ChiTown Muslimah Athletics

By: Lynn Salahi

If you happened to be passing by a non-descript shopping center in a Western suburb of Chicago at 10pm last Sunday evening, you may have heard an exuberant chorus of laughter, shrieks, and an off-key rendition of “We are the Champions” floating out from an otherwise normal-looking Middle Eastern restaurant. These are the voices of a group of fierce athletes who have just completed a grueling 8-week season of one of the most intense team sports around–indoor ball hockey.   The unexpected part? These fierce athletes are female, they’re Muslim, they’re mostly in their 40’s, and most have never played a team sport in their life.  So just who is this rambunctious group? They are teams Hip Checkers, Bad Stitches, Pucker Up, and Shernis (“Lionesses” in Urdu–we love our puns but ran out!).  But in all seriousness: They are the Chi-Town Muslimah Athletes celebrating the end of their 2024 Ball Hockey season.  

Despite the fact that with every championship game there are winners AND losers–the air in that restaurant that championship night was filled with an indisputable joyousness from BOTH sides.  Yes, the pre-game trash talk was lit.  Yes, the sticks were clashing and the bodies were crashing and the ball was whizzing by so quickly they needed multiple phones to record the game for instant playback.  The spectators were perched on the benches and crammed into the stairway and the closet, passing around a Costco-sized bag of popcorn and holding their breaths with every play.  Each team showed an intensity and ferocity that rivaled Super Bowl and World Cup levels (no exaggeration).  Strutting through the sisterhood tunnel beforehand in heels, blazers, and dark glasses ready to dominate? Absolutely.  A surprise mid-game performance?  Why not?  But despite all that, when the final buzzer sounded and the games were over and the winners were announced: there was nothing but pure joy.  It was an infectious joyousness  that celebrated the beauty of strength and sisterhood in a world where it’s sometimes so hard to find your people and a safe space in which to belong.  

But find their people and their place they did.  These CTM women are truly a force to be reckoned with.  By day, they are corporate executives, physicians, lawyers, teachers, mothers, students, engineers, daughters–wearing multiple hats and juggling multiple roles and responsibilities.   However, for a few hours every Sunday evening (and sometimes even during the week!) in the darkest and dreariest part of a Chicago winter–they set aside their personal struggles and prepare to play.  They don their pink and white jerseys, wrap their various middle-aged joints in braces and padding, gulp down a few Advils and chug down their electrolytes, pull on their gloves, grab their sticks (and NEVER forget helmets ladies because safety first!  Besides let’s face it- they look totally badass) and hop on the court to play ball.  Some travel almost an hour to make practice.  The scheduling acrobatics with their families is dizzying.  Driving in straight from the airport fresh off an international flight to make a game? No problem.  Hobbling in to play goalie with a twisted ankle? Absolutely.  There are 20-somethings playing against grandmothers, and even an amazing mother-daughter duo.  Whatever your age, background, skill level, body type– CTM makes a place for you.  

What makes this group truly unique is this: before the frenzy of the game (and if you have never watched a ball hockey game- know that it truly is a shark-feeding frenzy!), there is the beautiful stillness of an essential group prayer–a reminder that all blessings of health and sisterhood stem from Allah. The women remind each other that while they are here playing for fun, their Muslim brothers and sisters in faith around the world are fighting for their lives.  The athletes honor them by remembering them, by praying for them, and by never forgetting their own blessings.  The women ask God that tonight–win or lose–He maintains their faith, their health, and their sisterhood above all. 

In huddles with eyes closed and hands lifted in prayer, they all breathe an “Amen”– and then the whistle blows, and they are off!

One of the most memorable moments of the season exemplified the healing power of the game: one player who took time off when her father passed away mid-season,  came back and led her team to victory after a winning shoot-out goal dedicated to her father who had been a field hockey player in his youth.  The hearts were full and the tears flowed freely after that game–this was a win from heaven.  

Ball hockey is only one of the many sports CTM organizes for Muslim women ages 25 and up.  Other sports include badminton, pickleball, softball, and volleyball on a rolling schedule throughout the year.  CTM is also heavily involved in civic engagement, community service, and spiritual development.  Their mission: “We are a community of Muslim Women/Athletes powering forward towards investing in our physical, social, emotional, mental and spiritual health through sports.” Their core values: “Faith-Strength-Perserverence-Healthy Sisterhood.”  The Whatsapp group is 300 women strong.  A few are seasoned athletes who manage to show up to every sport, every season.  Some are more selective and have their niche activity once a year.  And many more are more hesitant and questioning.  They hear about this mysterious group through friends or social media posts and get added to the Whatsapp group to lurk around for a bit–until finally taking that first jump into a group sport and starting a new adventure in sport.  

This group has created a unique space for women in a season of their lives where they are raising kids, nurturing a career, taking care of elderly parents and ultimately trying to find themselves after dedicating so many years of their lives to others.  “CTM has filled a void in my life.” “CTM came at the perfect time when I felt lost.” “CTM gives me an outlet from all the stresses of the week.” These are only some of the testimonies of women who have been touched by the healing power of sport through this amazing organization.  Where else can these women find a safe space to try new things and move their bodies in unfamiliar ways?  Or to ask silly questions and make rookie mistakes?   To learn and grow within a gentle cushion of female encouragement and unconditional support?  

It’s a bit mind-blowing to realize the selflessness and time commitment put forth by the VOLUNTEER  CTM coaches and organizers to make these sports happen.  The outside world is not privy to the hours and hair-pulling hours of administrative work, back-and-forth messages and countless phone meetings needed to ensure these intramural sports run smoothly.  Securing venues, ordering and maintaining equipment and uniforms, scrambling with last minute scheduling, reviewing rules and refereeing games…Everything they do is of their own time, with no compensation outside of the gratefulness of the players, and their own self-imposed duty to do something positive for their community and for their faith.

I only joined the group a few years ago, and have since played softball and pickleball with them in addition to ball hockey.  It has been an incredible group to belong to.  But as I sit here in the afterglow of yesterday’s games and festivities, nursing my bruises and sore muscles, I re-live the magical championship night with the memories of congratulatory embraces as we laughed and sang until the restaurant closed for the night.  I know that it doesn’t matter what the score was.  Every single woman who played–and even those who watched–each was a winner.  CTM ball hockey season is truly something special and I’m already anxiously awaiting 2025.