Homegrown Islam in the USA

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Homegrown Islamin the USA

By Bruce L. Bauer

Muslims in America are anethnically diverse group, comingfrom more than sixty nations andrepresenting very different racial,linguistic, tribal, educational,and cultural backgrounds.Yvonne Haddad groups theminto three categories: immi-grants, converts, and sojourners(Conser, 218-219). This articlewill focus on those who haveconverted to Islam in America,with particular attention to thebrand of homegrown Islam thathas developed among AfricanAmericans.

There is a growing contro-versy over how many Muslimsthere are in the USA, withwidely dif ferent numbersclaimed by various groups. The

problem stems from the factthat the US government doesnot include religious back-ground questions in its censuscounts, thus leaving the ques-tion of the Muslim populationin the USA to less than accu-rate estimates. Many claimthat there are between 6 and 7million Muslims in the UnitedStates, while others are just asinsistent that there are onlyabout two million (Boehlert2001, 4). It is beyond the scopeof this article to deal with thisissue. Regardless of the num-ber, it is a given that the Mus-lim population in the USA isgrowing rapidly, that there aremore than 1,209 mosques, andthat African Americans consti-tute 25-30 percent of all Mus-l ims in the United States(Sheler and Betzold 2001, 50).

Over the past ninety yearsconverts to Islam in NorthAmerica have largely come fromamong African Americans. Ini-tially Blacks joined a racist,separatist movement that couldbe labeled quasi-Islamic atbest, but most of those con-verts have now moved to amuch more orthodox Islamicposition that encourages par-

Bruce L. Bauer isChair of the Mis-sion Department atthe Seventh-dayAdventist Theologi-cal Seminary atAndrews Univer-sity. He and hiswife spent 23years in Asia.

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ticipation in the nation andcalls for brotherhood among allraces. While small splintergroups still mirror the earlystages of the separatist BlackMuslims, the large majority hasmoved into mainstream Islam.In this article I will brieflysketch the development andgrowth of Islam among AfricanAmericans, then I will offer fourbrief suggestions on how theSeventh-day Adventist (SDA)Church should begin to relateto the growth of Islam in theAfrican American communitiesof North America.

Islam and African AmericansThe relationship between Is-

lam and African Americans goesback to the arrival of Africanslaves on the North Americancontinent in the late seventeenthcentury. Slavery, in its dehu-manizing forms, separated fami-lies, split up slaves from thesame cultural and linguisticbackgrounds and also did ev-erything possible to destroy theIslamic religious heritage heldby some of the slaves (Waugh1983, 218).

Arabic speaking slaves werebrought to the United States asearly as 1717 (Haney 1992, 8).Accounts persist of Muslimslaves who committed the entire

Qur’an to memory in order tokeep their faith alive and pass iton to others (Waugh, 218). How-ever, the combined forces of in-stitutional slavery were too muchand, in the end, ProtestantChristianity largely became thereligion of the African Americans.

The second attempt by Islamto make inroads among AfricanAmericans was carried out in1913 by Nobel Drew, a Black“prophet” from North Carolinawho established a “Moorish Sci-ence Temple” in Newark, NewJersey. His followers were en-couraged to be known no longer

as “Negroes” or “African” but as“Moorish-Americans.” To Drew,Islam was the religion of theMoors, the Black conquerorsfrom Africa who once ruled muchof Europe. He taught that Chris-tianity was the religion of theWhite man and that Islam wasthe religion for Blacks. Drew’smovement spread to Pittsburgh,Detroit, Chicago, Philadelphia,and to a number of cities in theSouth. Temples were establishedand during Drew’s lifetime mem-bership grew to around 30,000(Woodberry 1989, 139).

Drew’s movement utilizedthe Qur’an, Muslim names, fez-zes, and repudiated certainfundamental Christian beliefs,

Christianity was the religion of theWhite man and Islam was the religionfor Blacks.

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but it was not Islam. Drew’smessage was a mixture of Blacknationalism, Christian revival-ism, and Islamic teachings.What it did accomplish in NorthAmerica was to create a wide-spread awareness of Islam inthe Black community (Waugh,221).

