Muslims in America: A Short History (Religion in American Life)

165 Pages·2009·0.7 MB·English

by  Edward E. Curtis IV

MUSLIMS IN AMERICA

MUSLIMS IN AMERICA
A Short History
EDWARD E. CURTIS IV
1
2009
1
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Copyright © 2009 by Edward E. Curtis IV
Published by Oxford University Press, Inc.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Curtis, Edward E., 1970–
Muslims in America / Edward E. Curtis IV.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-19-536756-0
1. Muslims–United States–History. 2. Muslims–United States–Social conditions.
3. Islam–United States–History. 4. United States–Ethnic relations.
5. United States–Religious life and customs. I. Title.
E184.M88C877 2009
305.6'970973—dc22 2008047566
Frontispiece: Maryam Khan, a Pakistani American engineer, outside
the Rabia-e-Balkhi Women’s Hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan, 2005.
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper
For my son, Zayd
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CONTENTS
PREFACE
ix
CHAPTER ONE Across the Black Atlantic:
The First Muslims in North America
1
CHAPTER TWO The First American Converts to Islam
25
CHAPTER THREE Twentieth-Century Muslim Immigrants:
From the Melting Pot to the Cold War
47
CHAPTER FOUR Religious Awakenings of the Late
Twentieth Century
72
CHAPTER FIVE Muslim Americans after 9/11
97
CHRONOLOGY
119
FURTHER READING
123
INDEX
129
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PREFACE
O people! We created you from the same male
and female, and made you distinct peoples and
tribes so that you may know one another. The
noblest among you in the sight of God is the most
righteous.
—Qur’an 49:13
In 2007, one of my neighbors organized public protests against
the inclusion of foot baths at the new terminal of the Indianapo-
lis International Airport. These foot baths had been proposed on
behalf of the hundred-plus African Muslim cabbies who regularly
washed their feet before performing their daily prayers. Airport
planning offi cials explained that it was a matter of public health.
Without the foot baths, these cabdrivers would wash their feet in
the hand sinks or use empty soda bottles to wash them outdoors
in the cold. The cost of installing the two stainless steel basins
would be less than $2,000, a token amount given that the new
airport terminal budget was over $1 billion. The money would
come from airline-generated revenues, not taxes.
My neighbor, a Baptist preacher, declared that such accom-
modation of the Muslim cabdrivers was “fraternization with the
ix