Islam in the African diaspora
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For centuries, Islam has spread through the African diaspora. While many in the diaspora adhere to more traditional forms of the religion such as Shia and Sunni Islam, there are a number of Islamic organizations that are unique to the African diaspora.
Contents |
[edit] Islamic Heritage in Africa
- See also: Islam in Africa
In 615 the first Muslims came to Africa as refugees from persecution in Mecca. The Christian king of Abyssinia refused to return them to Mecca after being impressed by their respect for Jesus and the Virgin Mary.[2]
By 732, 100 years following the death of Prophet Muhammed, all of North Africa was a part of the Islamic empire.[3] Islam remained the dominant religion in North Africa through the colonial period.[4]
[edit] United States
In the United States, African slaves were often forced to abandon their traditional religions and convert to Christianity. While first-generation slaves were often able to retain their Muslim identity, their descendants were not. In the decades after emancipation, Islam reemerged in the form of highly visible and sometimes controversial movements in the African American community. The first of these noteworthy movements was the Moorish Science Temple of America, founded by Noble Drew Ali. Ali had a profound influence on Wallace Fard, who later founded the black nationalist Nation of Islam in 1930. Elijah Muhammad became head of the organization in 1934. Like Malcolm X, who left the Nation of Islam in 1964, many African American Muslims now follow traditional Islam.[5]
[edit] Black nationalist movements
- See also: Black nationalism
[edit] Nation of Islam
- See also: Nation of Islam
The Nation of Islam was organized in 1930 by Wallace Fard. Fard drew inspiration for NOI doctrines from those of Noble Drew Ali's Moorish Science Temple of America. He provided three main principles which serve as the foundation of the NOI: "Allah is God, the white man is the devil and the so called Negroes are the Asiatic Black People, the cream of the planet earth". Fard also taught a separatist and nationalist ideology. In 1934, Elijah Muhammad became the leader of the NOI. Muhammad dified Wallace Fard, saying that he was an incarnation of God, and taught that he was a prophet who had been taught directly by God in the form of Wallace Fard. The NOI was renamed and reorganized as a Sunni organization by Warith Deen Muhammad in 1975. But Louis Farrakhan reestablished the organization under the original Fardian doctrines. Today the group has a wide influence in the African American community. The Million Man March in 1995 remains the largest organized march in the history of Washington, D. C.. The group sponsors cultural and academic education, economic independence, and personal and social responsibility. The Nation of Islam has received a great deal of criticism for its anti-white, anti-Christian, and anti-semetic teachings.[6] It is listed as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.[7] The publication of The Black Muslims In America by C. Eric Lincoln in 1961 and the prominence of the organization's leaders have led to the popular assumption that all or most African American Muslims are members of the Nation of Islam. As of 2002, the Nation of Islam had 30,000 to 70,000 members, out of 2.5 million African American Muslims.[8]
[edit] Nation of Gods and Earths
[edit] Mainstream Muslim movements
After the death of his father, Warith Deen Muhammad broke away from the nationalist teachings of the Nation of Islam.
[edit] Black Muslims
The term Black Muslim is widely credited to C. Eric Lincoln's 1961 book, The Black Muslims In America, which analyzed the growing influence of the Nation of Islam in the United States of America. The phrase is often used in the United States to denote members of Louis Farrakhan's separatist Black nationalist movement, the Nation of Islam. The Nation of Islam never appreciated being labeled "Black Muslims" and years afterward publicly denounced the title but as Malcolm X (the head preacher of the New York mosque) stated, "the name stuck." Today, the vast majority of Black Muslims are not members of the Nation of Islam. Rather, many Black Muslims follow a number of local religious leaders who may or may not be Black, such as Siraj Wahaj.
[edit] List of notable Muslims in the African diaspora
[edit] References
- ^ a b Razwy, Sayed Ali Asgher (1997). "10", A Restatement of the History of Islam and Muslims: CE 570 to 661. United Kingdom: World Federation of KSI Muslim Communities. ISBN 0950987913.
- ^ Dr. A. Zahoor (1997). Negus, King of Abyssinia (615 C.E.). Retrieved on 2007-09-23.
- ^ Islam in Africa. Retrieved on 2007-09-19.
- ^ The Story of Africa:Islam. Retrieved on 2007-09-23.
- ^ Huda. African-American Muslims. About.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-02.
- ^ Dodoo, Jan (May 29, 2001). Nation of Islam. University of Virginia.
- ^ Active U.S. Hate Groups in 2006. Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved on 2007-10-29.
- ^ Wood, Daniel B. (February 14, 2002). America's black Muslims close a rift. Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved on 2007-11-13.
- ^ The religion of Muhammad Ali. Adherents.com. Retrieved on 2007-09-21.
- ^ ">Jeff. Chang (2005). Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-hop Generation. St. Martin's Press, 258,259.
- ^ Kareem Abdul Jabbar. Salaam. Retrieved on 2007-10-29.
- ^ a b The Religious Affiliation of Infamous "Beltway Sniper" Serial Killer Lee Boyd Malvo. Adherents.com (20 October 2005). Retrieved on 2007-09-19.
| This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2007) |
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
pl:Black Muslim
