Aaminah Abdrabboh makes history by winning IBBJF PAN Kids tournament

Women and girls who wore the hijab were not allowed in International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation competitions until 2014, when the ban was lifted.

And now, a local girl is among the IBJJF's champions.

Dearborn native Aaminah Abdrabboh, 12, became the first girl to win gold while wearing a hijab at the PAN Kids tournament late last month in Kissimmee, Florida.

"I was super happy because people weren't allowed to do that, like people who wear a scarf, like a hijab, they weren't allowed to do that 10 years ago," Aaminah said. "So, I was happy that I could show people that, with a hijab, you can do anything."

Professor Mohammad Abdrabboh and his wife, Nancy Marini, are co-owners of Metro Jiu-Jitsu in Southgate, where their daughter Aaminah trains. The couple's other three children, Jibril (21), Nuzmeya (18) and Rayyan (15), compete as well and are head coaches at the gym.

Compared to other forms of martial arts, moving from one belt to another in jiu-jitsu takes much longer — those looking to become black belts need to be at least 19 years old. The Abdrabboh kids hope that one day they'll all be competing together in the adult division as black belts.

Nuzmeya and Rayyan also wear the hijab while competing, so Aaminah was able to grow up watching and learning from her sisters.

"We started the sport wearing it, so we kind of navigated the obstacles that was wearing the scarf while doing jiu-jitsu, so it's easier for us to teach her what things to avoid, what things to do, how to wear it," Nuzmeya said.

The three sisters each have their own preference when it comes to brands, as many athletic-wear companies sell hijabs better suited for sports. Aaminah prefers Lululemon — the one she was wearing when she won the gold — while Nuzmeya prefers Nike and Rayyan prefers adidas.

Efforts to overturn the hijab ban were led by Caroline De Lazzer, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt who started a petition in 2011. She took action while coaching for the United Arab Emirates, as her athletes were unable to compete in events outside of the country. It took three years, but De Lazzer's petition worked, and the ban was overturned.

Why it was ever enacted in the first place remains puzzling.

"There was a ban on a ton of sports like soccer, there were so many, but I think it was just an excuse," Nuzmeya said. "They used to say safety reasons. They would say it was safety, but there was no real reason and when there were fights behind getting it revoked, they wouldn't really go into it, and so I think eventually IBJJF just took it off completely."

Mohammad explained that wearing a hijab can put a competitor at a disadvantage because of the nature of jiu-jitsu, but his daughters have learned to adjust and thrive in the sport.

"For somebody wearing a scarf, it's very common that they have to adjust it and have to take their hand away from being able to intelligently defend themselves to adjust the scarf and that puts you at a major disadvantage," Mohammad said. "With all the discipline and hard work, (Aaminah was) able to show that she was better, and she is better, and she did not use that as an excuse that day because it's a legitimate one."

Since Aaminah's victory, Marini has exchanged messages on Instagram with De Lazzer to thank her for the advocacy that spared her daughters from having to choose between their faith and their sport.

"Whenever there's a ban in place, it's not as simple as just turning out a competitor or even a winner, like it really takes sometimes an entire decade to get somebody on board because when people know a door is closed to them, they just don't even join the sport," Marini said. "There's so many people that could potentially have been winners over the years, but because they knew the ban in place, why would they try?"

Mohammad, Jibril and Nuzmeya traveled with Aaminah to Kissimmee for the tournament to help coach, while Nancy and Rayyan stayed home and watched with a group at the Southgate gym. The tournament, which consisted of 2,700 kids from around the world, was held over three days. A single loss meant elimination.

Mohammad explained that coaches aren't in the corner, they're off on the side, so while he could give some instruction, she had to rely heavily on her training. Her final match was tough, but she remained focused and won by submission. Mohammad said that he let out his joy by jumping and celebrating.

Jibril, who was also at the tournament, was coaching another match at the time when his cousin, Farris Abuwandi, another head coach, ran over to tell him the news.

"(He) said, 'We did it, we got the first hijabi world champion,' and I just remember being so excited and happy for her that as soon as the match I was coaching ended, I ran past the barricades to try and catch up with her and give her a big hug," Jibril said.

Back in Southgate, the nerves had turned into celebration as Aaminah was crowned champion.

"I didn't want to stress her and have her know, but I knew the enormity of it," Marini said. "I knew ahead of time that she would be the first hijab-wearing female and I knew it and I knew the significance of what it would mean in the Muslim community and just even the world in general."

Her sisters were very proud of her as well. Rayyan recounted how much cheering and screaming erupted from the gym when her sister won.

"It was a super-proud moment," Nuzmeya said. "We were all hoping and hoping it would go the way we wanted it to and then watching that match go, it was a really fun match to watch."

As for her future in the sport, Aaminah believes the sky's the limit. She wants to work her way up to a black belt one day, just like her father.