ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on a variety of dominant cultural North American Christian views of Islam and Muslims. During the height of the slave trade, the American colonies relied primarily on West African networks. Africans were considered to be under the biblical curse of Ham, and thus the slave traders felt justified in using and abusing Africans for economic and political gain. Images of African pirates have continued to occur in American popular culture. Until 1979 most Americans saw Islam as a curious but remote religion. The most prevalent of all types of American Christian responses to Islam is what is called the Evangelical Biblicist. In this type the Bible serves as the primary reference point to interpret the place and role of Islam in an American Christian world view. Christian–Muslim relations in North America will continue to be influenced by three factors: US foreign policy in Muslim-majority countries, the battle over American identity within an increasingly diverse population, and racism.
