Celebrating the Roots of Islam in America Through Black History Month
February 24, 2012
The contributions to Islam and America by African Americans have been
both inspiring and truly eye-opening. Without a doubt, Islam in America,
as it stands today, would not be the way it is without African American
influence. Sadly, the narrative of Islam in America generally tends to
forget about the major impact African Americans made in shaping a Muslim
American identity.
More than 200 years ago, our nation was embedded in the gross practice of slavery; by 1800, estimates have shown that at least 15 to 30 percent of slaves were Muslim.
Muslim slaves unknowingly contributed to the narrative of Islam in
America by continuing to practice their faith in the face of great
adversity. Indeed, Muslims have been part of the American framework
since its very inception. American society saw its first population of
Muslims through the import of African slaves. From that point, there are
historical accounts of Muslims fighting in the American Revolutionary
War, aiming to assist in the very creation of this nation.
For example, Peter Salem,
a former slave of Muslim background from Massachusetts, fought in 1775
in the Battle of Bunker Hill and later fought in the Battle of
Saratoga. In the course of our nation’s short history, Muslims have
participated and fought in every American war. Further, when the slaves
were emancipated, they fought for their nation’s principles of freedom,
equality and justice in the Civil War. Forming the Muslim American
identity of participation and engagement—even at the military level—was
in its infancy stage of being established.
More than 100 years later, Malcolm X
was born and established himself as one of the most prolific
contributors to America. In his transformation from petty criminal to a
member of the Nation of Islam where he espoused powerful rhetoric in
defense of black supremacy to his shift to Sunni Islam, Malcolm X proved
to be an intellectual force in the formation of identity to be reckoned
with. Malcolm’s fascinating change from exclusion in American society
to the realization that participation and engagement within the larger
fabric of our nation was exemplified, highlighted and emulated during
and after his life. From, “we’re not American, we’re Africans who happen
to be in America. We were kidnapped and brought here against our will
from Africa. We didn’t land on Plymouth Rock- that rock landed on us,”
to his famous speech in Cleveland, Ohio, “The Ballot or the Bullet,”
in which he stressed the importance of political participation to
address political maturity and recognizing that through unity comes
action.
African Americans have certainly established the
bedrock of Islam in America; without them, the way we see and experience
Islam in America today would not be. In a time when Islam is seen as a
suspicious foreign entity existing within the U.S., the centuries old
narrative of Islam in America proves otherwise—it has been a thriving,
contributing force to the very structure of our nation from the
country’s inception.
It would be completely untrue for the
African American experience to be left out of the hundreds of years of
forming and shaping a Muslim American identity. The narrative exists,
and the roots of Islam in America can be dated back to the very
formation of this nation on the backs of those whose religion values
freedom, justice, human rights and equality.
IN THIS SECTION
- Empowering American Muslim Voices
- Tackling Violent Extremism in America
- An Interview with Chris Seiple
- 114th Congress: Deliver or Disappoint?
- Jerusalem: More Divided Than Ever
- New DoJ Guidance Unacceptable
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