From Abdul-Jabbar to Zidane, it’s fair to say that the ummah is spoiled when it comes to Muslim sports personalities. 

But while some stars have been championed by Muslim sports fans, there’s a whole squad of athletes out there who’ve been breaking barriers and records without much fanfare from the broader Muslim community.

In this listicle, I highlight four Muslim athletes who’ve made waves in their sports while also personifying the furu’ al-deen (branches of the Islamic religion.) To maintain diversity, I’ve selected a mix of retired and active athletes, and a maximum of one athlete per sport.

From a basketball champion to one of the world’s most exciting mixed martial artists, here are four professional athletes whose Islamic faith may come as a surprise to readers.

Dennis Schröder (Basketball)

The NBA has probably seen more Muslim athletes than any other major North American sports league, and one of those players carrying the banner of Islam today is Dennis Schröder of the Toronto Raptors.

The 30-year-old was born in Braunschweig, Germany, to a German father and a Gambian mother. He made his NBA debut for the Atlanta Hawks in the 2013-14 season, and has since played for the likes of the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics, among other teams.

Although Schröder’s bounced around in the NBA, he’s found some success as a key member of Germany’s national basketball team. He helped Germany finish 3rd in EuroBasket in 2022, which was their best finish in 17 years, and was named to the tournament all-star team.

Then, in 2023, he guided the national team to their first-ever FIBA World Cup win. He was again named to the competition’s all-star team, and won the 2023 FIBA World Cup MVP for averaging 17.9 points and 6.7 assists per game.

Islam is the largest religion in Gambia, so it may not be a surprise that the half-Gambian Schröder is Muslim. In a 2015 interview with the Associated Press, Schröder said he hasn’t noticed any hostility about his faith in Germany or the United States.

“I think a lot of people know that ISIS is not the same as Muslim people and that’s the reason I have no problems with fans or anybody,” he said.

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Nail Yakupov (Ice hockey)

Nazem Kadri may be the most famous Muslim ice hockey player, but he’s not the highest-drafted Muslim in NHL history. That honour goes to Nail Yakupov, who was taken 1st overall by the Edmonton Oilers in the 2012 draft.

A native of Nizhnekamsk, Russia, Yakupov is the only Muslim to ever be taken with the first pick in the NHL entry draft. He netted 17 goals and assisted 14 others in his debut NHL season in 2012-13, and registered a career-high 19 assists and 33 points two seasons later. 

He never hit the immense heights that were expected of him as a 1st overall pick, but he did register 62 goals and 74 assists in 350 career NHL games by the time his contract with the Colorado Avalanche expired in 2018.

Still only 30, Yakupov is back in his native Russia with Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk of the KHL. He’s since surpassed his career NHL goal total in the KHL, and even helped fellow KHL side Avangard Omsk win their first Gagarin Cup in 2021.

Yakupov is a Volga Tatar, a Turkic ethnic group native to the Volga-Ural region of Russia. Tatars are majority Sunni Muslims, and while Yakupov has said in the past that he “doesn’t do stuff” like Ramadan, he’s made it clear he believes in God and goes to the mosque when he has the chance. He’s also been pictured reciting dua before games, and has pushed back against generalizations that all Russians excessively drink and smoke.

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Rafael Fiziev (MMA)

The UFC has seen a lot of talented Muslim mixed martial artists in recent years. Khabib Nurmagomedov was the company’s crown jewel until his retirement, but other fighters like Islam Makachev and Khamzat Chimaev have risen to prominence since then.

One such fighter is Rafael Fiziev, a 30-year-old lightweight fighter who’s among the most prominent Shia Muslim athletes in the world.

Born to an Azerbaijani father and a Russian mother, Fiziev took up Muay Thai at 11 after getting bullied. He made his professional Muay Thai debut in 2010 and won 39 of his 47 fights.

Although he focused on Muay Thai growing up, Fiziev took up several other combat sports, including boxing and wrestling. He made his pro MMA debut in 2015 and his UFC debut four years later.

Despite losing his UFC debut to Magomed Mustafaev, Fiziev has rebounded into becoming one of the company’s most exhilarating fighters.

Fiziev is a proud Shia Muslim and hasn’t shied away from beliefs. He’s made posts on Instagram from Najaf and Karbala, where Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib (a.s) and Imam Hussain (a.s) are buried; has teamed up with Shia community leader Sayyid Hussain Makke to form Wilaya Wellness; and stopped competing under the flag of Kyrgyzstan — where his family moved to when he was a kid — due to the country’s discrimination of Shia Muslims.

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Rinat Dasayev (Football)

Egypt’s Mohammed Salah may be the most famous Muslim footballer today, but in the 1980s, it was Soviet goalkeeper Rinat Dasayev who was (secretly) carrying the banner of Islam on the pitch.

Born in 1957, the Astrakhan Tatar made his professional debut for local club Volgar Astrakhan as a teenager. He only played 26 games for the side, but that was enough to convince Spartak Moscow, one of the giants of Soviet football, to take a chance on him in 1977.

Dasayev developed into one of the sport’s greatest goalkeepers with the capital club. He won two Soviet league championships in 1979 and 1987, and was named the best Soviet goalkeeper by Ogonyok magazine six times between 1980 and 1988. In 1988, he also became the first and only Muslim to win the IFFHS World’s Best Goalkeeper award.

His performances at the club level earned him ample appearances for the Soviet national team. He was capped 91 times between 1979 and 1990, the second most in the country’s history. Several of those appearances came in competitions like the FIFA World Cup and the Euros. 

Despite being regarded as one of the greatest players in Soviet history, Dasayev often had to hide his faith because the government followed an unofficial policy of state atheism. Nevertheless, Dasayev came from a religious family and always took a copy of the Holy Quran with him to games.

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Headline image credit: Getty Images

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