Basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar spoke Thursday night at the Milwaukee Theatre about how the Muslim community has changed from his time in the NBA to now.
Abdul-Jabbar played for the Bucks for six years in the 1970s. When he first arrived in Milwaukee, it took people a while to warm up to him because he is Muslim, he said. But there has been a shift in acceptance since his playing days.
Milwaukee Bucks’ Kareem Abdul-Jabbar shows the form on his hook shot that the Los Angeles Lakers couldn’t stop in their NBA Western Division playoff game in Los Angeles on April 5, 1974. George Brich/AP Photo
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“People have to evolve and communities have to evolve,” Abdul-Jabbar said. “So, the Muslim community here, wow, it’s grown so much. There was never this sized Muslim community in Milwaukee when I was here in the ’70s.”
Abdul-Jabbar credits learning how to deal with being 7 feet tall in high school as one of the reasons he was so comfortable with being a Muslim in a city like Milwaukee.
He said the Islamic faith is often misunderstood in America, and it’s important for people to continue to raise awareness about what the religion is truly about. He said Islam in America is under attack, and it’s important people’s ignorance about the religion is met with facts.
“If you can present the facts in a way that’s not threatening and not hostile and show that you have an understanding of what the reality is, people will listen to you, and they will appreciate the fact that you’re trying to build bridges,” Abdul-Jabbar said.
Abdul-Jabbar said it’s important people realize American and Islamic values are compatible.
He said it hasn’t yet been determined whether or not Muslims are given a fair chance to show who they are before being judged because of their religious beliefs.
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