As the Raptors struggle to stay within reach of an NBA play-off spot, a new short documentary is shining a light on another Toronto-based basketball star, who’s just trying to find a permanent home for her Muslim basketball league.
Fitriya: Muslim On and Off the Court delves into the story of Fitriya Mohamed, a Muslim basketball player and founder of the Muslim Women’s Summer Basketball League (MWSBL), a non-profit community league for basketball-playing Muslim women.
The short documentary, co-directed and written by Muslims Selina McCallum and Safa Ali Mudei, follows Mohamed as she tries to find a permanent home for her basketball league. It also highlights some of the cultural barriers Fitriya and other Muslimat face when trying to play sports.
“To see somebody as charismatic as her and to just see how awe-inspiring she was to even have the grit and the will to create something she wanted to see was what truly inspired me,” Mudei told The Athletic Ummah.
“This is made for me. This is something that I’ve always wanted to do because I’m also my own athletic Muslim as well.”
Safa Ali Mudei, co-director and writer
The film was first pitched by McCallum to the OYA Black Arts Coalition, a non-profit charitable organization dedicated to supporting Black artists and creatives. They had put a call-out for alumni to pitch documentary ideas, and McCallum saw it as an opportunity to create a documentary about Muslim athletes.
“I saw the thing [Mohamed] was doing with MWSBL and the media [coverage] — and the story was taking off, and I really wanted to be a part of that, I really wanted to also help in some way,” she told The Athletic Ummah.
“So I asked her if I could pitch her and MWSBL as a documentary, and she was like, ‘Yeah, for sure, let’s do it.’”
Mudei, who was one of the cohorts tasked with helping produce documentary ideas, was immediately on board with the documentary.
“I basically emailed them back to be like, If you do not pick this documentary, I will cry,” said the Sunni Muslimah.
“This is made for me. This is something that I’ve always wanted to do because I’m also my own athletic Muslim as well,” said Mudei, who initially joined the team as a producer.
The film hasn’t been released online yet, but it has been screened in a couple of countries, including Canada and Australia. It also recently won the award for Best Documentary at an Italian film festival.
McCallum, who studied digital journalism and communication, media and film at the University of Windsor, said it was amazing to see their 13-minute film win an international award.
“To see that we’re making an impact now from Australia to Italy is really awesome,” she said.
Fighting against time
Although the documentary had a lot of support at the beginning of the process, producing it was far from an easy task. The film was completed over six months, with pre-production spanning October to December 2022 and post-production wrapping up in April 2023.
“It was definitely a time crunch because a requirement of the program is we only have so much budget and that included only two days of shooting,” said McCallum. “But then, that also includes ensuring everyone’s schedule aligned too.”
Not everyone was based in Toronto either. Mohamed was doing a master’s degree in St. Catharines, Ontario — more than an hour’s drive away from Toronto.
“For her to come down to Toronto, I literally was like, ‘If you can get down here, I will drop you home. Like I will drive you home. That is no problem for me,’” McCallum said.
Another challenge was assembling the production team. Because MWSBL was female-driven, McCallum wanted to reflect that by building a female-majority crew.
“I think that just was empowering for me and inspiring because in the film industry, you don’t get to see women, especially black women, behind the camera or like in these lead roles like Safa and I have for this film. So I think that was important,” she said.
On day one, the team took action shots of all of those involved in the league, from Mohamed and MWSBL advisory board members Nazie Shakur and Melissa McLetchie, to MWSBL participants and players.
The next day, McCallum and her crew shot the interview portions of the documentary. Here, McCallum says it became clear just how strong of a bond Mohamed, Shakur and McLetchie had with each other as well as with Islam.
“It was an honour to have them share their story with me as I’m not seen as a Muslim woman,” McCallum said. “When you look at me or you see a photo of me, that’s not my first identity.”
“So just being able to tell this story and for them to trust us with this story, it meant a lot.”
Sisterhood and basketball
The documentary does a great job showing just how big of a role Islam plays in the lives of all of those involved in MWSBL.
Less than a minute into the film, McLetchie, who converted to Islam in her 20s, reminds all of the participants that they’re there to represent Islam in the best light.
Later in the documentary, Shakur called the hijab her “crown.”
“Just hearing things like that and seeing them tear up, it was just very beautiful in that sense,” McCallum said. “It was the best two days, for sure.”
The league itself caters to all Muslim women players, and makes sure no one’s boundaries are overstepped. It’s a completely female-oriented space, allowing those who aren’t comfortable playing in a mixed space a chance to go all out.
Furthermore, breaks are always taken for salat, and catered food is always halal.
“I feel like they represent Islam in such an abundance of ways,” Mudei said.
“These are women who are in their later 20s, now being that role model for the younger generation.”
Selina McCallum, co-director and writer
Sisterhood is also one of the key themes promoted in MWSBL. Yes, there is friendly competition between the players — including between the league’s advisory board.
