Sports

Female Muslim Weightlifter Makes History — Competes in a Full-Body Covering!

Female Muslim Weightlifter Makes History Competes in a Full Body Covering!

Kulsoom Abdullah, of Atlanta, competes during the national weightlifting championships on Friday in Council Bluffs, Iowa. She petitioned the International Weightlifting Federation to allow her to compete with her body fully covered in accordance with her Muslim faith. (Charlie Neibergall / AP)

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — Kulsoom Abdullah has become the first woman to compete in the U.S. weightlifting championships while wearing clothing that covers her legs, arms and head.

Abdullah was cleared to compete in accordance with her Muslim faith after the International Weightlifting Federation ruled two weeks ago that athletes could wear a full-body “unitard” under the customary weightlifting uniform.

Abdullah, a 35-year-old from Atlanta who weighs roughly 105 pounds, lifted before a small crowd Friday in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Wearing a flowing black hijab and matching top with a tan, long-sleeved undershirt and long black socks, Abdullah cleared a snatch of 41 kilograms, or just over 90 pounds, and 57 kilograms in the clean and jerk.

Abdullah finished fifth out of six competitors in her weight class.

Check out this interview with Abdullah after the IWF first cleared her to compete with a full-body covering.

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Comments (102)

1 2 3
  • Jack2011
    Posted on July 16, 2011 at 10:07am

    Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

    DON’T ANYONE tell the armless/legless girl and/or her parents below about weight-lifting because they will see ANOTHER opportunity to win the lottery by suing the school because she cannot get on the weight-lifting team.

    http://www.theblaze.com/stories/update-armless-legless-girl-allegedly-offered-compromise-on-cheerleading-but-parents-refused/

    Report Post »  
    • Jack2011
      Posted on July 16, 2011 at 10:11am

      and Shhhhhhhhh!

      SARCASM

      don’t tell this muslim girl about that legless/armless girl’s lawsuit in not being picked for the cheer-leading squad or this muslim girl may sue that school because she can’t wear her head to toe burka as a cheerleading outfit.

      Report Post »  
    • G3L
      Posted on July 16, 2011 at 10:26am

      Who cares sick of hearing about Muslims.

      Report Post »  
    • jb.kibs
      Posted on July 16, 2011 at 12:44pm

      why are we defining people based on their religion? isn’t that seperatism?

      how about? women lifts weights with clothes on?

      Report Post »  
    • mutslie
      Posted on July 16, 2011 at 1:21pm

      I‘d rather watch the American womens soccer team any day ’they are fantastic maybe beat Japan t’mor in the world game, ‘hope so good luck to them
      Anything muszslums do gives me ‘the sheite’s hope she dropped it on her hejub………………………………..THNIK

      Report Post »  
    • robert
      Posted on July 17, 2011 at 11:38am

      After all that hassle about keeping fully covered, it would be quite a laugh if this woman became so currupted by Western values she ended up getting a job as a pole dancer in a nude bar.

      Report Post »  
  • julia
    Posted on July 16, 2011 at 10:03am

    This is actually a good thing, before people start getting mad at the dress code for this, think about it, a muslim woman, acutally being able to compete in something she likes, this would’nt be allowed in the muslim countries, if anything she probably pissed them off, this is unreal, I’m happy for her

    Report Post »  
  • Southernguy
    Posted on July 16, 2011 at 9:59am

    Who cares? Dang, Blaze, don’t waste space with this kind of crap.

    Report Post » Southernguy  
    • Rational Man
      Posted on July 16, 2011 at 10:09am

      MAKES HISTORY???……This is meant to be funny……..right?
      Ya, the liberal educators will drop George Washington from the history books and add this ground breaking, life changing, defining moment in American history……..what a joke!!!
      Maybe I’m a little grouchy this morning, but that is one face they could have left covered up too!

      Report Post » Rational Man  
  • rienheart
    Posted on July 16, 2011 at 9:49am

    They can Call Islam a Religion All Day Every Day But it does not make it a Religion. It is a Government Institution that uses Religion as a Way to control It’s People. It Is NOT a Religion. There is NO Separation between The Government and Religious Indoctrination. They can Pray 50 times a Day, but IT IS still a Government RUN Intity.
    This is THE Reason Islam DOES NOT belong in America. It is a Government Institution and is by their own law intent of overthrowing The CONSTITUTION and Taking over America BY FORCE. Conversion to their Government Policies is Their Goal.
    SUBJUGATION of ALL AMERICANS IS THE END GAME!! KILLING ALL NON-BELIEVERS and INFIDELS is Their POLICY By GOVERNMENT SANCTION!!!
    WAKE UP AMERICA!!! THEY LIE!!!
    THEY WILL NOT STOP UNTIL THEY ACHIEVE THEIR GOAL!!!

