--- title: Olympian Ibtihaj Muhammad Was Detained by U.S. Customs description: Find out how Olympic fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad described being held by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. canonical: https://time.com/4665737/ibtihaj-muhammad-travel-ban-detained/ author: TIME Staff article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-02-09T20:15:18.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-13T12:08:34.000Z og:title: Olympic Athlete Ibtihaj Muhammad Speaks Out After She Was Detained by U.S. Customs og:description: Muhammad made history as the first American Olympian to compete in a hijab og:url: https://time.com/4665737/ibtihaj-muhammad-travel-ban-detained/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta9f04d8390d7bcf3/6988b992428a9e71c8cd5d0f/ibtihaj-muhammad-travel-ban-detained.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Portaits of U. S. Olympians og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Olympic Athlete Ibtihaj Muhammad Speaks Out After She Was Detained by U.S. Customs twitter:description: Muhammad made history as the first American Olympian to compete in a hijab twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta9f04d8390d7bcf3/6988b992428a9e71c8cd5d0f/ibtihaj-muhammad-travel-ban-detained.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Olympic Athlete Ibtihaj Muhammad Speaks Out After She Was Detained by U.S. Customs by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Updated: Dec 13, 2023 12:08 PM UTCPublished: Feb 9, 2017 8:15 PM UTC  LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 9: U.S. fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad at the Olympic media summit on March 9, 2016 in Los Angeles, CA. (Jonathan Newton / The Washington Post via Getty Images) LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 9: U.S. fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad at the Olympic media summit on March 9, 2016 in Los Angeles, CA. (Jonathan Newton / The Washington Post via Getty Images)Jonathan Newtont—The Washington Post/Getty Images by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Updated: Dec 13, 2023 12:08 PM UTCPublished: Feb 9, 2017 8:15 PM UTC _Updated: Feb. 13, 2017._ Following the worldwide controversy surrounding the introduction of new travel regulations into the United States, [Muslim-American](http://time.com/4452401/olympic-athletes-islam/) Olympic fencer [Ibtihaj Muhammad](http://time.com/fencer/) opened up about her recent experience being held by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. When asked if she knew anyone affected by the ban in an [interview](http://www.popsugar.com/news/Olympian-Ibtihaj-Muhammad-Interview-Trump-Travel-Ban-43133411) with _POPSUGAR_, Muhammad said she herself was stopped for two hours without explanation, which left her “disheartened.” “I can’t tell you why it happened to me, but I know that I’m Muslim. I have an Arabic name,” she said. In a message on Twitter sent on Feb. 11, four days after the interview, Muhammad said the detention occurred in December — weeks before President Trump’s inauguration and the subsequent executive order. > [](https://twitter.com/IbtihajMuhammad/status/830520857470652418) “Even though I represent [Team USA](http://time.com/4457492/rio-2016-olympics-team-usa-sings-we-are-the-champions/) and I have that Olympic hardware, it doesn’t change how you look and how people perceive you,” she said. While Muhammad was “upset” and “disappointed” by the experience, she decided she wants to focus on staying strong for others. “I feel like I have to speak up for those people whose voices go unheard,” she explained. “I try to remember to be positive and to try to leave all these situations, even if they may be very difficult, with love.” Muhammad [made history](http://time.com/4443648/rio-2016-olympics-ibtihaj-muhammad-hijab-history/) during the 2016 Olympics as the first American to compete wearing a [hijab](http://motto.time.com/4482372/hijab-ban-basketball/). While the [court case](http://time.com/4663564/trump-travel-ban-federal-appeals-court/) on the travel ban draws on, Muhammad remains positive: “I think that we will come out on top as women, as people of color, as [Muslims](http://motto.time.com/4651081/muslim-women-ally-under-trump/), as transgender people, as people who are part of the disabled community — I think that we’ll come out on top.” \[[_POPSUGAR_](http://www.popsugar.com/news/Olympian-Ibtihaj-Muhammad-Interview-Trump-Travel-Ban-43133411)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4665737/ibtihaj-muhammad-travel-ban-detained/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4665737/ibtihaj-muhammad-travel-ban-detained/"},"headline":"Olympic Athlete Ibtihaj Muhammad Speaks Out After She Was Detained by U.S. Customs","datePublished":"2017-02-09T20:15:18.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-13T12:08:34.000Z","description":"Muhammad made history as the first American Olympian to compete in a hijab","url":"https://time.com/4665737/ibtihaj-muhammad-travel-ban-detained/","keywords":["motto"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta9f04d8390d7bcf3/6988b992428a9e71c8cd5d0f/ibtihaj-muhammad-travel-ban-detained.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta9f04d8390d7bcf3/6988b992428a9e71c8cd5d0f/ibtihaj-muhammad-travel-ban-detained.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Portaits of U. 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