The Presence And Contributions Of Muslims In America By Edward Curtis
Historically, the presence and contributions of Muslims in the United States have been unrecognized. In his book, Muslims in America: A Short History, Edward Curtis provides countless examples that prove that Muslims are neither new nor foreign to the United States. Essentially, the book depicts how the lives of Muslim Americans have been negatively impacted by significant historical events in the United States. As noted by Curtis (2009), the transatlantic slave trade in eighteenth century marked the beginning of Muslims in America. The transatlantic slave produced the first largest migration wave of African Muslims into the United States. Job Ben Salomon’s story, the first slave to be traded to North America, perfectly illustrates the past
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Ryna Grant, an African American Muslim slave who was forced into slavery when she was a child, used Islam to spiritually “fly” back to Africa (Curtis, 2009). In addition, the religious practices of African American Muslim slaves to connect to their roots, not only freed their spirits, but the spirits of new generations of African Muslims. As stated by Curtis (2009), African American Muslims born in the twentieth century indicated that “by practicing …show more content…
These anti-Muslim sentiments become even more prevalent as our current nation leader promotes Islamophobia, dislike for Islam religion, by solely focusing on terrorist attacks perpetrated by extremists and dismissing their cultural, religious, and economic contributions to the United States. In such political climate, it is imperative to educate fellow American about the historical struggles that American Muslims have faced in the past and continue to face in the present. I believe that an effective way to make non-Muslim Americans aware of the struggles of Muslims is by teaching young adults the Muslims are not foreign to the United States, that in fact, they have been in this nation from times of slavery and that like other immigrants, America has also given them a sense of belonging and
Ryna Grant, an African American Muslim slave who was forced into slavery when she was a child, used Islam to spiritually “fly” back to Africa (Curtis, 2009). In addition, the religious practices of African American Muslim slaves to connect to their roots, not only freed their spirits, but the spirits of new generations of African Muslims. As stated by Curtis (2009), African American Muslims born in the twentieth century indicated that “by practicing …show more content…
These anti-Muslim sentiments become even more prevalent as our current nation leader promotes Islamophobia, dislike for Islam religion, by solely focusing on terrorist attacks perpetrated by extremists and dismissing their cultural, religious, and economic contributions to the United States. In such political climate, it is imperative to educate fellow American about the historical struggles that American Muslims have faced in the past and continue to face in the present. I believe that an effective way to make non-Muslim Americans aware of the struggles of Muslims is by teaching young adults the Muslims are not foreign to the United States, that in fact, they have been in this nation from times of slavery and that like other immigrants, America has also given them a sense of belonging and