    Report Post »  
    • manny5717
      Posted on July 16, 2011 at 12:29pm

      who gives a crap about an ugly muslim dressed in ugly garb….let her go back to saudi arabia, where she can roast in that stupid outfit….this religion is made up of losers.. kick them all out of our country!

      Report Post »  
    • Don Logan
      Posted on July 16, 2011 at 3:21pm

      Manny5717- Why would she go ‘back’ to Saudi Arabia? She was born In America and is an American citizen?

      Report Post »  
  • fastfacts
    Posted on July 16, 2011 at 9:48am

    IF THE RULES LET HER DO THAT, THEN IT IS FINE, BUT THE CHANGING TO SUIT MAY BE THE PROBLEM…

    I remember France and their new rules against the hijab. They banned it because of security reasons. Some say it is because of race but playing the race card doesn‘t mean it’s right.

    Look at our congresswoman use the race card to explain why the GOP doesn’t want to work with Obama: http://url2it.com/fsjk . Just because she plays the race card doesn’t make it right.

    Report Post »  
  • Jack2011
    Posted on July 16, 2011 at 9:38am

    It would be hard to tell if she is injecting male hormones because she is covered up.

    If the school doesn’t test already, it will have to or a cheating muslim could easily win everytime as no one could see the obvious body changes on a woman taking male hormones IF she is covered head to toe.

    Report Post »  
  • whatthecrazy
    Posted on July 16, 2011 at 9:27am

    happystrechedthin theproblem is the woman said she would fight to change our rules Get it

    Report Post »  
    • Jack2011
      Posted on July 16, 2011 at 9:40am

      if a muslim woman is advanced enough to lift weights which is traditionally a male sport, she should be able to be advanced enough to ditch the burkka?

      Report Post »  
  • PleaseStartBrainb4engagingmouth
    Posted on July 16, 2011 at 9:16am

    hope she took her clothes off to shower afterwards.. and this is news worthy of what? if weight lifters are such PC wimps it doesnt matter a hill of beans to me…

    Report Post »  
    • Jack2011
      Posted on July 16, 2011 at 10:03am

      Forget bathing. I wonder if she uses her left hand to wipe her a$$ like they do in the Middle East. If so, I wouldn’t want to touch any weights after her.

      Report Post »  
  • njconserv
    Posted on July 16, 2011 at 9:16am

    If you cant compete as a real women , compete as a man

    Report Post »  
  • recklessprocess
    Posted on July 16, 2011 at 9:00am

    At least she took her mask off for the event.

    Report Post »  
  • eat-more-bacon-USA
    Posted on July 16, 2011 at 8:51am

    Terrorist-Weightlifting? How nice.

    Report Post » eat-more-bacon-USA  
  • ALISSTER
    Posted on July 16, 2011 at 8:51am

    Get ready for another bomb to go off.

    Report Post » ALISSTER  
  • mikenleeds
    Posted on July 16, 2011 at 8:43am

    that s one ugly woman

    Report Post » mikenleeds  
  • Gonzo
    Posted on July 16, 2011 at 8:23am

    Since when is a steroid infused muslim weight lifter “history making”? She “ finished fifth out of six competitors”! That term is thrown around way too loosely these days. I’m sick of hearing about how everything Obama does is “historic” in the MSM.

    Report Post » Gonzo  
    • notsofast
      Posted on July 16, 2011 at 8:54am

      You missed the point. It is not her it is the fact the the Weightlifting Federation changed the rules to accommodate her “religion”. This is another step chipping away at our rules, regulations and eventually laws. See article on UK today and what the Muslim wish to do there. Sharia Law is coming, being accommodated piece by piece.

      Report Post »  
    • Gonzo
      Posted on July 16, 2011 at 9:01am

      I didn’t miss the point, history is not made by a friggin rule change in some insignificant weight lifting league. Hit 800 home runs in a MLB career and I’ll give you historic.

