The following is a transcript of a story that aired Nov. 26, 2024 on WPR’s “Wisconsin Today.”
(Sound of playing basketball in a gym)
Salam Stars’ senior Aamina Farooq: I’m playing from Muslim school, and it’s an all-girls team, and we’ve gone pretty far. We’ve won games, we’ve won conference championships. It kind of shows we’re at the same level as other people.
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Producer Mackenzie Krumme: That’s Aamina Farooq. She’s a high school senior at the Salaam School District in Milwaukee. The girls’ basketball team is one of the first all-Muslim, hijab-wearing basketball teams in the country.
And tonight, I’m watching a match between the current players and the alumni. One player told me people assume she isn’t aggressive on the court because she’s Muslim, and I did not get that impression.
Junior Maysem Abubaker: We’re faster than them right now, they look like old granny running up and down the court. There’s very few people who can actually handle the balls and dribble.
Krumme: The basketball team is part of the Salam School district, a private prep school on Milwaukee’s south side. It is one of the largest Muslim schools in the U.S., with enrollment of more than 1,000 students from kindergarten to 12th grade.
The team became well known around the nation starting in 2019 after they went from a team that casually practiced and occasionally won to highly competitive two-time conference champs.
(Team yelling, ‘Stars on 3.. 1, 2, 3 STARS”)
Krumme: Recently, award-winning author Hena Khan wrote a graphic novel about the students. Her novels center Pakistani Americans and Muslim characters. It’s called “We Are Big Time.”
The entire team and supporters from the school attended a launch in Milwaukee. I asked what they thought of it.
Senior Aseel Ishtaiwi: I really liked the way, like, there was, like, representation. You don’t see that a lot, especially with books, and I’m a big reader myself, so seeing that just like… because I lived some of the things that were going on in the book, and it was just like, ‘wow.’ A ‘wow’ moment that other people can see this book or pick it up, read it and just know more about us and what we do here.
Krumme: Their coach Kassidi Macak was there. She is a former basketball player and started coaching in 2016 and took the team to another level.
Coach Kass, as she is known, doesn’t identify as Muslim, but says she has learned a lot from being at the school. She can sometimes recite the Arabic prayers heard through the loudspeakers, even if she can’t understand them.
(Call to prayer)
Macak: I was listening to prayer the other day, like the call for prayer, and I was like, I don’t know Arabic at all, but I can remember how it sounds. I don’t know what they’re saying but I know what comes next.
Krumme: But right now, their minds are focused on the game. The alumni who are wearing black score first, but then the Salam Stars wearing pink are starting to get hot. This game is intense. The Salam Stars have never won in the alumni game before.
Krumme: Will you tell me what’s happening right now?
Player: It’s a very close game. 36-30. Stars are winning. We’re winning. She made a very, very good layup.
Krumme: OK, nice. And if you guys win, this will be your first win against the alumni?
Player: Yes, it will be our first to win, which is so exciting. We’ve been wanting to win, especially because it’s our seniors’ last year. We had some very important seniors on the team.
Krumme: But the team sends in the freshmen.
Abubaker: So that should be interesting, but it’s exciting I think.
Krumme: Only got 30 seconds left.
Abubaker: Yeah, I don’t know. I don’t think they can’t sell the lead. No, they can’t. They got it. They can’t maintain possession. I believe in them.
Krumme: It’s a very close game. The last few seconds are coming down to a single shot.
(Sound of the last seconds of the basketball game, the winning shot and cheering from players)
Macak: Thank you, everyone for coming. This is the first year the current team has beaten the alumni. 49-47 (after being) tied at half.
Krumme: To watch the players in action, their first home game is Nov. 26. Center Aseel Ishtaiwi says anyone who likes basketball can enjoy the Stars.
Ishtaiwi: On the court, it’s just strictly basketball. I just feel like I’m seen for a player, rather than like Muslim and all that. And I like that better. Like, when it’s on the court, it’s just out there.
(Game buzzer)
