Muslims in America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Muslims in America - Essay Example This discovery was monumental because it revealed that Muslims had inhabited America from the beginning. The third contributor, Alexander Webb, is believed to be the first American to convert to Islam. This was recorded in 1888 and then five years later he was appointed as the first Muslim in British Parliament. 2. From the 1970s to the 1990s, the number of mosques established in America increased considerably, partly due to conversion for which the dominant number of converts are African-Americans, but also due to the influence of settlement patterns resulting from immigration. As Muslim families grew in size so did their needs for places to worship. There are now more than 1500 mosques, compared to 600 in 1980, 230 in 1960 and 19 in 1930. One of the major factors that helped the emergence of Muslim Ethnic Mosques was the article written soon after the race riots of 1967 and 1967 in Newark, NJ. The East Orange Record also reported that the East Orange Deputy Police Chief praised the Muslim population as a 'stabilizing influence' in the area, and noted 'an almost zero percent crime rate within the Islamic community. While crime rates were lower in Muslim communities, many citizens still struggled with the cultural ignorance of most Americans. They fought to make their religion understandabl e and accepted by the mainstream society. 3. 3. The initial introduction of Islam in Africa occurred in 639 A.D. when the Arabs began exploring North Africa. As the religion grew across the continent, many Africans were being brought to America. In America, for many African Americans their first exposure to Islam was because of their slave ancestry and history. Today, The African-American Muslim community is diverse and complex in its theological beliefs and the way in which Islam became a mainstay in the lives of many African Americans can be traced back to the Great Depression of the 1920s and 1930s. During this time, many African Americans migrated out of the southern states to the east in search of a better life. The eastern United States had the highest populations of Muslims at the time, and they reached out to help the African American travelers in their time of need. By recognizing African American's poor housing and economic conditions, Islamic followers in the eastern United States fought to improve the lives of the A frican Americans and their influence was lasting, with many converting to the faith and passing it on to their future generations. 4. There are several different factors influencing the race relations between African Americans and the immigrant community. African Americans have struggled and have revealed that in their living experience of Islam, it is not always singularly a manifestation of culture. Often traditional Muslims are at odd with African-American Muslims who are not binded by a singular cultural expression or see that Islam is culture itself. Many believe that the tensions also arise because African-Americans are very aware of racism and discrimination. Many African American's feel that traditional Muslims treat them as inferior due to the fact that they were not the original Muslim race. These tensions can be seen in acts of violence specifically n the San Francisco Bay area of California. Here a string of liquor store robberies have been aimed at stored owned by traditional Muslim citizens. It was soon discovered that the criminals were African American