But at the end of the day, it’s clear all of the participants are there to have fun, play the sport they grew up loving, and strengthen their bonds with each other and their faith. No one takes losses or plays personally.
This is clearest in the friendship between Mohamed, Shakur and McLetchie. Throughout the documentary, they are seen leaning on each other for support while pushing each other to be better basketball players and Muslim women.
“One thing I asked Fitriya is who from MWSBL stands out to you that you’d also like to be in the documentary,” McCallum said. “And right away, she said, “Oh, Nazie and Melissa.’”
“‘They’re my girls. I want them by my side for the documentary.’”
Limited opportunities for Muslim women
As important as the MWSBL is, finding a permanent home has been a difficult task for Mohamed, as the documentary shows.
One of the main threads in the film is Mohamed’s quest to find a facility that would provide a women-only zone for the players to play in.
Unfortunately, most of the centres Mohamed speaks with are unable to provide such a space, leaving the MWSBL without a permanent home.
“There’s so much that we want to do, but we’re limited with resources and not everyone’s really willing to hear you out,” Mohamed said in the documentary.
“That’s been the challenge, just trying to prove it to them as to why having the space for Muslim women is important.”
Being a visibly-Muslim women has had its share of challenges too. In one part of the documentary, Shakur tells the story of being the only hijab-wearing player on her school’s basketball team, and how the referees hadn’t officiated a match with a hijab-wearing participant before.
“I remember thinking, ‘This was my dream, I finally got here, and I may not be able to play in my first ever game,’” Shakur saai in the documentary. “I don’t think anyone should have to feel that, ever.”
Mohamed also mentions how in her birth country of Ethiopia, Muslim women are sometimes prohibited from playing sports.
Around the world, McCallum says girls are told not to prioritize playing sports — and if they do play sports, it’s seen as “shameful.”
“If they’re playing with boys, it’s probably looked down upon or it’s not seen as taking their studies seriously or being able to focus in school,” she said.
“So I think that there’s definitely that stigma of girls who are playing sports won’t get anywhere or they won’t do anything or won’t have a career.”
As a hijab-wearing Muslimah herself, Mudei can relate to the experiences of Mohamed, Shakur and McLetchie. She says Muslim women face a lot of pressure to behave a specific way and to avoid activities that are considered against the norm, like sports.
“Especially if you’re a visible Muslim with the hijab, you’re kind of told to act a certain way, speak a certain way and be a certain way, rather than allowing yourself to be who you are and what you are,” she said.
“I want them to understand that that the importance of a space for Muslim women to play sports and to feel safe and to grow and to work on their career, but to work on their skills, whether for fun or competitively.”
McCallum
As the only daughter in a family of boys, Mudei says she was “given more opportunities than my brothers in terms of relation to academia, but never as much freedom as them in terms of certain things growing up, especially as a teenager.”
In large part, it’s because most mosques do not do a good enough job of providing spaces for Muslim women to play their favourite sports.
“My brothers were able to go to karate inside the masjid, but I never was able to really participate or partake in them,” she said.
Mudei says religious leaders sometimes focus too much on what they think has to be done at a cultural level rather than actually speaking with congregants — especially women — about what the community needs/
“Yes, give the opportunities to men,” she said. “But I do think … [it] should be at a high regard when it comes to regarding women and allowing them to experience the masjid — not only, obviously, for the sake of prayer … but also in a way where they can enjoy their communities as well.”
A new light on Muslimah ballers
Growing up in the Toronto’s predominantly Muslim neighbourhood Flemingdon Park, McCallum says she didn’t have many older, female athletes to look up to for guidance.
That’s why she thinks organizations like MWSBL need to be promoted in Muslim communities and given the space to succeed by mosques.
“These are women who are in their later 20s, now being that role model for the younger generation,” she said.
Through Fitriya: Muslim On and Off the Court, McCallum hopes people see Muslim women for the strong, dedicated pillars of the Ummah that they are — and why they deserve their own sports spaces too.
“I want them to understand that that the importance of a space for Muslim women to play sports and to feel safe and to grow and to work on their career, but to work on their skills, whether for fun or competitively,” she said.
Mudei echoes McCallum’s thoughts. She also wants everyone — Muslim and non-Muslim — to appreciate what Islam means to women like Mohamed, Shakur and McLetchie.
“Especially at the point where they talk about the hijab and even just the sisterhood they develop from that,” she said. “Your tenacity matters and your voice matters.”
She also wants Muslim men to understand that Muslim women have a place in both the community and on the sports field.
“[I want] Muslim men to … just allow them to be human beings, to partake and connect with other Muslim women and not doubt that there is some sort of other intent that is being planned overall, and to also be responsible for nurturing that encourage and not discourage your young listeners,” she said.
Headline image credit: Selina McCallum