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Islam in America
by
Nabil A. Bayakly, Ph.D.
Muslims in Memphis Org.
How Far In History Do We Go
Back?
Islam Among Native Americans
• Evidence that some Mayans were Muslims.
• From the Seminoles of Florida (Tallahassee:
Tallah-Assee).
• Sequoyah the Cherokee. The last Cherokee chief
name was Ramadan bin Watie (also known as
(“Stand” Watie) and his son’s was Saladin Watie.
Saladin was part of the Cherokee delegation to
Washington D.C. to sign a new treaty with the
US at the end of the civil war.
Sequoyah the Cherokee
The Admiral Of the Western Seas –
Cheng Ho (Zheng He).
The Discoverer of America
The emperor sent his admiral on ever-long voyages.
Seven times, Zheng He's ships set sail for unknown lands.
He traveled to Mecca and visited Muhammad's (PBUH) tomb in Medina.
On the fifth voyage, he reached the coast of Africa, landing in Somalia on the
east coast.
1421 The Year China Discovered the World.
By Gavin Menzies (March 15, 2002)
Published by Bantam Press, London
Did a daring Chinese Admiral sailing the world's
largest wooden armada beat Columbus to America
by 71 years? 1421 The Year China Discovered
America? is a fascinating two part documentary that
investigates this possibility, delving deep into
historical archives and exploring the theories of best
selling author Gavin Menzies (From the Royal
Geographical Society in London).
In 1430, Ming Emperor Xuan Zong
commissioned Zheng He to deliver a
medal to foreign nations that he was
enthroned with a new era named
Xuan De. The medal was discovered
in 2006
So What Islam Has to Do With
This?
• Zheng He was a Muslim.
He is from the Hui
(Mongols) Muslim tribe
he was also known as
Hajji Zheng He. He
performed pilgrimage to
Makah on one of his
trips. The Arabic phrase
“Allahu Akbar” is
inscribed on his tomb.
http://www.time.com/time/asia/features/journey2001/intro.html
http://www.nytimes.com/library/magazine/millennium/m3/kristof.html (1999)
Who are the MELUNGEON?
Arch Goins and family, Graysville
Photo from the 1920's, from a great-nephew in Chattanooga,
provided by and used with the permission of Barbara Goins.
Funk and Wagnells 1893 ----One of a very dark people living in the Mountains of
Tennessee
Century Dictionary and Encyclopedia 1906 ---- Melungeons a dark people of
eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina with a discernable mix of “white, Indian
and black blood”.
Websters Revised Unabridged Dictionary 1913 ----Malengine (Ma*len"gine) n.
[OF. malengin; L. malus bad, evil + ingenium natural capacity. See Engine.] Evil
machination; guile; deceit. [Obs.] Gower.
American Heritage Dictionary---- Me.lun.geon (melun'jen) n. One of a small group of
dark skinned people of uncertain origin living in the mountains of eastern Tennessee.
[Origin uncertain.]
dictionary.com----melungeon \Me*lun"geon\, n. [Cf. F. m['e]langer to mix, m['e]lange a
mixture.] One of a mixed white and Indian people living in parts of Tennessee and the
Carolinas. They are descendants of early intermixtures of white settlers with natives. In
North Carolina the Croatan Indians, regarded as descended from Raleigh's lost colony
of Croatan, formerly classed with negroes, are now legally recognized as distinct.
dictionary.com
MALENGIN----: a favourite word of Sir Thomas Malory: "mischievous intent."
"http://authorsdirectory.com/c/aucnc10.htm"
Malengin ----[guile]. On his back he carried a net “to catch fools.” Being attacked by Sir
Artegal and his iron man, he turned himself first into a fox, then to a bush, then to a bird,
then to a hedgehog, then to a snake; but Talus was a match for all his deceits, and killed
him. (Spenser: Faërie Queene, v. 9
"http://www.bartleby.com/81/10864.html"
“From Anatolia to Appalachia”
and
“A Turkish-American Dialogue”
by Joseph Scolnick and Brent Kennedy
• Turkic people have been
migrating to America for many
centuries but this significant
influx has been largely
unrecognized.
