Muslim Women in the Olympics

Two Saudi women are competing.  Although it hasn't been easy for them.  One lives in the USA, the other has to train in private.  And they're getting hate mail for even competing.

Afghanistan has a female sprinter.  So does Brunei.  The female shooter from Qatar carried the flag.

It's about time more women from the Islamic world competed in sports.  There is no reason for them not to!  Many of these women follow Islamic dress codes when they compete, so why do so many Muslim men want to stop them?

Sexy Australian Hurdler

By now you've probably all seen this video - the sexy hurdler from Australia doing a little dance before the race.  This is the link that showed up on my Yahoo! page.  What I found amusing is that if you look in the top right corner, you can see what looks like the Al-Jazeera logo.

Women's News December 20, 2011

Slide show and article on women in the Muslim Brotherhood.

A cute article about Coaching Women's Basketball in Qatar.

Female drivers in Kabul, Afghanistan, and why we should listen to Afghan women.

Women's News November 3, 2011

Women in Tunisia are demonstrating for women's rights.  They are concerned because an Islamist party won the election.

Apparently there are few women pictured in advertisements in Jerusalem.  A group is trying to change that by hanging up posters of volunteer women.  The group thinks that advertisers are self-censoring ads because they're worried the ultra-Orthodox Jews will complain and cause problems.

You may remember the Iranian women's soccer team had to forfeit their Olympic bid because FIFA would not let them wear headscarves.  It looks like FIFA has finally changed its mind and will now allow women to wear headscarves.

Ramadan in America

You may have seen this already, but I thought it worth mentioning.  A Muslim teenager in Florida is observing Ramadan while he practices football.  And it is very hot and humid in Florida.  It would be really easy to either give up football or simply not observe Ramadan, but he's choosing to do both.

Women's News June 24, 2011 - UPDATE

The American Muslim woman weightlifter who wanted to compete in hijab has won her appeal.  The International Weighlifting Federation decided than she can compete in hijab and full unitard.

Women's News June 14, 2011

Quite a bit has been happening lately.


Bahraini woman Ayat al-Qurmezi has been sentenced to jail time for writing and reading poetry that "incited hatred against the regime."

A Kuwaiti woman who burned down her husband's wedding tent when he tried to marry a second wife, which killed 57 women and children, has been sentenced to death.  

A Pakistani-American who became a weight-lifter is trying to get permission to compete in the hijab.  Weight-lifters usually wear form-fitting clothing, but she can't, for religious reasons.


In a previous post I discussed how Muslim women are trying to compete in beauty pageants and I mentioned Miss Turkey and a woman who hopes to be Miss UK.  I just wanted to point out that the current Miss USA is a Muslim woman originally from Lebanon.

Qatar gets 2022 World Cup: Update V

The president of UEFA (Union of European Football Agencies) is giving his opinion for the 2022 World Cup to be held all over the Gulf, not just in Qatar.  He's already suggested moving it to the winter months in Qatar.  And as I posted earlier, the president of FIFA has met with representatives from some Gulf countries who are interested in helping out Qatar.

Qatar gets 2022 World Cup: Update IV

Now the president of FIFA is weighing in, saying that the World Cup will probably be in January, instead of over the summer.  He's in Qatar right now for the Asian Cup.

Qatar gets 2022 World Cup: Update III

The FIFA player's union has joined calls for moving the 2022 World Cup to the winter months.  They cite the extreme heat and humidity of Qatari summers as their main concerns.

Qatar gets 2022 World Cup: Update II

There is a movement starting that thinks maybe the World Cup in Qatar should be held in December or January, when the weather is cooler.  This would mean changes to the European football schedule.  A plus for holding the Cup in winter is that different countries would be available for hosting, since winter in the northern hemisphere is summer in the southern hemisphere.  The president of FIFA also met with representatives for Oman, Bahrain, and Kuwait; these countries could help host the games.  Qatar would have to be the one requesting it though.

Qatar gets 2022 World Cup: Update I

I've been seeing a lot of articles in the US about how horrible it is that Qatar won the bid for World Cup in 2022 and it's really getting on my nerves.  There have been 19 World Cups so far.  In 2010, the first one was held in Africa.  In 2002, the first one was held in Asia, in Korea and Japan.  Otherwise, all of the World Cups have been held in Europe or Latin America, plus the US in 1994.  In my mind, this seems to deny half the world the opportunity to have a World Cup in their country or region.  Which is why I'm getting so irritated at these articles blasting Qatar and FIFA.

Let me reply to some of the complaints listed in the Yahoo! article I linked to above.

1) "heat, which will force fans and players to endure temperatures soaring over 100 degrees during the tournament."
Yes, because it's not hot in the southern US where the 1994 World Cup was held.  Oh wait, it is.  I watched that World Cup.  It was very hot, and in the southern US it's also very humid.  In Qatar, it's not as humid.  And yes, there is a big difference between dry heat and humid heat.

2) "impracticality of hosting a global event in a nation with only one major city"
As long as their airport has the capacity, and there are enough hotels, I don't see the problem.  One could even make the case that the teams and fans won't have to travel as much when they play.  Qatar is bordered by Saudi Arabia and the sea, so there won't be much foreign travel from there (SA).  But I could see Bahrain and the UAE picking up tourism and helping to transport them to the games.

3) "security risks of staging it in the midst of a politically unstable region"
Really?  Considering how many World Cups have been held in Central and South America, you're going to trot out security?  Qatar is a stable country in the Middle East.  They're one of the only Middle Eastern countries to have an Israeli trade office.

4) "Qatar’s political alliance with Iran"
Qatar is located directly across maybe 40 miles of water from Iran.  Most of the Gulf States are.  Qatar and Iran have an economic relationship, and Qatar believes Iran should be able to use "peaceful nuclear technology."  Oh no!  If they don't condemn Iran, I guess that means they're evil!


5) "Qatari women still suffering from routine sexual discrimination"
At least this is a valid argument.  Although Qatar is making inroads into equality, and hopefully will soon have elections for the Majlis al-Shura.

To me, this just sounds like sour grapes.  If Australia had won the bid, I don't see this much reaction from the US about it.  But how dare some pipsqueak little Arab country that we have to protect win it instead of us.

Qatar gets 2022 World Cup

And as you can imagine, the Qataris are ecstatic.  They are the first Middle Eastern country to host the World Cup and beat out the US, Australia, South Korea, and Japan.  More info on the bidding process.  Personally, I think it's about time a Middle Eastern country got the bid, considering how big football (soccer) is there.

Saudi Sportswomen

Yes, Muslim women do participate in sports. Of course, in Saudi Arabia, they have to do it unofficially. I think women should be allowed to participate as much as they want. If they are strict Muslims, they can cover up and still participate, except for events like swimming. But I cannot understand why some scholars still don't think women should be allowed in sports. This BBC article suggests that perhaps Saudi women will be allowed in the Olympics in London, if the right people suggest that the men might not be allowed to compete without them.