Asalaamu alaikum,

Ummah Sports is a publication that focuses on Muslim athletes, the intersection of sports and Islam, and health and fitness in the Muslim community. The word Ummah is Arabic for community. It is often used in reference to the worldwide community of Muslim brothers and sisters.

Ummah Sports is not exclusively for Muslims, however, nor is it exclusively for sports fans. If you know nothing about Islam or nothing about sports — and if you’re curious about either — my hope is that you can still take something educational and/or entertaining away from this content.

Ummah Sports includes features and news on Muslim athletes, profiles on people in the Muslim community who have a connection to sports, opinion columns that take an Islamic perspective on everyday sports issues, opinion columns on issues in sports that involve Islam and Muslims, and fitness and nutrition advice unique to those who live by Islamic principles.

Now, about that “Muslim athletes” part.

There will come a time or two or twelve when, inevitably, I get it wrong and identify an athlete as Muslim who actually is not. My intention is not to offend anyone by giving them a label they do not want, but it’s often tough to confirm a person’s religion without a 1-on-1 conversation. And for high-profile athletes who understandably want to keep private whatever vestiges of a private life they have left, it can be more of a challenge than cracking the code on your typical Facebook user who lives life as an open book.

In lieu of that 1-on-1 conversation to confirm or refute, I try to rely on credible sources and my best judgment. So if you know of an athlete who is Muslim that has not been covered here, feel free to let me know. And if you believe an athlete who I’ve identified as Muslim is, in fact, not practicing Islam, also let me know.

What I can say is that the athletes featured on Ummah Sports are either confirmed Muslims, or I have a very good reason to believe they are Muslim. And if they’re not, well, it’s like I say to those who still claim President Barack Obama is a closeted Muslim: “What’s wrong with being Muslim?”

-Amaar Abdul-Nasir Burton
Editor & Founder, UmmahSports.net
ummahsportsnet@gmail.com