• In “From Anatolia to Appalachia”,
Scolnick and Kennedy initiate a
dialogue regarding this neglected
area of American history and
culture. This volume begins the
communication with an essay
reviewing existing evidence
followed by interviews with
knowledgeable persons about
selected aspects of the population
movements. An introduction and
conclusion give focus and unity to
the various elements of the
dialogue.
The Undisputed American
Muslim History
Slavery and the Slave Trade
Mamout was born in Africa
around 1736 and was a
teenager when enslaved
and brought to America.
He was known as a devout
Muslim and hard worker, and
was able to accumulate some
property. He lived the rest of
his life in Georgetown, where
he died in 1824 at the age of
about 88.
Omar Said was captured in warfare
and shipped to Charleston, S.C. in
1806/07, just before the abolition
of the slave trade. He spent about
24 years enslaved in South and
North Carolina. He originally wrote
his account in Arabic in 1831, at
around the age of 61; an English
translation appeared after his
death in 1864.
The Prince of Slaves
Abdulrahman Ibrahim Ibn Sori
was a former prince from West
Africa who was made a slave in
the United States.
In 1828 he was freed
after spending 40 years
in slavery by the order
of President John
Quincy Adams and
Secretary of State
Henry Clay.
In 1803, Bilali (Ben Ali) Muhammad and his family arrived in Georgia on
Sapelo Island. Bilali Muhammad was a Fula from Timbo Futa-Jallon in present
day Guinea-Conakry. By 1806 he became the plantation manager for Thomas
Spalding, a prominent Georgian master. Bilali and his wife Phoebe had 12 sons
and 7 daughters. One of his sons is reported as being Aaron of Joel Chandler
Harris’ work, author of Uncle Remus and Br’er Rabbit stories. His daughters
" names were Margaret, Hester, Charlotte, Fatima, Yoruba, Medina, and Bint.
All his daughters but Bint could speak English, French, Fula, Gullah, and Arabic.
Bilali was well educated in Islamic law. While enslaved Bilali became the
community leader and Imam of at least 80 men. During the War of 1812 Bilali
told his slave master that he had 80 men of the true faith to help defend the land
against the British.
Ben Alis "Diary, housed today at the University of Georgia in Athens.
Recent History
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In 1903, Mohammed Asa Abu-Howar arrives in New York. Moves to Washington, DC. He
becomes a successful builder as A. Joseph Howar, who backed the construction of the Islamic
Center.
In 1907, The Polish Tartars establish "The American Mohammed Society" in Brooklyn, NY.
In 1908, Muslim immigrants from the Arab provinces of the Ottoman Empire, Syria, Lebanon,
Jordan arrive in North America. They are mainly Turks, Kurds, Albanians, and Arabs.
In 1915, Albanian Muslims in Biddeford, Maine established the first effective Mosque in North
America. Most were bachelors working at the Peppermell Mills. Muslim Albanian families still
reside in Biddeford and nearby Saco.
In 1920, The Red Crescent, a Muslim charity modeled after the International Red Cross, is
established in Detroit.
In 1922, an Islamic association was established in Detroit, Michigan.
In 1925, a Muslim group in Michigan City, Indiana purchased land designated as their cemetery.
In the thirties, these Muslims added a Mosque/Community Center. The building is still in use.
By 1923, Hassen Mohamed became a successful businessman in Downtown Belzoni, Mississippi.
He had a general merchandise store. Hassen settled in the Belzoni area in 1911 he came from the
Lebanese village of Sir’een. Hassen was married to Ethel Wright together they had eight children
one of their sons Ollie Mohamed became a State Senator. Hassen Mohamed past away in 1965.
Immigration Laws
• In 1929, Muslim farmers built one of America’s first
Mosques (Masjid) in Ross, North Dakota. The
homesteader Hassen Juma had settled there with 160
free acres in 1899. By 1902, twenty families had followed
his path from Birey, Syria. The U.S. objected to their
naturalization until 1909 when it withdrew the ban and
the Syrians began claiming citizenship. Many fought and
died in the two world wars. In 1929 the community built
a Mosque, and performed Jumuah prayers service. The
farmhouse/mosque was destroyed in 1978. The cemetery
on its grounds remains and there is an arched gate with
a crescent and star on it.
More History
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In the 1930's, three other Mosques (Masjids) were started in Dearborn, MI., Sacramento, CA., and
Michigan City, MI.