Nation of IslamSometime during the sum-

mer of 1930, a peddler, WaliFarrad, appeared in the Blackghetto of Detroit. He gained en-trance to homes selling arti-facts and si lks, which heclaimed were like those Blackpeople wore in their homelandacross the sea. He claimed tohave come from Mecca on amission of redemption to re-store the Black underclass. Hetaught that Blacks were all ofMuslim heritage, that Black de-basement was the result of cen-turies of separation from theknowledge of Allah and that he,Wali Farrad, had been sent towake up the Black Nation totheir full potential in a worldtemporari ly dominated by“blue-eyed devils” (Lincoln1973, 12-14).

Farrad initially used the Bibleas his textbook since it was theonly religious book his followersknew, but he stressed that hewas the only one able to inter-pret the language of Scripture.Meanwhile, he slowly began tointroduce people to the Qur’an,always emphasizing a messagethat Christianity was a tool in thehands of White slave masters,

that Whites were devils, and thatthe only hope for Blacks was to-tal separation from Whites andthe development of self-reliance.

Farrad began to call his move-ment the Nation of Islam. Hisfirst temple was built in Detroitto care for the 8,000 followers hewas able to recruit in that citybetween 1930 and 1933 (Marsh1984, 53). Because of the rapidgrowth, he gathered a group ofmen and began to train them asministers. Among that group wasElijah Poole, the son of a Baptistminister and very knowledgeablein the Bible. Since Farrad usedBible passages to introduce hisnew religion, Poole’s biblicalknowledge fitted his strategy. Itwas not long before Poole becameFarrad’s protégé and right-handman. Poole’s name was changedto Elijah Muhammad and he be-came the Chief Minister of theNation of Islam. After Farrad’s dis-appearance, Elijah Muhammadwas elected the head of the Nationof Islam.

Elijah Muhammad built theNation into a strong movementwith steady growth. In 1955there were fifteen temples in theUnited States. By 1960 therewere fifty-five temples in twenty-two states (Woodberry 1989, 140).During Elijah Muhammad’s lead-ership the Nation of Islam re-mained exclusively a Black or-ganization that appealed toyoung (80% of new recruits werebetween 17 and 35), disadvan-taged, African American maleswith a previous Christian back-ground (Lincoln 1973, 22-28).




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The Nation of Islam stronglyemphasized moral living andethical conduct for its memberswho were integrated into a car-ing brotherhood that providedthem with a sense of belonging,support, and sustenance againsta hostile world. They were to re-frain from eating pork and cornbread (slave diet), and eat onlyfresh meat of chicken, lamb,beef, and fish from either Mus-lim or Kosher Jewish shops. To-bacco and alcohol were abso-lutely forbidden. Members wereto observe strict sexual morality.A woman was not to be alonewith any man except her hus-

band. Her dress was not to beprovocative, nor should she usecosmetics. Marriage outside thefaith was discouraged and un-converted spouses were pres-sured to join the group. Divorcewas discouraged but permittedunder certain conditions. Mem-bers were required to contributeone tenth of their earnings for thesupport of the group (Woodberry1989, 140).

Elijah Muhammad used do-nations to purchase farms, store-fronts, bakeries, apartmentbuildings, and schools in orderto provide an economic base forhis growing organization. Byowning businesses and land,Muhammad was able to provideboth housing and employment

for those of his followers wholacked these basic necessities.He was also able to engenderpride in his followers as they re-alized, for the first time in theirlives, that they shared ownershipin successful business venturesand that they were largely inde-pendent.