      Report Post » Gonzo  
    • notsofast
      Posted on July 16, 2011 at 9:11am

      But a historic mark was reached. She was the first woman, first of any sex to compete in full body dress. That is the historic significant here.

      Report Post »  
    • Gonzo
      Posted on July 16, 2011 at 10:11am

      OK then, we just have far differing opinions of what rises to the level of historic.

      Report Post » Gonzo  
  • heavyduty
    Posted on July 16, 2011 at 8:22am

    If you can‘t compete like everyone else then you don’t compete. That’s the problem with this whole story. Doesn’t matter if she can lift 1500 lbs. If you can‘t compete like everyone else then you can’t compete.

    Report Post »  
  • itsmyfirstday
    Posted on July 16, 2011 at 8:13am

    5th out of 6??? In the words of Ricky Bobby…. IF YOUR NOT FIRST YOUR LAST!!!!!!

    fd

    Report Post » itsmyfirstday  
  • hannahh
    Posted on July 16, 2011 at 8:12am

    And I should be impressed because…

    Report Post »  
  • Jack2011
    Posted on July 16, 2011 at 8:10am

    She looks like she is wearing one of the long bathing suits from the 1900′s.

    Too bad she doesn’t cover her face.

    Report Post »  
  • Susie
    Posted on July 16, 2011 at 8:08am

    How do you know it really was a woman.
    Hard to tell these days without proof.

    Report Post »  
  • streetrodder
    Posted on July 16, 2011 at 8:07am

    @islesfordian If she is an American convert and this is her country why is she not converting?

    Report Post »  
    • Don Logan
      Posted on July 16, 2011 at 3:37pm

      She isn‘t an ’American convert’. She was born in America, ergo she’s American.

      Report Post »  
    • Islesfordian
      Posted on July 17, 2011 at 7:41am

      One does not “convert” to America. thus “American convert” naturally means an American who has converted, in this case ti Islam. If you had watched the video you would see that her accent is American. She grew up here and converted to Islam, maybe through marriage.

      Not that hard to figure out, really.

      Report Post » Islesfordian  
  • Gypsy123
    Posted on July 16, 2011 at 8:04am

    Muslims are here for one reason that is to spread Islam and make everyone else become Muslim. They do not want religious freedom for everyone just read their book.

    Report Post » Gypsy123  
    • notsofast
      Posted on July 16, 2011 at 9:00am

      They want no democracy, in any form at all. Islam is a form of governess . And it goes without saying that capitalism, and any independent thinking iare not tolerated.

      Report Post »  
  • michaelmoron
    Posted on July 16, 2011 at 7:58am

    I am a very honest person. So here it goes. I DO NOT like muslims !!! I know of no “moderate” or “extreme” muslims. I see nothing from these people to like. Barack Hussien Obummer says they have contributed to the World and America? Like what? They do nothing for me or my friends or anyone else I know. The only Muslims I know are the local convenience store owners.They have Crappy attitudes. They charge Double what the normal stores charge because the food stamps recipients don’t care what Items cost. Its not THEIR money. These Habbib 7-11s have Shopping carts. I have seen people fill these up. Pathetic.

    Report Post » michaelmoron  
    • loriann12
      Posted on July 16, 2011 at 8:13am

      Normally, I don’t have much contact with the Muslim world, beyond passing one in public. I had a very bad experience about a year ago. I was in the grocery store, coming in as a Muslim woman was coming out. I was wearing capri’s and a tank top, and she was covered head to toe. She was of the kind that left her face open, not just her eyes. She looked at me with such venum in her eyes, looking me down and then back up as if I were a whore trying to steal her husband. I was wondering how she got there, did she drive? Muslim women aren’t supposed to drive.

      Report Post »  
    • streetrodder
      Posted on July 16, 2011 at 8:21am

      There is a 7-11 up the block. It became corp. owned and muslims are now running it. I don’t go in there anymore.

      Report Post »  
    • julia
      Posted on July 16, 2011 at 10:08am

      Loriann that happened to me too, I live in a large muslim population, I myself am not muslim but I live in a suburb surrounded by them, google “Bridgview illinois” that will tell ya lol, any hoo I got the same thing done to me, I was also wearing a tank top and jeans, and the look this muslim woman gave me was unreal,not only did she look at me she continued to stare at me until they drove a way, I yelled “what” but that didnt move her, it was scary lol.