In 1934, The Muslim community of Cedar Rapids, Iowa built the first Masjid (Mosque)
specifically designed and built as a Masjid. The earlier community was predominantly Lebanese
under the leadership of Abdullah Ingram. Cedar Rapid’s community has grown and has been
able to maintain their Islamic identity.
1947-60, A third wave of Muslim immigrants, coming from Palestine, Yugoslavia, Lebanon and
Egypt.
In 1949, The Albanian-American Muslim Center of Detroit was founded by Imam Vehbi Ismail.
By the late 1940s, a few jazz musicians became Muslims. Art Blakey, Talib Dawoud, Mohammed
Sadiq, Sahib Shihab, Ahmad Jamal, Dakota Staton, Yusef Lateef, Idrees Sulieman, and McCoy
(Sulieman Saud) Tyner to a name a few.
In 1952, Muslim service men sue the federal government and were allowed to identify themselves
as Muslims.
In 1955, The State Street Masjid in New York City was established by Sheikh Dawud Ahmed
Faisal. It is still in use today. From this Masjid came the Dar-ul-Islam movement in 1962.
In 1955, A Mosque was established by Yugoslavians in Chicago. These Muslims arrived in the
early 1900s and have evolved into an organized ethnic group with several institutions, including
the Bosnian-American Cultural Association.
In 1963, The Muslim Student Association (MSA) was founded. It’s an organization to aid foreign
Muslim students attending schools in the United States. MSA now has more than 100 branches
nationwide
1965
• In 1965, Muhammad Ali the three
time world boxing champ makes the
name Muhammad Ali and the Islamic
faith a household name in America.
• In 1965, Internationally known
Muslim leader El Hajj Malik alShabazz was assassinated in New
York.
And More History
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In 1982, The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) was established in Plainfield, IN. ISNA is
now an umbrella organization for many active Islamic groups seeking to further the cause of AlIslam in the United States.
In the 1990s A National Shura developed in North America which comprises Imam W.D.
Mohammed, Dr. Abdullah Idris Ali, President of ISNA, Imam Jamil Al-Amin, and Dr. Abdul
Malik Mujahid, the Amir of ICNA.
In 1991, Charles Bilal, of Kountze, Texas, became the nation’s first Muslim mayor in an American
city.
In 1993, Captain Abdul Rasheed Muhammad became the First Muslim Army Chaplin (Imam) in
the U.S. Army was installed. In 1991 according to the United States Department of Defense, there
are more than 5,000 Muslims in uniform on active duty in the military.
In 1994, Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is established, a leading Islamic Human
and Civil rights organization.
In August 1999, The first Muslim US Ambassador, Osman Siddique was sworn in as the
Ambassador to the Fiji Islands
In 2006, Keith Ellison was elected congressman. He is the first Muslim to be elected to the House
of Representative.
Throughout the 80's and 90's we have seen much growth in the Muslim community. Today Islam
is the fastest growing Religion in America today and has now become the second largest religion
in the United States.
Pseudo-Islamic Cults
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In 1929, "The Lost-Found Nation of Islam in the Wilderness of North America" in Detroit was
founded by W.D.Fard. Fard was known as (Wali D. Fard, Wallace Fard, and W.F. Muhammad)
mystery surrounds his origins some identify him as half-Syrian, half-Jamaican some say halfPersian, half-Turkish, and the FBI says he was half-Polynesian, half-Scottish. Fard claimed he was
half-European, half-Meccan genealogy. On July the Fourth, he announced the beginning of His
mission which was to restore and to resurrect his lost and found people, who were identified as
the original nation of Muslims of Asiatic-African descent from the tribe of Shabazz, who were
captured, exploited, and dehumanized and enslaved. In 1931, Fard was preaching in Detroit,
Michigan where after hearing his first lecture Elijah Poole was overwhelmed by the message and
immediately accepted it. The founder of the Nation of Islam gave him the name "Karriem" and
made him minister. Later he was promoted to the position of "Supreme Minister" and his name
was changed to Muhammad.
Mr. Muhammad quickly became an integral part of the Temple of Islam. For the next three and a
half years, Mr. Muhammad was personally taught by his teacher Wali D. Fard. Eljiah was taught
some Islamic beliefs, a self-independence and empowerment concept, a history, a superior
cultural belief, was inspired to read and respect the Holy Qur’an. There where about 8,000
followers at that time.
