Islam in the African diaspora

The practice of Islam by members of the African diaspora may be a consequence of African Muslims retaining their religion after leaving Africa (as for many Muslims in Europe) or of people of African ethnicity converting to Islam, as among many African-American Muslims, where conversion is often presented as a recovery of an African heritage lost during the Atlantic slave trade. In many regions, African-diaspora Muslims are an intersectional minority, and may face both racism and anti-Islam sentiment.

Islam has been in many countries of Africa for a long time. It came about more popularly in Northern Africa up until around the 8th century when the religion began to head south and west. It spread across many countries there from the 8th century to the 29th century where we can see it in many modern countries there now. The states that Islam was able to spread through and begin to influence were Senegal, Gambia, Niger, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Nigeria. It is even seen today in many of those countries that there is still that presence and some influence of Islam. Researchers also believe that it is very likely that Ilsa was able to spread into Africa due to trade throughout the Mediterranean Sea. It is a known fact that throughout history trade has been one of the biggest forms of communication and a very useful pathway as people trade more than just goods, but also practices and religious traditions that others tend to pick up and want to be a part of. It is likely that without this international trade across the Med that Islam would not have been able to spread from these more typical Muslim countries to other countries not as commonly associated with Islam in the first place.

Aside from just trade as the most popular way that Islam made its way into Western Africa, there were also religious teachers or even Islamic missionaries that were looking to spread their faith as far and as wide as they can. Many religions are called to spread the world of their faith and these Muslims were doing just that, trying to get their works out to as many people and group the popularity of their faith and religion. It is interesting to compare the way religion spread at this time versus now, especially with how effective this ended up being in a world that likely had many struggles communicated when they were first interacting and trading with each other. Without all of this trade, Islam would not have been able to spread to the vast number of people it did in Africa and in turn not make its influence on the people and other religions of that area.

An article by the Lowcountry Digital History Initiative mentioned how some of these northern and west African kings converted to Islam themselves when the spreading happened, and those that did not convert were completely fine with allowing others to practice this newly introduced religion. The article goes on to mention that the mass number of conversions to Islam would not end up happening until much later around the 17th century. It continues on explaining how as more and more people converted, new practices were developed and some older ones were left behind. In other words, as the religion grew it began to change and evolve into one that more and more people wanted to be a part of. They were able to make some changes that made more sense to them and keep the religion intriguing and popular within the newer countries.

It is very well known that many religious practices and other African traditions and ways of life were brought to America through the slave trade. Islam is no special case, as the religion was brought from Africa to the Caribbean and the United States in the exact same way. An article by Enslaved and Freed African Muslims: Spiritual Wayfarers in the South and Lowcount, anywhere from fifteen to thirty percent of the enslaved people that were brought to the Americas through the slave trade practiced some form of Islam and shared in their religious practices. Because of facts like this, claims can be made that this is how Islam first got the Americans and how it was able to grow and infiltrate its practices and ideas into other slaves who may not have come from those same western African countries. As stated earlier Islam spread throughout west Africa and influenced some of the other practices in those religions which would lead to even more influence from Islam once those people with their religions were forced to come to the Americas.

The slave trade would be the reason for the first strong presence of Muslims and Islam in the United States. These slaves continued to practice and preach their traditions and ways of life and pass them on to their friends and families growing the culture and religion. These same Lowcountry articles continue to go on and talk about how Americans today only picture middle eastern people and even the violent terrorist groups that come from some of those counties when thinking about Islam. But in reality, Islam had been in this country for so many years prior to these groups and stereotypes and that people tend to forget about how Islam arrived in this country in the first place. Without the first presence of Muslims coming from the slave trade, it is very unlikely that Islam would have been able to spread and have an influence as much as it does in the country today. Islam was likely an escape for these slaves as it was something from their home and roots that they could continue to practice and live through to keep their heritage and beliefs alive. It is just sad that this is the first reason that Islam came to the Americans.