Bilqis Abdul-Qadir (Turkish: Belkis Abdulkadir(born November 11, 1990 in Springfield, Massachusetts) is an American former college basketball player. She attracted attention by playing basketball while wearing the headscarf worn by Muslim women.
Abdul-Qaadir scored 3,070 points in his high school career, setting the record for all-time leading scorer in Massachusetts. He played college basketball for four years at the University of Memphis. After completing his college basketball career at Indiana State University, he served as a graduate assistant on the team.
Abdul-Qaadir was born on November 11, 1990, in Springfield, Massachusetts, to Tariq and Alooah Abdul-Qaadir.[1] His brother, Yusuf Abdul-Ali, played basketball at Bentley College and earned his school’s two-time NCAA Division II title. He was instrumental in the league qualifying for the Final Four.[2]
Abdul-Qaadir, along with his cousins Barakah and Vanessa, thought basketball would be a part of his life from a young age. His love for the game grew after he was first introduced to a ball at a local YMCA when he was four years old. Abdul-Qaadir, who grew up in a Muslim family, adopted her religious beliefs as she grew up and started wearing the hijab, the traditional cover of Muslim women.
Abdul-Qaadir began playing college basketball at New Leadership Charter School in eighth grade. She reached 1,000 career points as a freshman, becoming the third player in Massachusetts history to do so, joining Rebecca Lobo and Kelsey O’Keefe. He completed his high school career with 3,070 points, breaking the 2,740-point record set by Lobo, who played high school basketball one year longer than him and started his university career in the seventh grade.[3][4]
Abdul-Qaadir was named the 2009 Massachusetts Gatorade Player of the Year after averaging 42 points per game as a senior.[5] In his final game in high school, Abdul-Qaadir scored 51 of his team’s 56 points.[6] He graduated from New Leadership Charter School as an honor student.[kaynak belirtilmeli]
Abdul-Qaadir received a full scholarship to the University of Memphis, where he played for four years from 2009-13. He graduated magna cum laude from Memphis with a degree in exercise science. While playing in Memphis, his teammates called him Qisi.[kaynak belirtilmeli]
As a freshman, Abdul-Qaadir tore his anterior cruciate ligaments in the preseason and was unable to redshirt the 2009-2010 season. Abdul-Qaadir, who played in 34 matches in the 2010-2011 season, produced an average of 3.9 points and 1.3 rebounds per game. This season was the first season in NCAA history where a player played with a headscarf.[7] Abdul-Qaadir was awarded the “Most Courageous” award by the US Basketball Writers Association at the NCAA Women’s Final Four in recognition of being the first Muslim woman in NCAA history.[kaynak belirtilmeli] She was invited to the White House and recognized by President Barack Obama for being the first Muslim woman to play covertly in college basketball.[8]
Abdul-Qaadir increased his points per game average from 3.9 to 7.8 during the 2011-2012 season and became the third Tiger point guard to dish out more than 100 assists in a single season. He set a team record by making 26 consecutive free throws during the regular season.
Abdul-Qaadir could only play in 25 matches in the 2012-2013 season due to breaking his ankle early in the season. He averaged 10.6 points and 3.2 rebounds per game.[9]
After graduating from the University of Memphis, Abdul-Qaadir spent his senior season at Indiana State University. He was named the Conference’s Best Newcomer in the 2013-2014 season and played a key role in helping the Sycamores reach the Missouri Valley Conference championship. Abdul-Qaadir was the team’s 10th player in single-season scoring (454) and was named a First-Team All-MVC and Second-Team Scholar Athlete. In total, he earned seven Player of the Conference, Newcomer and Scholar Athlete of the Week honors. Abdul-Qaadir worked as a graduate assistant for the Indiana State women’s basketball team during the 2014-2015 season.
