by Nick Gier
Historically, Muslims are Americans, as originally American as Anglo-Protestants.
— historian Sam Haselby (aeon.co)
Many early Americans were astute enough, unlike so many Americans today, to distinguish between good and bad Muslims. From the 16th to the 18th Centuries the Barbary pirates (also known as the “naval mujahadeen”) raided the southern coasts of Europe. They stole cargo from other ships and enslaved or ransomed their sailors. Hundreds of Americans (about 100 in 1793 alone) were snatched in these attacks.
Under the Treaty of Tripoli of 1797, the U.S. was forced to pay tribute to the Pasha of Tripoli for the return of the captives. After the U.S. navy had increased to six frigates, the U.S. Marines landed “on the shores of Tripoli” (from the Marine Corps hymn) in 1805. President Thomas Jefferson was able to negotiate a more favorable treaty.
Back home innocent resident Muslims (about 200,000) were not harassed because of their faith. In a 1785 letter George Washington expressed a widespread sentiment: “Mohametans, Jews, Christians of any sect, or atheists would be acceptable workmen.” Ezra Stiles, then President of Yale College, agreed with a study that showed that Muslim morals were “far superior to the Christian.”
The earliest reference to Muslims in America is the account of an enslaved African Mustafa Zemourri. He arrived in 1527 on the coast of Florida as part of a disastrous Spanish expedition. In 1542, Cabeza de Vaca wrote about the survivors as they traveled through North and Meso-America for eight years. De Vaca called Zemourri “the indispensable one. It was his facility with native languages that kept the men alive.”
After leaving the Spaniards, Zemourri, according to historian Sam Haselby, “fashioned himself into a well-known and respected medicine man.” Haselby continues: “If there is such a thing as a best version of the earliest American frontier spirit it is difficult to find one who represents it better than Zemourri.”
Enslaved Muslims were overall more literate and educated than their African brothers and sisters. They rose to responsible positions on the plantations of the new world. The first slave rebellion was led by Muslim Senegambians on the island of Hispaniola, and after that event, Spain prohibited the importation of African Muslims.
African Muslims, however, continued to be enslaved in the American colonies. Christian missionaries complained that the Muslims were resistant to conversion. “Pagan rites,” they warned, persisted on the plantations. By contrast should we be surprised that at the end of Ramadan in 1805, Thomas Jefferson held an iftar dinner at the White House for Tunisian envoy Sidi Soliman Mellimelli.
There were of course those who rejected the presence of Muslims in America. An evangelical Baptist condemned Muhammed as a “hateful figure who, unlike the meek and gentle Jesus, spread his religion at the point of a sword.” A South Carolinian Presbyterian declared that the “religion of Mahomet originated in arms, breathes nothing but arms, is propagated by arms.”
These detractors appeared to be in the minority. Delegates to the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention of 1780 were committed to “the most ample liberty of conscience to Deists, Mahometans, Jews, and Christians.” In 1785, the citizens of Chesterfield County, Virginia delivered the following petition to the state assembly: “Let Jews, Mahometans, and Christians of every denomination enjoy religious liberty. Do not thrust them out by establishing the Christian religion.”
As stated above, slave owners made good use of their highly literate Muslim slaves. Yarrow Mamout of Georgetown was skilled in many trades and he was allowed to earn money outside his work hours. After gaining his freedom after 44 years in bondage, Mamout invested $200 in the Columbia Bank of Georgetown. He bought a lot and built his own home where he lived to the age of 86. Neighbors remember him as walking the streets singing praises to Allah.
As many as 850,000 American Muslims can trace their lineage back to these hard-working citizens. They have contributed to America’s cultural and political heritage in many areas. African American Muslim Keith Ellison received permission to swear the oath of office entering Congress on Jefferson’s own copy of the Qur’an.
Historians Sylviane Diouf and Hisham Aidi have shown that Muslims left their mark on American music. Jazz legend John Coltrane, who was married to a Muslim and surrounded by Muslim musicians, initially intended to call his hit song “Allah Supreme” instead of “Love Supreme” but he decided against it for political reasons.
James Hutson, scholar for the Library of Congress, states: “Far from fearing Islam, the founders have incorporated it into the fabric of American life.”
Nick Gier taught religion and philosophy at the University of Idaho for 31 years. He is celebrating 250 years of religious liberty in America (if we can keep it). Read his articles on this topic at bit.ly/3OPnPwR. Email him at ngier006∂gmail.com.