Paper #2 – Origins of Islam in America
Trevor Pace A00763129 It seems that when it comes to the first Muslims in America it is a little unclear, however several sources that I found believe that it was first in the 12th century and ties in with the voyage of Columbus. “The Navigator of Columbus, who during the famous voyage, brought along a copy of a travel narrative written by Portuguese Muslims who had sailed to the New World in the 12th century. The narrative by al-Idrisi was called "The Sea of Tears"”. (Ahari, 1998)
Next during the 14th century with Muslims that came from the Senegabian region of Africa, “It is believed they were Moors, expelled from Spain, who made their way to the Caribbean and possibly to the Gulf of Mexico” (Cowan, 2006) Then with the 16th century with Istafan, the Arab, “who was a guide for the Spanish that wished to settle the area that would later be called Arizona in 1539”. (Ahari, 1998) The next major instance of Islam in America happened with slavery in the 18th century. This is the first real wave of Muslims in America as it is said that “Historians estimate that between 15 to 30 percent of all enslaved African men, and less than 15 percent of the enslaved African women, were Muslims” (Samuel S. Hill, 2005). Next in the late 19th and early 20th century Muslim immigrants from the Middle East, particularly from Syria and Lebanon, arrived in large numbers. “Many were settling in Ohio, Michigan, Iowa and even the Dakotas. Like most other migrants they were seeking greater economic opportunity than in their homeland and often worked as manual laborers. One of the first big employers of Muslims and blacks was the Ford Company—these were often the only people willing to work in the hot, difficult conditions of the factories.” (Cowan, 2006) This is the period where the formation of national Islamic groups begun to emerge, such as the Muslim Students Association (MSA) of the United States and Canada, later to be replace by the Islamic Society of North America. During the 1930s and 40s, Arab immigrants began to establish communities and build mosques. “African-American Muslims had already built their own mosques, and by 1952 there was more than 1,000 in North America.” (Cowan, 2006)
The Nation of Islam (NOI) was the largest organization, “created in 1930 by Wallace Fard Muhammad, it however taught a different form of Islam, promoting black supremacy and labeling white people as "devils"” (Nation of Islam, n.d.) Then in 1934, “Elijah Muhammed took over (the Nation of Islam), and he attracted disenchanted and poor African Americans from the urban north” (Tweed, 2004) While Elijah Muhammed led the Nation of Islam he attracted a new convert who was in a prison cell by the name of Malcolm Little, who later changed his name to Malcolm X. Malcolm X brought the Nation of Islam into popularity, and while being the organizations chief spokesman, was able to find influence among young African Americans during the civil rights movement. One of those young African Americans was Cassius Clay, who in 1964 converted to Islam and changed his name to Muhammad Ali and eventually joined the Nation of Islam. Malcolm X went away from the Nation of Islam this same year, 1964, and went on a hajj to Mecca where he converted to Sunni Islam. Sunni Islam began to rise in popularity since his conversion and that of Muhammad Ali’s, who converted in 1975. Though the United States has opened its doors to Muslim immigrants since the 1960’s, the American people have grown skeptical and have criticized sharply Muslims since the September 11, 2001 World Trade Center attacks. The 9/11 attacks were orchestrated by the Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda at the direction of then leader Osama Bin Laden. The estimated number of Muslims in this country varies, depending on the source. “The American Muslim Council claims 5 million, while the non-partisan Center for Immigration Studies believes the figure is closer to between 3 to 4 million followers of Islam. Today, there are more than 1500 Islamic centers and mosques around the country.” (Cowan, 2006) Finding current numbers of Muslims in America can be difficult and every source seems to differ, but most place the number currently between 5-8 million. Opinion: What kind of problems do Muslims face living here in the States? I think that the obvious answer is that of discrimination. Of course the 9/11 attacks set Muslims back when it comes to acceptance in America. However, even though discrimination can be an awful thing, it usually will not destroy a group unlike loss of culture. I think that Muslims who feel that they need to change the way they dress or believe, to fit in because of discrimination is the biggest threat to Islam in America. I think it would be hard not to adapt and change your values so that you could be a better fit for certain employment. Not only that, but just the nature of America is to fit in and be “cool”. Look at every commercial, movie, and magazine that comes out of Hollywood or is on the shelves in the grocery stores. I think that is the biggest problem for Muslims living in the States. Do they (Muslims) belong here in your opinion? Yes of course they do. Not only do they belong here, I think America is better because of them. I like and often agree with their values, I think that they are able to good citizens and are able to contribute greatly to America. What do I see as the future of Islam in America? Well, in my opinion, I still think that they took a major blow because of 9/11, understanding that it is through no fault of their own but still true nonetheless. However, despite this setback I think that they will continue to grow and more and more Middle Eastern Muslims will seek out new homes here as uncertainty abounds in the Middle East today.
Bibliography
Ahari, M. A. (1998). The African-American Islamic Community In The United States: Historical Development. Retrieved from Sunnah: http://www.sunnah.org/history/islamamr.htm
Cowan, W. (Director). (2006). Islam In America [Motion Picture].
Nation of Islam. (n.d.). The Muslim Program: What the Muslims Want. Retrieved from Nation of Islam: http://www.noi.org/muslim-program/
Samuel S. Hill, C. H. (2005). Encyclopedia of Religion in the South. Macon, Georgia: Mercer University Press.
Tweed, T. A. (2004, December). Islam in America: From African Slaves to Malcolm X. Retrieved from National Humanities Center: http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/tserve/twenty/tkeyinfo/islam.htm