Elijah Muhammad’s teach-ings were strange and have al-ways created barriers that kepthis followers within the Nationof Islam from being accepted bythe larger community of ortho-dox Islam. Elijah Muhammadtaught that Allah was a man,specifically, Wali Farrad. He also

taught that the universe was cre-ated and owned by Blacks, andthat the White race was created6,000 years ago through somecrude engineering by a mad sci-entist named Yakub, an exilefrom Mecca. According to ElijahMuhammad’s theory, Yakub cre-ated the White race of devils toget revenge on those who hadexiled him and his followers tothe Island of Patmos. AfterYakub’s death this newly createdWhite race returned to Arabia,began to get into trouble, was ex-iled to Europe, and then walledin to keep the Whites fromspreading. Part of Muhammad’stheory also included the idea thattwenty-four scientists rule theuniverse, and that they write a

Farrad taught that the only hope forBlacks was total separation from Whites.

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prophetic book of history beforeeach 25,000 year period. Accord-ing to Elijah Muhammad, theprophetic book predicted thatYakub would create his race ofWhite devils, and that they wouldrule the earth for 6,000 years.Now, according to Muhammad’sinterpretation, the 6,000 yearswere finished and the Battle ofArmageddon between Blacksand Whites, between Muslimsand Christians was about to oc-cur (Muhammad 1965, 110-126).

During his lifetime ElijahMuhammad built an organiza-tion with strengths in five majorareas:1. Unlike most Islamic organi-

zations that tend to be egali-tarian, the Nation of Islamdeveloped a strong charis-matic and centralized lead-ership that commandedgreat loyalty at the grassrootslevel.

2. The Fruit of Islam (FOI), awell-trained militia, was de-veloped from militant formerservicemen. The FOI pro-tected the community,mosques, and other institu-tions. This organization wasaccused of the assassinationof Malcolm X.

3. Successful businesses,banks, and farms were es-tablished in order to provethat Black Muslims couldcontrol their own destiny andprovide for their own needs.

4. Educational institutionswere established (named uni-versities of Islam) and run ashighly disciplined systems of

schooling for students fromkindergarten through highschool.

5. A national network oftemples was organized undercentralized leadership withprograms filling needs inmany areas of life (Haddad1991, 19).

Malcolm XIn spite of Elijah Muhammad’s

leadership gifts, the greatest pe-riod of growth in the Black Mus-lim movement was largely theresult of the energetic efforts ofMalcolm X. In 1948, while serv-ing a prison sentence at the Nor-folk State Prison Colony in Vir-ginia, Malcolm Little acceptedthe teachings of ElijahMuhammad and was convertedto the Nation of Islam (Haley1965, 170-171). After his releasefrom prison, Malcolm Little, aformer pimp, drug pusher,armed robber, and numbersman, returned to Detroit andbegan aggressively recruiting forDetroit Temple #1. In keepingwith Elijah Muhammad’s teach-ing that Blacks should changetheir names to show that theywere no longer under the con-trol of White slave masters,Malcolm received a last name“X” as a symbol of his originalAfrican name.

Malcolm X was unyielding inhis devotion to Elijah Muhammadand extremely aggressive in re-cruiting new members to theNation. In recognition of thegrowing impact Malcolm X washaving on the movement, Elijah




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Muhammad appointed him asNational Spokesman in theUnited States.

From Detroit, Malcolm wentto Boston and organized Temple#11. In March of 1954 he movedto Philadelphia and in threemonths Temple #12 was in op-eration. Next, he went to NewYork and became the minister inTemple #7 (Marsh 1984, 72).Malcolm X was instrumental inestablishing most of the templesin North America and he believedthat his efforts were largely re-sponsible for the increase inmembership from 400 to 40,000during his few years as a mem-ber in the Nation of Islam.

The late 50s and early 60swere stormy years for the Nationof Islam. Malcolm X and WallaceDeen Muhammad (Elijah’s fifthson) found themselves under in-creasing pressure and embroiledin controversy. Many within theNation of Islam were jealous ofMalcolm X’s successes. Therewas added tension when two ofElijah Muhammad’s former sec-retaries accused him of commit-ting adultery. Malcolm X andWallace Deen Muhammadsearched the Bible and the

Qur’an for some prophetic expla-nation of what was happening.Malcolm X conducted his ownprivate investigation of the adul-tery charge, and went so far asto question Elijah Muhammad inperson. In answer to the ques-tions Elijah Muhammad replied,

I’m David. When you read in theBible how David took another man’swife, I’m that David. . . . You readabout Lot who went and laid up withhis own daughter, I have fulfilled allthese things (Marsh 1984, 79).

