ABSTRACT
On a recent research trip to an East Coast mosque, a mosque employee who was interested in my research asked me, “Where do you begin your history of Islam in America?” I have been a professional student of religion long enough to know that when people casually ask me a question about my work they are not so much interested in my expert opinion as they are politely looking for an opening to share their own thoughts and convictions. “I begin with the early European exploration and settlement of the Americas. Where do you
think the history of Islam in America should begin?” “Ah, you see … most people begin with slavery,” he retorted, “but there were Muslims
who came here long before that.” He went on to explain that there were seamen as early as the ninth century who traveled westward from Muslim Iberia and West Africa, and they recorded their journeys, describing lands and peoples similar to those found in the Americas. Muslim scholars, he insisted, are uncovering archeological evidence of these voyages in South America today. “It’s important to talk about these things,” he advised me. “People talk about us as though we are recent transports here, and they need to know that that’s not the case.”
