SG: Before Kareem Abdul-Jabbar there was Lew Alcindor. Now Lew Alcindor was what Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was born as, he has since converted to Islam. Something that he says was a very deeply spiritual decision. Tell me a little bit about your own personal journey, from Lew Alcindor to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Is there still some of Lew Alcindor in you today?
KA: Well you know that was who I started my life out as, I'm still my parent's child, I'm still...my cousins are still the same, I'm still me though. But I made a choice. (SG: Do you feel different? Is it a different feeling when you take on a different name, a different persona?) I really don't think...I think it has more to do with evolution -- I evolved into Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, I don't have any regrets about who I was but this is who I am now.
SG: And a spiritual journey, how important was that?
KA: Well as a spiritual journey, I don't think I would have been able to be as successful as I was as an athlete if it were not for Islam. It gave me a moral anchor, it enabled me to not be materialistic, it enabled me to see more what was important in the world. And all of that was reinforced by people, very important people to me: Coach John Wooden, my parents, all reinforced those values. And it enabled me to live my life a certain way and not get distracted.
SG: When you embraced Islam, was it difficult for other people to come to terms with that? Did that create a distance between you and others?
KA: For the most part it was. I didn't try to make it hard on people; I did not have a chip on my shoulder. I just wanted people understand I was Muslim, and that's what I felt was the best thing for me. If they could accept that I could accept them. I didn't...it wasn't like if you're going to become my friend you have to become Muslim also. No, that was not it. I respect people's choices just as I hope they respect my choices.
SG: What happens to a person when they take on another name, another persona if you like? How much did you change?
KA: For me it made me more tolerant because I had to learn to understand differences. You know I was different, people didn't oftentimes understand exactly where I was coming from; certainly after 9/11 I've had to like explain myself and...
SG: Was there a backlash against people like yourself? Did you feel that at all?
KA: I didn't feel like necessarily a backlash, but I certainly felt that a number of people might have questioned my loyalty, or questioned where I was at, but I continue to be a patriotic American...
SG: For a lot of black Americans, converting to Islam was an intensely political decision as well. Was it the same for you?
KA: That was not part of my journey. My choosing Islam was not a political statement; it was a spiritual statement. What I learned about the Bible and the Qur'an made me see that the Qur'an was the next revelation from the Supreme Being - and I chose to interpret that and follow that. I don't think it had anything to do with trying to pigeon hole anyone, and deny them the ability to practice as they saw fit. The Quran tells us that Jews, Christians, and Muslims: Muslims are supposed to treat all of them the same way because we all believe in the same prophets and heaven and hell would be the same for all of us. And that's what it's supposed to be about.
SG: And it's been very influential in your writing as well.
KA: Yes it has. Racial equality and just what I experienced growing up in America as a kid really affected me to experience the Civil Rights Movement, and see people risking their lives, being beaten, being attacked by dogs, being fire hosed down streets, and they still took a non-violent and very brave approach to confronting bigotry. It was remarkable and it certainly affected me in a very profound way.
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Stories will never end
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