Wallace was given the task ofinfluencing Malcolm X’s theologi-cal thinking and keeping him upto date on the thinking of the

Honorable Elijah Muhammad.However, even Wallace, Elijah’sown son, saw the lie between theteaching and the lifestyle (Marsh1984, 112).

As a consequence bothMalcolm X and Wallace began tolean more and more toward or-thodox Islam. Wallace began toquestion seriously how WaliFarrad could be God himself whenin some of Farrad’s writings heclearly referred to himself as the“messenger of Allah.” Soon both

In spite of Elijah Muhammad’s leader-ship gifts, the greatest period of growthin the Black Muslim movement waslargely the result of the energetic effortsof Malcolm X.

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Wallace and Malcolm X were con-vinced that Farrad could not havebeen Allah in person.

In 1964 Malcolm X left theNation of Islam and formed hisown organization: MuslimMosque, Inc. He made Hajj toMecca, where his ideas and be-liefs concerning Islamic teach-ings were further altered(Woodberry 1989, 140). While inMecca he observed Muslims fromdiffering cultures and races prac-ticing true brotherhood. In histravels he met various leadersfrom African countries who alsohelped modify his worldview.

Through these and other events,Malcolm X became a follower oforthodox Islam. As a result of hisideological shift, he took a newIslamic name, Malik el Shabbazz,and broadened his emphasisfrom Black nationalism to hu-man rights for all peoples (Young1979, 80). He began to inviteWhite Americans to turn alsotoward the spiritual path of truthand to embrace the brotherhoodof Islam.

Malik el Shabbazz had notime to promote orthodox Islamin the Afro-American communityfor he was assassinated on Feb-ruary 21, 1965, while speaking

to an audience of about 500people in New York City. WhileElijah Muhammad denied anyinvolvement in Malcolm X’sdeath, three former members ofthe Nation of Islam were con-victed of his murder (Marsh1984, 85).

Wallace Deen MuhammadWallace Deen Muhammad,

the other reformer and advocateof a shift toward orthodox Islamin the African American commu-nity, continued to have a verycontentious relationship with theNation of Islam and his father.

After a series of suspensions,Wallace was restored to the Na-tion of Islam in 1970. In 1974he was restored to ministrywithin the Nation of Islam andallowed to preach what he pleased.The day after Muhammad’s deathon February 25, 1975, WallaceDeen Muhammad was chosen tolead the Nation of Islam.

Under Wallace Muhammad’sleadership, dramatic changestook place in the Nation of Islam.In 1976 Wallace declared that hisfather was not a prophet andbegan the process of moving thetheology of the Nation of Islamtowards orthodox Islam. Un-Is-

Malcolm X was . . . largely responsiblefor the increase in membership from400 to 40,000 during his few years as amember in the Nation of Islam.




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lamic elements such as racismwere eliminated; Malcolm X wasrestored to a position of honorand had a mosque named afterhim; followers were encouragedto honor the American Constitu-tion and to participate in the po-litical process. Wali Farrad wasdemoted and became a “wiseman.” The five pillars of ortho-dox Islam became central teach-ing points. Temples becamemosques, ministers becameimams, and Islamic rituals be-gan to be observed (Haddad1991, 19-20).

Wallace also “changed thename of the organization to‘American Bilalian Community’in deference to Bilal, the first Mu-ezzin of Prophet Muhammad, aslave of Abyssinian origin whowas converted by the teachingsof the prophet Muhammad”(Woodberry 1989, 141).

In 1975 the name waschanged again to “World Com-munity of Islam in the West.”Further changes occurred in1978 when Wallace Muhammadresigned as the spiritual leaderor “Chief Imam” in order to be-come an ambassador-at-large.Decentralization occurred as aseventeen-member council withsix regional Imams assumedday-to-day authority. Anothernew name was adopted, “TheAmerican Muslim Mission”(AMM), which continues to beused.

