Before the slave ships: Islam in West Africa

... 2/18/05 Stephanie Oliver Intro. To Islam Steinfels Before the slave ships: Islam in West Africa When thinking about African-American Muslims in the United States images of civil rights leader, Malcolm X, World championship boxer, Muhammad Ali, current leader of the Nation of Islam, Louis Farrakhan and famous NBA super star, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar come to mind. However, the faces of African-American Muslims are far greater then these men. The involvement of African Americans with Islam dates from the earliest days of the African presence in North America. Today, African Americans account for about 42 percent of the Muslim population in the United States, which is somewhere between four and six million people. The history of African American Muslims is deeply root in the history of America, and it stems back before slavery to Africa where the religion of Islam was introduced to Africans. Historians say Islam first came to Africa by way of Egypt around

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