Muslims in America

By: Anayat Durrani
The United States is a nation of nations. It is the land of opportunity. It is the land which drew ``tired'' and ``weary'' immigrants from far away lands to settle and take their chances on the American dream.
Muslims were some of the first arrivals to this country dating as far back as the day the first slave ship journeyed to Virginia's coast in 1619. For other Muslims, their journey to America began in the eighteenth century.
These first arrivals to America were brought to serve as slaves to work on plantations like Omar ibn Said (pictured on right). Said was born in Western Africa in the Muslim state of Futa Toro in what is today the country of Senegal. Said was a Muslim scholar and trader who soon became enslaved and was brought to Charleston, South Carolina about 1807. After a few years he was eventually sold to James Owen of the North Carolina Cape Fear area (who later became Governor of North Carolina) and was placed on the Owen plantation.* It is estimated that approximately 10 percent of African slaves were Muslim. Ultimately for many enslaved Muslims of this time, their religious beliefs and cultural ties would be lost.
The 19th century brought forth a large number of Arab Muslim immigrants to the United States. Most of the 19th century Arab Muslim immigrants would choose to settle in the large industrial cities in the country. Many of these immigrants came from what was then called Greater Syria. These Syrian, Lebanese, and Jordanian immigrants were mainly laborers who were largely poor and not well educated. They came to the United States hoping to achieve economic stability.
During the early 20th century, several hundred thousand Eastern European Muslims immigrated to the United States. The first Albanian mosque was constructed in Maine in 1915, and another followed in 1919 in Connecticut.
In 1926 Polish Muslims constructed a mosque in Brooklyn, New York which is still in use today. The Albanian Muslims were also responsible for creating one of the first Islamic associations for Muslims in the United States. The construction of many more mosques throughout the United States quickly followed.
By 1924, the first wave of Muslim immigration came to an end. As a result of the Asian Exclusion Act and the Johnson-Reed Immigration Act, only a very small number of Asian immigrants, Arabs included, were allowed into the United States. By 1948, and the creation of the Israeli state, a large number of Palestinian refugees settled in the United States. In 1952, the McCarran-Walter Act was passed which eased the quota system of 1924 and allowed more Muslim migration into the United States. Upon the 1965 revisions of the immigration law, greater Muslim immigration from several countries was allowed.
According to a study conducted by Fareed H. Numan on The Muslim Population in the United States, today Muslims make up three categories in the United States;
1) Immigrants,
2) American converts/reverts to Islam,
3) Those born to the first two groups.
Based on his study, the largest percentage of Muslims in the United States constitutes African-Americans, those native to the United States. The second largest percentage of Muslims in the United States is made up of South Asians; Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan or Afghani descent. The third group is comprised of Muslims of Arab descent from countries in the Middle East and North Africa. These are followed by smaller percentages of Africans, Iranians, Turks, South East Asians, White Americans, East Europeans, and others.
Numan's study also broke down the percentages of Muslims in each of the 50 states. The largest concentration of Muslims, according to his study, is in California. The states of New York and Illinois make up the second and third largest concentrations of Muslims residing in the United States followed by New Jersey, Indiana, Michigan, Virginia, Texas, Ohio, and Maryland.
American Muslims have made strides in the United States and are increasingly becoming active in almost all areas of American society.The Muslims that make up American society today come from diverse backgrounds and occupations. According to a profile study of Muslims in the United States, American Muslims are highly educated and are usually professionals or small business owners that earn an income higher than the U.S. national average.
Muslims have come a long way from the days of the first immigrants. Today Muslims number six million in the United States and thanks to the work of many individuals and organizations, Islam has become a well represented religion in the United States. Presently, there are an estimated 2,000 mosques, Islamic centers, and Islamic schools throughout the United States. Islam is currently the fastest growing religion in the United States and in the world.