Additional changes were in-stituted. These included a re-laxation of strict Islamic disci-pline, the disbanding of the

FOI, and the cessation ofpreaching a message of racialhatred that identified Whitesas blue-eyed devils (Haddad1991, 20).

Not everyone was happyabout these changes in the BlackMuslim movement in NorthAmerica. In December of 1977,the National Spokesman for theWorld Community of Islam in theWest, Louis Adul Farrakhan, de-fected, accusing WallaceMuhammad of denying theteachings of his father, ElijahMuhammad. Farrakhan re-ferred to himself as the nationalspokesman for the HonorableElijah Muhammad and contin-ued to promote the radicalBlack separatist ideas of thepast. His organization took overthe name “Nation of Islam” andcontinued to print a monthlynewspaper The Final Call, inwhich he reprinted the lateElijah Muhammad’s speechesand writings.

Mainline Muslims consid-ered Farrakhan and his follow-ers to be non-Muslim heretics,but Farrakhan continued todraw a large and sympatheticresponse among inner city,lower class Blacks (Woodberry1989, 141). However, after un-dergoing cancer surgery in1999, Farrakhan began tomoderate his racist views andstarted the process of movingthe Nation of Islam closer toorthodox Islam by observingthe traditional Friday prayersand keeping the daylight fastduring the month of Ramadan.

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The Nation is also teaching thatthe prophet Muhammad re-ceived the final teachings forIslam rather than Eli jahMuhammad (Wood 2002, 298).

American Muslim Mission andNation of Islam: Two Ap-proaches

As one looks at the impact ofIslam in the African Americancommunities of North America in2005, one is struck by the factthat the America Muslim Missionand the Nation of Islam attracttwo distinct groups of people.Lawrence H. Mamiya, in hischapter, “Minister LouisFarrakhan and the Final Call:Schism in the Muslim Move-

ment,” clearly delineates severalsocio-economic factors that willprobably continue to drive awedge between these two majorAfrican American Muslim groups(Waugh 1983, 234-255).

Presently the AMM is madeup of largely middle class mem-bers, while Farrakhan’s resur-rected Nation of Islam continuesto find its base of support in itslower-class origins.

The program of the HonorableElijah Muhammad strongly em-

phasized developing an indepen-dent Black economy, from farmsto retail outlets, and a rigorousMuslim code of morality. The as-cetic lifestyle encouraged thriftand savings, not buying oncredit, not spending money onfoolish pleasures such as danc-ing or sporting events, and notwasting it on frivolous things likecars, clothes, and records.

The AMM sees in its member-ship the results of forty years ofpreaching such a message. AsSister Evelyn Akbar reports:

Everyone who has been in themovement for ten years or more hasmoved upward. You can’t help it be-cause the Honorable ElijahMuhammad’s message was strongly

economic. If Elijah Muhammad wasabout anything, he was about up-lifting people’s education and eco-nomics (Waugh 1983, 248).

As a result, the membershipof the AMM contains many pro-fessionals: bankers, doctors, law-yers, educators, and graduateswith university degrees. Thesemiddle class African AmericanMuslims, who have been victimsof racism in their climb up theeconomic ladder, are reluctant tobe called racists. Therefore they

Middle-class African American Muslims. . . have reacted positively to thedownplaying of ideas of separatism andthemes identifying Whites as devils.




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have reacted positively to thedownplaying of ideas of separat-ism and themes identifyingWhites as devils.

On June 18, 1975, only afew months after his father’sdeath, Wallace Muhammad de-clared, “there will be no suchcategory as a White Muslim ora Black Muslim. All will beMuslims. All Children of God” (Waugh 1983, 249). This newpolicy was a radical shift fromthe early days of the movement.Most members were ready tochange and to move beyond rac-ism. As Imam Ali Rasheed of theMalcolm Shabbazz Mosque inHarlem said:

Those who were indoctrinated byracism were disappointed becausethe race game had ended. But themajority of the people were open tosocial change and social revolution.We lost people who lacked the un-derstanding, who couldn’t make thetransition, but we have gained oth-ers as a result of the change (249).

