“We support the political efforts led by [Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih] Berri under the banner of achieving a cease-fire,” Qassem said, according to a CNN translation.
“Once the cease-fire is firmly established and diplomacy can reach it, all other details will be discussed and decisions will be made collaboratively,” he added.
Qassem’s announcement came within hours of a massive barrage that sent more than 100 missiles soaring from Lebanon at Israel’s northern city of Haifa, the third-largest metropolis in the Jewish state.
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“Absolutely Clueless And Easily The Worst Manager I Played Under” — Mikel Obi Blasts Sunday Oliseh; Blames Him For Vincent Enyeama’s Early Retirement
He said’ “I remember the first day he came into the camp. Then we reported to the camp for International duties, then he came straight at me and Vincent Enyeama, the goalkeeper, who also was very powerful back then.”
“He came straight at us and Elderson Echiejile, and he said a few things. He said he heard there was a lot of player power with us.
“Then Enyeama was like, ‘What’s wrong with you? Where are you getting all of these from? We are a nice group, and you just come in, and the first thing is to attack us?
“He was like ‘I heard about you guys.’ And then Enyeama stood up and told him he couldn’t say that because we had been here for so many years. They started arguing, and literally, they were going to have a fight.
“He took Enyeama out of the team, and he came at us saying he was going to take us out of the team. He said he was going to take us out of the team; he said he was going to make sure we didn’t play anymore.”
“Enyeama could not take it, and despite my pleas, he left the camp angrily and never came back.”
“He (Oliseh) had absolutely no clue of how a manager is. He was a fantastic guy in his playing days, but as a coach, he was very terrible. He had no clue what he was doing.
“The players never understood anything he was doing, and he did not know what he was doing. He was just confused because he just came in and destroyed the team’s togetherness.
“His excuse when he got fired was that the people and FA did voodoo on him not to succeed. He was easily the worst manager I played under.
“He was so bitter with everybody, jealous with everybody, and had no respect for speaking to anybody, whether the physio or anybody,” he added.
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“She Took Care Of My Son When I Left To UK To Give Birth To My Twins” — Kindhearted Nigerian Woman Rewards Her Housemaid With Canada Sponsorship
A Nigerian lady identified as Lioness Eze wrote: “Miracle is her name
She was a maid to me.
She’s here in Canada to do her first degree in IT innovation ( I’m her full sponsor). She’s 20
She took care of my son when I left to UK to put to bed to my twins. My son never for one day felt I wasn’t around him.
Each time my son asks of where the dad is, she’s always there for him to make sure no vacuum at all
When we relocated to Canada, I started pursuing her greener pastures.
I applied for her degree program into same university as mine in Ontario. She got the admission, I started applying for her visa, she was denied first time. But she was granted visa the second time and was given 3 years visa to study in Canada.
She has arrived😁😁 pictures bellow
She even traveled with us to UK for summer 😁
Isn’t her name speaking for her?(Miracle)
NB : she calls me mommy, ( her biological mother is late) she’s my older daughter now, anywhere U see her, tap her back and tell her she’s really a miracle to her generation
GRACE GOD has given me which is unique from others is, you can’t be around me and remain same. If you are around me and your life never changes, it means you need to change ur attitude.”
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