Muslims in Early America

“A Cluster of Sacred Symbols”: Interpreting an Act of Animal Sacrifice at Kingsley Plantation, Fort George Island, Florida (1814–39)

“…Although traditional religions will be the primary focus, we should also recognize that some enslaved almost certainly were exposed to or were devout followers of Islam (e.g., the Susu; Gomez 1994;Thayer 1983, p. 119). Animal sacrifice was, however, not incompatible with Islamic belief; many Africans (both past and present) who claim Islam also include local and traditional religious acts within their daily life (e.g., the Northern Nigerian Bori religion, Tremearne 1915; among the Iddah people along the Niger River in 1841, Allen and Thomson 1848a, pp.…”

An Exploratory Study of American Muslim Conceptions of Mental Illness

“…Arriving first as slaves primarily from West Africa (Gomez, 1994), Muslim immigrants began to arrive voluntarily from several Near-Eastern and Central Asian countries in the early 20 th century (Nyang, 1999;Wormser, 2002). The number of Muslim immigrants to the United States increased during the cold war years and continued growth has been noted as a result of regional conflicts (Coughlan & Owens-Manley, 2005;Ratliff, 1997).…”

The Treatment of Muslims in American Courts

“…The most recent research estimates the gure at 'probably reaching in to the thousands'. 18 Muslims were the most probable slaves to be educated and literate, and there is evidence that they had in uence over non-Muslim slaves. Efforts to maintain their faith failed, but there may be echoes of Islamic practice in some aspects of modern black Christian culture, such as music and worship.…”