Source:[10]
| Legend | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABOUT | Match played | BM | Top 5 starts | MBD | The match is on. min |
| A% | Face shot. | 3S% | 3 count face. | in % | Free throw face. |
| MBR | The match is on. rib. | MBA | The match is on. assist | MBTC | The match is on. steal the ball |
| MBB | The match is on. block | MBS | The match is on. number | bold text | career record |
| Year | Set | ABOUT | Number | A% | 3S% | in % | MBR | MBA | MBTC | MBB | MBS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009-10 | Memphis | Medical redshirt[11] | |||||||||
| 2010-11 | Memphis | 34 | 131 | 33.1% | 18.8% | 78.7% | 1.3 | 1.2 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 3.9 |
| 2011-12 | Memphis | 33 | 258 | 38.9% | 32.4% | 72.7% | 3.2 | 3.4 | 2.4 | 0.1 | 7.8 |
| 2012-13 | Memphis | 25 | 265 | 39.0% | 38.6% | 84.3% | 3.2 | 2.5 | 2.2 | 0.2 | 10.6 |
| 2013-14 | Indiana State | 32 | 454 | 39.6% | 30.7% | 77.3% | 2.8 | 4.4 | 1.9 | 0.1 | 14.2 |
| Career | 124 | 1108 | 38.5% | 32.4% | 77.9% | 2.6 | 2.9 | 1.8 | 0.1 | 8.9 | |
Abdul-Qaadir’s hopes of continuing to play professionally in Europe were quickly dashed when he learned of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) rule banning headgear larger than five inches. Abdulkadir, who did not want to deviate from his beliefs, requested exemption from the rule. She put aside her dream of playing professionally and began working to pave the way for other Muslim women in sports. FIBA ruled in his favor in 2017.[12]
Abdul-Qaadir started an online campaign called “Let Muslim Girls Play Basketball Too” to raise awareness of Muslim women in sports, especially female basketball players. She travels the world to empower young women to stay true to themselves while using physical activity and basketball as a platform.[13] Through his campaign, Abdul-Qaadir was once again invited to the White House for the Muslim Leaders Meeting in March 2015 and was one of 15 representatives to meet with President Obama and his senior officials.[14] She was invited to the 2015 White House Easter Egg Roll, where she helped raise awareness about physical activity as part of the First Lady’s “Let’s Move” campaign.[15]
Abdul-Qaadir resides in London, Ontario, where she opened a basketball practice gym with her husband, Abdulwaahid Massey, and her son.[16]
- 2009 Massachusetts Gatorade Player of the Year
- Western Massachusetts Player of the Year
- Boston Globe All-Dream Team
- Massachusetts Scoring Record
- ESPN High School National Hall of Fame
- Graduated first in his class
- C-USA Commissioner’s Hall of Fame (2010, 2011, 2012)
- Tiger 3.0 Club (2009, 2010. 2011, Fall 2012)
- Dean’s List (Fall 2009, Fall 2011, Fall 2012)
- C-USA Academic Medal (2010)
- C-USA All-Academic Team (2013)
In 2009, Abdul-Qaadir was invited to the White House by President Barack Obama for Eid al-Fitr. The President said how inspiring Abdul-Qaadir was as she was both an honors student and an athlete and an inspiration not only to Muslim girls but to everyone in the world today. He also joked that he wanted to have a 1v1 match with him.[17]
Abdul-Qaadir was one of 14 American Muslims invited to a closed-door meeting with President Barack Obama at the White House on February 4, 2015.
- ^ “10 Bilqis Abdul-Qadir”. GoTigersGo.com. University of Memphis. 18 June 2013 tarihinde from the source archived. Access date: 10 April 2013.
- ^ “Bilqis Abdul-Qadir”. SportingUmmah.com. LJ Web Management, Inc. 10 May 2013 tarihinde from the source archived. Access date: 12 May 2013.
- ^ Bevevino, Mike. “Springfield’s Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir finds fit, role with University of Memphis women’s basketball team”. Masslive.com. The Republican. Access date: 12 May 2013.
- ^ Nelson, Glenn. “Worth the Wait”. ESPN.com. ESPN Internet Ventures. Access date: 5 April 2013.
- ^ Sheikh, Amad. “Can Hijab and Basketball Co-exist? The Phenomenon of Bilqis Abdul-Qadir”. muslimmatters.org. Access date: 8 April 2013.
- ^ Roberts, Selena. “Enlightening the Clothes-Minded”. SI.com. Sports Illustrated. June 28, 2013 tarihinde from the source archived. Access date: 5 April 2013.
- ^ Calkins, Geoff. “Geoff Calkins: Muslim basketball player Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir prepares for first season with Memphis”. memphiscommercialappeal.com. Memphis Commercial Appeal. Access date: 8 April 2013.
- ^ “Take Obama’s hijab meaning ‘Belkıs’ as an example‘“. www.hurriyet.com.tr. 2009-09-03. Access date: 2024-11-26.
- ^ “Bilqis Abdul-Qadir”. digitaleditions.com. Access date: 12 May 2013.
- ^ “NCAA Statistics”. web1.ncaa.org. Access date: 2024-11-26.
- ^ “Bilqis Abdul-Qadir – 2012-13 – Women’s Basketball”. University of Memphis Athletics (English). Access date: 2021-06-09.
- ^ “Bilqis Abdul-Qadir | NCAA.com”. www.ncaa.com (English). Access date: 2024-05-09.
- ^ Birenbaum, Gabby (2018-02-22). “Bilqis Abdul-Qadir speaks at Northwestern during Discover Islam Week”. The Daily Northwestern. Access date: 2024-05-09.
- ^ “Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir Accepts Invitation to Attend White House Meeting”. Indiana State University Athletics (English). 2015-02-02. Access date: 2024-05-09.
- ^ “White House Announces 2015 Easter Egg Roll Talent Line-up and Program”. whitehouse.gov (English). 2015-03-23. Access date: 2024-05-09.
- ^ Zandbergen, Rebecca. “She fought to give hijabs a place in basketball. Now she’s training Muslim girls in London, Ont”. CBC News. CBC.ca. Access date: 29 October 2020.
- ^ Sullivan, Bartholomew. “Lady Tigers’ Bilqis Abdul-Qadir joins Obama for Ramadan feast”. commercialappeal.com. The E.W. Scripps Co. Access date: 8 April 2013.