      Report Post »  
  • streetrodder
    Posted on July 16, 2011 at 7:53am

    The small crowd watching should have all gotten up and went home.

    Report Post »  
  • notreally
    Posted on July 16, 2011 at 7:52am

    8/09 APF Paris: Muslim women turned away from a swimming pool because she wore a burqini.
    Her response: “I will fight to try to change things.”

    Al Qaeda addressed the issue: “We are ready to take revenge for the honor of our daughters and sisters.”

    Islam is the most in-your-face religion on the planet.

    Report Post »  
    • notsofast
      Posted on July 16, 2011 at 9:08am

      And the women are the worst of all. Oh, no where in the Koran does it say these women are to be covered head to toe like.that. Yes, I have read the koran.

      Report Post »  
  • kickagrandma
    Posted on July 16, 2011 at 7:43am

    And, a bomb strapped to her body under all those clothes.

    Maybe in her country; not in ours!

    Go home. Now.

    Report Post »  
    • Islesfordian
      Posted on July 16, 2011 at 7:52am

      It’s fairly close fitting, which would preclude anything strapped underneath.

      Report Post » Islesfordian  
    • Islesfordian
      Posted on July 16, 2011 at 7:54am

      And in case it wasn’t obvious, she’s not an immigrant. Her accent is pure American. I gather she’s an American convert, so this IS her country.

      Report Post » Islesfordian  
    • streetrodder
      Posted on July 16, 2011 at 7:57am

      @islesfordian. I think you missed the point. Why does the whole world have to kiss muslim asses?

      Report Post »  
    • HappyStretchedThin
      Posted on July 16, 2011 at 8:46am

      Streetfodder,
      I think you‘re the one who doesn’t get it. What is it about the clothes you wear that makes you able or unable to lift weights? If there’s clothing that makes it hard to move, or unsafe to lift, that’s a valid reason to ban it. Anything else is just baseless imposition. Let the woman be free to dress, worship, speak, and in all other ways express herself and compete with the rest of us any way she chooses that’s fair and safe. This IS America, after all, no?

      Report Post » HappyStretchedThin  
    • duckman1911
      Posted on July 16, 2011 at 9:31am

      @STREETRODDER… Im with you buddy. the others are viewing this as one small issue and they arent seeing the big picture. muslims will ruin our country one small issue at a time and most wont notice until we are europe and then they’ll wonder how we let it happen. ISLESFORDIAN and HAPPYSTRETCHEDTHIN think of it like a penny. a penny is a small issue but if a take enough of your pennies i will have one of your dollars. its the same way the gov. is killing the constitution. one small law at a time and no one will mind. thats how they think

      Report Post » duckman1911  
    • streetrodder
      Posted on July 16, 2011 at 9:39am

      @Happystrechedthin. No i dont think you get it. She is free to dress worship and speak any way she wants. By your standards if a muslim is a pro baseball player or a pro football player or any other sport they should be allowed to dress any way they want? You are right this is America so don’t shove the muslim relegion down our throats.

      Report Post »  
    • streetrodder
      Posted on July 16, 2011 at 9:44am

      @Duckman1911 Well said. Happystretchedthin will wake up one day and wonder WTF happened to America, unless he or she is a muslim.

      Report Post »  
    • Islesfordian
      Posted on July 16, 2011 at 9:57am

      @Streetrodder,
      WHOSE point? The story‘s point or Kickagrandma’s point? I merely corrected two erroneous assumptions. I made no other points besides that. If you bothered to take the time you would have know what my thoughts are regarding the dangers of Islam and the dubious nature of its moderate face.

      You people need to stop being such reactionary pinheads who mischaracterize everything others say because they don’t make the points you want to make, when you want to make them, and in the words you want to make them.

      Report Post » Islesfordian  
    • streetrodder
      Posted on July 16, 2011 at 11:50am

      @Islesfordain Who’s point, Happystrechedthin is who i was answering. I wrote his or her handle.

      Report Post »  
    • Islesfordian
      Posted on July 17, 2011 at 7:38am

      @streetrodder
      “@Islesfordain Who’s point, Happystrechedthin is who i was answering. I wrote his or her handle.”

      This is your first comment in the line.

      “@islesfordian. I think you missed the point. Why does the whole world have to kiss muslim asses?”

      I fail to see how you can miss your own comment, especially since it was your first there

      Report Post » Islesfordian  
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