Islam

Islam has the earliest presence in America due to the presence of enslaved persons brought here from Africa in the eighteenth and seventeenth centuries. Approximately 10% to 30% of enslaved persons were Muslims. Although the practice of Islam largely faded from the American landscape by the early nineteenth century, African American Muslims today place great symbolic importance on the presence of these early Muslims.  African Americans were the first in the U.S. to convert to Islam in large numbers. It might seem tedious to learn about obscure and non-orthodox groups like the Moorish Science Temple (MST) movement and the Nation of Islam (NOI), but these groups were deeply important in generating interest in Islamic culture and ideals among African Americans.

The overwhelming majority of African Americans in the Nation of Islam converted to traditional Sunni Islam in the 1970s under the leadership of Warith Deen Muhammad. Malcolm X's hajj to Mecca in 1964 inspired many African Americans to look to Islam. Only about 1% of African Americans identify as Muslim. However, African American Muslims are quite visible in Philadelphia. This chart below from the American Mosque Report 2011. It shows that African Americans are declining their overall percentage of Muslims in the U.S. However, most conversions to Islam in the U.S. continue to occur among African Americans. It is not uncommon for Arab and South Asian mosques to invite African American Muslim preachers to speak to their youth. (See Su'ad Abdul Khabeer's book Muslim Cool)

Reading Suggestion: ‘Acts Of Faith: The Story Of An American Muslim, The Struggle For The Soul Of A Generation.’ by Eboo Patel

“In one of the moments when my father was feeling especially righteous about his “Muslim-ness,” I overheard him expressing concern to my mother that the YMCA, which was after all the Young Men’s Christian Association, was teaching us Christian songs. “Do you think they are trying to teach Christianity to our kids?” he asked, the tone of his voice a kind of auditory chest thumping. “I hope so,” my mother responded. “I hope they teach the kids Jewish and Hindu songs, too. That’s the kind of Muslims we want our kids to be.”

“I thought about the meaning of pluralism in a world where the forces that seek to divide us are strong. I came to one conclusion: We have to save each other. It’s the only way to save ourselves.”

“I realized that it was precisely because of America’s glaring imperfections that I should seek to participate in its progress, carve a place in its promise, and play a role in its possibility. And at its heart and at its best, America was about pluralism.”
― Eboo Patel, Acts of Faith: The Story of an American Muslim, the Struggle for the Soul of a Generation

Learning Activities

• Art & Empathy: A Conversation with Muslim playwright Rohina Malik

• Islamic Practices - Harvard University Pluralism Project

• On Black American Muslim Contributions to the Fabric of Our Society

• “Female Muslim Refugee Breaks Barriers as Minnesota State Representative”

• Mona Haydar - Wrap my Hijab

Other Philadelphia Mosques

• Sunni: Al-Aqsa Islamic Society multicultural - Palestinian, North African

• Sufi: Bawa Muhaiyadeen Fellowship (Multi-cultural)

• Shi'a: Bait ul Qayem 337 Conrow Rd, Delran, NJ 08075

• Shi'a: Madieh (Haverford and 65th) Iranian, Farsi speaking

• Shi'a: Al-Quran Indian/Pakistani, English/Urdu speaking

• African American: Germantown Masjid (Salafi) (African American)

• African American: Masjidullah (Sunni) (African American)

• African American: Quba mosque/site visit to New Africa Center

• Ahmadiyya: Ahmadiyya Mosque - only mosque built from ground up in Philly (215-455-4655)

Click HERE to tips and guidelines for what to expect when visiting a mosque. 

Masjid Al-Jamia - (Sunni) - typical of many mainstream mosques in the U.S. Masjid Al-Jamia has historical connections to the Muslim Student Association at the University of Pennsylvania. The mosque is managed by Shuja Moore and the imam is Yahaya Adam. Early in 2018, this mosque was the site of an Islamophobic protest. Following the event, a local synagogue, Kol Tzedek, committed themselves to standing in solidarity with the community. Every Friday since February, synagogue members, joined by Christians from the community, have stood outside the mosque in support for Muslims who attend each week for the Jumu'ah prayer service. Click HERE for a news article. 

Bawa Muhaiyadeen Fellowship(Sufi - Multi-cultural)

Mosque of Islamic Brotherhood (Sunni - African American) 55 St. Nicholas Ave. New York, NY. Located in the Harlem neighborhood of New York. Since the early twentieth Century, Harlem has been a cultural center for African Americans. Malcolm X popularized Islam through the Nation of Islam during the 1950s and 60s. Many Africans Africans fully adopted Sunni Islam under the leadership of Warith Deen Muhammad in the 1970s.  Click HERE for a video of Imam Al-Hajj Talib 'Abdur-Rashid.

Suggested Readings 

Krueger, David M. “Islam.” Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia. This article is a short overview of the history of Islam in the Philadelphia region. Link to full-text article online HERE. 

Lamptey, Jerusha.  Never Wholly Other: A Muslima Theology of Religious Pluralism. Oxford University Press, 2014. [Link to full text dissertation version here]

African Muslims in Early America | National Museum of African American History and Culture: https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/collection/african-muslims-early-america