Kareem Will Keep the Faith

Along with his venture into coaching, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has another new mission: to speak out on behalf of his chosen faith, Islam, in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

“I was already the wrong size and the wrong color,” he says. “Now, I’m the wrong religion.”

Abdul-Jabbar says he spoke to Jewish children at a Los Angeles synagogue about the issue.

“I told them that I’m an American like they are,” he said, “that I was appalled by what happened like they were and that I want peace like they do.

“Just like the Ku Klux Klan does not represent conservative Christian thought, the Taliban does not represent Islam. These are political issues, not religious issues.”