ABSTRACT
The early history of Islam in America is a story of transatlantic crossings, exchanges and interactions. It draws attention to the relations and institutions formed in America amidst peoples of varying racial, ethnic and religious backgrounds despite the prevalence of slavery, racism, exclusionary immigration and citizenship laws, and visions of the American body politic as white and Protestant. This history is a reminder of the fact that forces of homogeneity as well as diversity have shaped America and American Islam.
