Photo Courtesy of MSA, Provided by Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir
By Emily Tarinelli ’25
Sports Editor
Despite the chilly evening air, students from Mount Holyoke and Smith Colleges bustled with warmth and excitement in the New York Room of Mary Woolley Hall on March 3. Dinnertime chatter cascaded from table to table. Moments later, the event of the night, “A Dunk in Faith,” commenced.
The Mount Holyoke Muslim Student Association, in partnership with the Association of Pan-African Unity, the Mount Holyoke African and Carribean Student Association, the Mount Holyoke Athlete Empowerment Coalition and the Smith College Al-Iman, welcomed Muslim former NCAA basketball star Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir, who paved the way for religious equity in the sport.
The event opened with a screening of the trailer for Abdul-Qaadir’s documentary film, “Life Without Basketball,” which was released in 2018 and is available on streaming services. Abdul-Qaadir then spoke to students about her struggle to find solace in her religion while playing basketball, and how she succeeded in finding peace in her faith after many years. Lastly, she answered questions from the attendees.
According to Book a Muslim, an organization of Muslim speakers and artists, Abdul-Qaadir shone in both academics and sports growing up. As a high school student, she attended New Leadership Charter School in Springfield, Massachusetts and graduated as the valedictorian. She shattered both the boys’ and girls’ state records, scoring 3,070 points over the course of her high school career.
Abdul-Qaadir went on to receive a full scholarship from the University of Memphis, where she played Division I basketball from 2009 to 2013. During this time, she was the first woman to wear a hijab in a NCAA Division I basketball game, CNN reported. Her achievements granted her awards and recognition from various people and organizations, such as former President Barack Obama and the United States Basketball Writers Association, according to Book a Muslim.
Abdul-Qaadir aspired to play professionally, but due to a policy set by the International Basketball Federation that banned the use of head coverings in play, her dream was all but shattered, CNN reported.
“They told me the league wanted to keep the game of basketball religiously neutral,” Abdul-Qaadir told CNN. “When we asked them why athletes who have religious tattoos, like crosses or biblical scriptures, were allowed to play, they then turned it into how hijab[s] weren’t allowed because it was a safety hazard.”
Abdul-Qaadir fought FIBA and filed a petition against its policy in 2014, as reported by CNN. Because of her advocacy, FIBA lifted its ban on headscarves in 2017, effectively allowing religious headscarves such as the hijab, the turban and the kippot to be worn in play, according to VICE Sports.
While the elimination of the ban allowed Abdul-Qaadir to pursue a career in professional basketball, she ultimately chose not to take that path. At “A Dunk in Faith,” she explained why she made this decision.
“People always ask me, ‘Why didn’t you play?’” she said. “And I’m like, ‘Because I feel like I have more impact by sharing my struggles and … speaking to young women or girls or people in general about what I went through, because we need it.’”
At the event, Abdul-Qaadir also spoke about her journey in reconciling Islam with basketball, sharing moments of joy, struggle and love for both her faith and her sport.
“Honestly … I feel like right now, [basketball and faith] are one,” she said. “I was able to figure out what basketball brought to my faith and what faith brought to my basketball.”
Mount Holyoke MSA board member Nafeesah Ahmed-Adedoja ’23 was touched by her words.
“I felt like I learned how to feel empowered through my faith,” Ahmed-Adedoja said. “Throughout the entire speech I was kind of tearing up just because there are so many things that I think that many of us here can relate to … like being in hard times, and also just struggling.”
“For me, as I am a Muslim … and someone who does wear hijabs, I think that it’s so important for people who also wear hijabs to share their struggles, because I think that everyone has been through them,” Ahmed-Adedoja continued. “Even if you don’t wear a hijab or you don’t have a faith, I think that she made it so clear that you always need that anchor. And so, for me, I think it’s kind of renewed my link and my passion for my faith.”
Abdul-Qaadir spoke about her motivation to share her story.
“Even though I’m standing up here in front of a podium, I think of it as the mic being my basketball, the podium being my court, and in a way, my words being the point scored,” Abdul-Qaadir said. “So, I still teach basketball. I still can play. The fact that I’m proud to teach young Muslim girls how to play and to build that confidence on and off the court through sport is what revives why I do what I do, day in and day out.”