SYLVANIA, Ohio — "Let Noor Run" is a movement started by a local 16-year-old who was initially disqualified from a race for wearing a hijab.
Friday, she brought in speakers from around the country in hopes to educate and inspire other young athletes.
Two other Hijabi athletes, a woman who spent two years fighting to be able to wear a hijab in the boxing ring, and another woman who was the first to wear a hijab as an NCAA basketball player joined her for a discussion on how to end religious discrimination in sports.
"It's really exciting to see that we have a platform and that there are enough Muslim athletes, dedicated Muslim athletes that we can have an event like this, that we can come together," athlete and coach Jennah Shah said.
Shah came down to Sylvania from Flint for the Let Noor Run kickoff event tonight She's a lifelong athlete playing soccer, running marathons and now becoming a coach.
"When they want to quit a sport because they're in hijab and you're there to guide them through the process, to show them you can do it, it doesn't matter what you're doing, what you're wearing what you look like, if anything, you'll come out stronger," Shah said.
Bilquis Abdul-Qaadir is an example of coming out stronger. She had to fight to be able to play NCAA basketball in a hijab, so Noor's story resonated with her.
"I honestly cried when I read the article," Abdul-Qaadir said.
Bilquis was hoping that by 2020, people wouldn't face the same issues she did nearly a decade ago, so she gives Noor a lot of credit for taking this issue on as a high school student.
"16, I wouldn't've been able to do it. I was faced with a few things, but nobody told me that I couldn't play. I was taunted, I was laughed at when I stepped on the court and I just used basketball as a way to be like 'look at me, I can score regardless of what I have on,'" Abdul-Qaadir said.
Amaiya Zafar was the other speaker Friday night. She spent years fighting to get the chance to box in a sanctioned international bout. It took two years of negotiations with US Boxing before being able to in 2019.
"I have a lot of girls in high school, they'll message me and say I want to play basketball, but I don't know if I can with my hijab on, I want to run track, I want to play soccer, I want to do this, I want to do Cheerleading, any of those things and I'm like 'go ahead! and if you got a problem, I got you, we're going to get it changed,'" Zafar said.