List of Muslim sportspersons

Muslims have been involved in sports since the inception of Islam. Muslims have performed in various sports tournaments, World Cups, as well as the Olympics.

American football

Player Nationality Current
team 		Ref
Hamza Abdullah  United States retired [1][2]
Husain Abdullah  United States United States Kansas City Chiefs [3]
Oday Aboushi  United States
 Palestine 		United States New York Jets [4]
Az-Zahir Hakim  United States retired [5]
Ryan Harris  United States United States Kansas City Chiefs [6]
Mack Herron  United States retired [7]
Abdul Hodge  United States Virgin Islands retired [8]
Ahmad Rashād  United States retired [9][10]
Ephraim Salaam  United States retired [11]
Muhammad Wilkerson  United States United States New York Jets [12]
Usama Young  United States free agent [13]

Association football

Player Nationality Current
team 		Ref
Éric Abidal  France retired [14]
Ali Al-Habsi  Oman England Wigan Athletic [15]
Demba Ba  Senegal Turkey Beşiktaş [16]
Valon Behrami   Switzerland Germany Hamburg [17]
Nabil Bentaleb  Algeria England Tottenham Hotspur [18]
Karim Benzema  France Spain Real Madrid [19]
Danny Blum  Germany Germany Nürnberg [20]
Majid Bougherra  Algeria United Arab Emirates Al-Fujairah [21]
Hakan Çalhanoğlu  Turkey Germany Bayer Leverkusen [22]
Emre Can  Germany England Liverpool [23]
Papiss Cissé  Senegal England Newcastle United [24]
Moussa Dembélé  Belgium England Tottenham Hotspur [25]
Abou Diaby  France England Arsenal [26]
Edin Džeko  Bosnia and Herzegovina England Manchester City [27]
Munir El Haddadi  Spain Spain Barcelona B [28]
Nathan Ellington  England retired [29]
Sofiane Feghouli  Algeria Spain Valencia [30]
Marouane Fellaini  Belgium England Manchester United [31]
Gervinho  Ivory Coast Italy Roma [32]
Frédéric Kanouté  Mali retired [33]
Sami Khedira  Germany Spain Real Madrid [34]
Adem Ljajić  Serbia Italy Roma [35]
Riyad Mahrez  Algeria England Leicester City [36]
Samir Nasri  France England Manchester City [37]
Bibras Natkho  Israel Russia CSKA Moscow [38]
Nayim  Spain retired [39]
Franck Ribéry  France Germany Bayern Munich [40]
Zaur Sadayev  Russia Russia Terek Grozny [41]
Bacary Sagna  France England Manchester City [42]
Mamadou Sakho  France England Liverpool [43]
Xherdan Shaqiri   Switzerland Italy Inter Milan [44]
Mamady Sidibé  Mali retired [45]
Moussa Sissoko  France England Newcastle United [46]
El Arbi Soudani  Algeria Croatia Dinamo Zagreb [47]
Mesut Özil  Germany England Arsenal [48]
Saphir Taïder  Algeria Italy Sassuolo [49]
Kolo Touré  Ivory Coast England Liverpool [50]
Yaya Touré  Ivory Coast England Manchester City [51]
Granit Xhaka   Switzerland Germany Borussia Mönchengladbach [52]

Australian rules football

Player Nationality Current
team 		Ref
Bachar Houli  Australia Australia Richmond [53]
Sedat Sir  Turkey
 Australia 		retired [54]

Baseball

Player Nationality Current
team 		Ref
Sam Khalifa  United States retired [55]

Basketball

Rasheed Wallace
Player Nationality Current
team 		Ref
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar  United States retired [56]
Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf  United States retired [57]
Shareef Abdur-Rahim  United States retired [58]
Tariq Abdul-Wahad  France retired [59]
Hassan Adams  United States Singapore Singapore Slingers [60]
Gorgui Dieng  Senegal United States Minnesota Timberwolves [61]
Kenneth Faried  United States United States Denver Nuggets [62]
Mustapha Farrakhan, Jr.  United States free agent [63]
Walt Hazzard  United States retired [64]
Ibrahim Jaaber  Bulgaria free agent [65]
Larry Johnson  United States retired [66]
Nazr Mohammed  United States United States Chicago Bulls [67]
Shaquille O'Neal  United States retired [68]
Mehmet Okur  Turkey retired [69]
Hakeem Olajuwon  United States retired [70]
Mirza Teletović  Bosnia and Herzegovina United States Brooklyn Nets [71]
Hedo Türkoğlu  Turkey United States Los Angeles Clippers [72]
Dion Waiters  United States United States Oklahoma City Thunder [73]
Rasheed Wallace  United States retired [74]
Talib Zanna  Nigeria United States Oklahoma City Blue [75]