In 1933, Fard told Eljiah Muhammad that he was the Mahdi "The Saviour", the one who had come
in the early morning dawn of the New Millennium to lay the base for a New World Order of
Peace and Righteousness on the foundation of truth, justice, freedom, and to change the world
into a Heaven on Earth.
Continue
• In 1934, Elijah Muhammad (1897-1975) becomes the leader of "The
Lost-Found Nation of Islam in the Wilderness of North America"
which later became known as "The Nation of Islam." The Nation of
Islam, was an indigenous African American Islamic expression
founded by Wali Fard Muhammad and developed by Elijah
Muhammad. In 1934, W. Fard Muhammad, departed the scene and
left Elijah Muhammad with the mission. By 1935, Mr. Muhammad
faced many new challenges and a death plot at the hands of a few
disgruntled members. To avoid the plot and to do research at the
Library of Congress he moved to Washington, DC. In Washington,
Mr. Muhammad studied and started a Muslim community he was
known as "Mr Evans", "Ghulam Bogans", Muhammad Rassoull".
The Nation of Islam had developed many Temples of Islam, and the
University of Islam across the country, they had businesses, farms,
property, rental property, transportation fleets and more. He
produced many great Muslim and non Muslim leaders like Al-Hajj
Malik El-Shabazz (Malcolm X), Muhammad Ali, Louis Farrakhan,
and Imam Warith Deen (W.D.) Mohammed
From Chaos Comes Order
• In 1975, W.D. Mohammed becomes the leader of the
Nation of Islam. He moved the Nation of Islam from
nationalism into the path of Islam. Under his leadership
the community made many positive transitions and
name changes from The World Community of Islam in
the West, to the American Muslim Mission, Ministry of
W.D. Mohammed, and now Muslim American Society.
• In 1978, Warith Deen Muhammad is named as
consultant/trustee by the Gulf States to distribute funds
for Islamic missionary activities in the U.S.
Another “Muslim” Sect
• In 1920, The first Ahmadiyya Muslim missionary to arrive in
America was Dr. Mufti Muhammad Sadiq, who arrived in
Philadelphia on Sunday, February 15, 1920, on board the Haverford.
For religious reasons he was detained on Ellis Island, New York on
February 25, 1920. On May 20, 1920 he was released by the order of
the Secretary of the State. Dr. Sadiq stayed in New York for some
time and continued to preach Islam. Later, he moved to Chicago
and in 1921 established the first headquarters of the Ahmadiyya
Muslim Community, at 4448 Wabash Avenue, giving it the name "Al
Masjid."
• In 1950, the first mosque in the nation’s capital is established as the
"American Fazl Mosque" at 2141 Leroy Place, Washington, DC. It
served as the Headquarters of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community
from 1950-1994.
Yet Some More
• In 1926, Duse Muhammad Ali (1866-1945), mentor of
Marcus Garvey, helped establish an organization in
Detroit known as the "Universal Islamic Society." Its
motto was "One God, One Aim, One Destiny." He was
born in Alexandria, Egypt, the son of a Sudanese mother
and an Egyptian army officer. He was brought to
London at a young age by one of his fathers" friends. He
was known to be a frequently in the company of
Muhammad Pickthall, the English Muslim scholar who
translated the Holy Qur’an into English. Duse Ali had
considerable influence upon Garvey’s when they work
together in London when Duse Ali was the Editor
African Times and Orient Review.
September 11, 2001
• A cowardly attack on OUR nation
• Active campaign against Islam was launched.
• Attacks on:
Deity of Islam
The Message
The Messenger
The Practice
The People
Present Day Islam in America
Newark, Delaware
Somerset, Kentucky, USA
D.C.
Tempe, AZ
L. A.
Northbrook, Illinois
Central Florida
Indianapolis, Indiana
Windsor, CT
Teaneck, New Jersey
Are there any Other Contributions?
• Yes.
• The US constitution
• In sciences
• In economics
• Many more to come (In Sha’-Allah).
Who Are the American Muslims
• A mosaic of the whole world
• The sooner we admit that they are
Americans the sooner we come out of our
slumberness.
What is Next?
• Learn about your civil rights
• We MUST put back into this society.
• We MUST build bridges with other
communities.
• Our children are ALL AMERICANS
(whether we realize it or not)