Boxing

Muhammad Ali in 1978
Boxer Nationality Rated at Ref
Muhammad Ali  United States Heavyweight [76][77][78]
Adil Anwar  United Kingdom Light welterweight [79]
Bernard Hopkins  United States Middleweight
Super middleweight
Light heavyweight 		[80]
Amir Khan  United Kingdom Lightweight
Light welterweight
Welterweight 		[81]
Harry Khan  United Kingdom
 Pakistan 		Super flyweight [82]
Eddie Mustafa Muhammad  United States Light heavyweight [83]
Matthew Saad Muhammad  United States Light heavyweight [84]
Dwight Muhammad Qawi  United States Light heavyweight
Cruiserweight
Heavyweight 		[85]
Hasim Rahman  United States Heavyweight [86]
Nadeem Siddique  United Kingdom
 Pakistan 		Welterweight [87]
Henry Tillman  United States Heavyweight [88]
Mike Tyson  United States Heavyweight [89]

Cricket

Hashim Amla
Player Nationality Current
teams 		Ref
Usman Afzaal  England retired [90]
Fawad Ahmed  Australia Australia Victoria
Australia Melbourne Renegades 		[91]
Jahid Ahmed  England Sri Lanka Unicorns [92]
Shakib Al Hasan  Bangladesh Bangladesh Khulna
India Kolkata Knight Riders
Barbados Barbados Tridents
Australia Melbourne Renegades 		[93]
Kabir Ali  England Bangladesh Barisal Burners
England Lancashire 		[94]
Kadeer Ali  England England Staffordshire [95]
Moeen Ali  England England Worcestershire [96]
Hashim Amla  South Africa South Africa Cape Cobras [92]
Majid Haq  Scotland Scotland Clydesdale [93]
Amjad Khan  England retired [97]
Sajid Mahmood  England England Essex [98]
Adil Rashid  England England Yorkshire [99]
Owais Shah  England South Africa Cape Cobras
Bangladesh Dhaka Gladiators
England Hampshire 		[100]
Bilal Shafayat  England England Hampshire [101]
Ajmal Shahzad  England England Sussex [102]
Inzaman-ul-Haq  Pakistan retired [93]

Fencing

Athlete Nationality Ref
Halet Çambel  Turkey [103]
Ibtihaj Muhammad  United States [104]

Judo

Athlete Nationality Event Ref
Wojdan Shaherkani  Saudi Arabia 78 kg [105]

Ice Hockey

Nail Yakupov
Player Nationality Current
team		 Ref
Ramzi Abid  Canada Germany EHC Wolfsburg [106]
Nazem Kadri  Canada Canada Toronto Maple Leafs [106]
Alain Nasreddine  Canada retired [106]
Nail Yakupov  Russia Canada Edmonton Oilers [107]

Mixed martial arts

Fighter Nationality Rated at Ref
Adlan Amagov  Russia Light heavyweight
Middleweight
Welterweight 		[108]
Siyar Bahadurzada  Afghanistan Light heavyweight
Middleweight
Welterweight 		[109]
Reza Madadi  Iran Lightweight
Welterweight 		[110]
Khabib Nurmagomedov  Russia Lightweight [111]
Irshaad Sayed  South Africa Bantamweight [112]

Modern pentathlon

Athlete Nationality Ref
Aya Medany  Egypt [113]

Rugby

Player Nationality Current
team 		Ref
Sonny Bill Williams  New Zealand retired [114]

Shooting

Athlete Nationality Event Ref
Bahiya Al-Hamad  Qatar 10 m air rifle [115]
Nur Suryani Taibi  Malaysia 10 m air rifle
50 m prone rifle
50 m prone rifle 3 position
50 m prone rifle team 		[116]

Swimming

Athlete Nationality Event Ref
Nada Arkaji  Qatar 50 m freestyle [117]

Table tennis

Athlete Nationality Ref
Aya Majdi  Qatar [118]

Track and field

Athlete Nationality Event Ref
Sarah Attar  Saudi Arabia 800 metres [119]
Ruqaya Al-Ghasra  Bahrain 60 metres
100 metres
200 metres
400 metres 		[120]
Shinoona Al-Habsi  Oman 100 metres [121]
Noor Al-Malki  Qatar 100 metres [122]
Hassiba Boulmerka  Algeria 1500 metres
800 metres 		[123]
Fatima Dahman  Yemen 100 metres [124]
Zamzam Mohamed Farah  Somalia 400 metres [125]
Tahmina Kohistani  Afghanistan 100 metres [126]
Nawal El Moutawakel  Morocco 400 metres hurdles [127]
Woroud Sawalha  Palestine 800 metres [128]

Weightlifting

Athlete Nationality Discipline Ref
Khadija Mohammed  United Arab Emirates 75 kg [129]
Nurcan Taylan  Turkey 48 kg
53 kg 		[130]

Wrestling

Real name Ring names Nationality Ref
Dara Daivari Shawn Daivari
Sheik Abdul Bashir
Khosrow Daivari 		 United States [131]
Muhammad Inoki Antonio Inoki  Japan [132]
Hossein Vaziri The Iron Sheik
Col. Mustafa 		 United States
 Iran 		[133]

References

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