In the early days of ElijahMuhammad, followers wereplaced under severe discipline.This helped create a highly dis-ciplined, upwardly mobile middleclass. As the discipline becamehabitual and part of a newlifestyle, members were happy toembrace the relaxation of those dis-ciplines by Wallace Muhammadafter he assumed leadership. Whenthe twin barriers of racial attackson Whites and strict discipline inmany areas of life were removed,the way was opened for the AMMto recruit actively among

America’s Black middle class.The Mission moved into themainstream of American life.Members are now encouraged tovote, to participate in politics,and to honor the constitutionand flag of the United States. Theresult is that out of the approxi-mate two million African Ameri-can Muslims all but 20,000 to30,000 belong to this moderate,orthodox stream of Islam(Gilbreath 2000, 53).

In contrast, the resurrectedNation of Islam underFarrakhan’s leadership contin-ues a policy of separatism andalienation from American soci-ety. Farrakhan continues tomake racism a central theme ofhis speeches, although in theearly 2000s he has moderatedthe rhetoric to some degree. TheNation of Islam continues to re-cruit among the receptive peopleof the Black lower class, stressesstrict discipline and emphasizeseconomic self-help programs.Eddie X, a recent convert to theNation of Islam from Greensville,Mississippi explained it this way:

What attracted me to Farrakhanwas his deep concern for the de-spised and rejected of American so-ciety. I don’t see Wallace’s group asbeing concerned with the outcasts.They seem to me to be Arabicized in-tellectuals, spouting Arabic phrasesto you (Waugh 1983, 250).

A Suggested Christian Re-sponse

How should the AmericanChristian church and especiallythe African American Church,

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respond to the challenge of theBlack Muslim Movement? Iwould like to suggest five areasthat should be addressed.

1. The church must developa deeper understanding of therole of Africa and Islam in his-tory. Most Christians in NorthAmerica are totally ignorant ofthe arguments Noble, Stockwell,and Van Sertima (1978) presentin The African Presence in AncientAmerica: They Came Before Co-lumbus. According to the theorythere are three possible periods,circa 1200 B.C., circa 800 B.C.,and a Mandingo period in 1310/

1311 A.D. when Africans couldhave reached the Americas (VanSertima 2004, 1). I am not argu-ing either for or against thetheory, but it should be pointedout that Black Muslims utilizethis historical perspective intheir evangelistic strategy. Chris-tians in America also tend to dis-miss the universal appeal of Is-lam as something that cannot andwill not happen in America. Mean-while thousands of African Ameri-cans continue to convert to a reli-gion few Americans understand.

By deepening our under-standing of history we can an-

swer some of the most seriouscharges Black Muslims levelagainst Whites and Christianity.We must acknowledge and re-pent for the way Christians inEurope and America used Chris-tianity as a tool for enslavingBlacks. But we must also knowenough to point out the extentof slavery in Africa among the fol-lowers of Islam themselves(Haney 1992, 20).

2. The church must strive tounderstand Islam from the per-spective of Islam, knowing thehistorical background, how it de-veloped, and then learning all

that is possible about why Is-lam has become entrenched inthe Black community in NorthAmerica (Ellis, 56). Most Ameri-can Christians in 2004 still knowvery little about the beliefs andpractices of Muslims. If the churchis to be effective in reaching outto African American Muslims, thechurch must first of all under-stand them and their faith.

3. The church must begin tolook at the world from an Afro-centric perspective. At a timewhen African Americans are inthe process of searching for theirroots and reclaiming their Afri-

The Church must acknowledge and edu-cate its members concerning the con-tributions that people of African de-scent made within the Bible and alsoin Church History.




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can identity, as indicated in theirdesire to be known as AfricanAmericans rather than Blacks,surely it is not too much to askthe church to redouble its effortsto see the many contributionsAfricans have made and con-tinue to make to the building upof God’s Kingdom.

An Afro-centric perspectiveunderstands that God createdAfrican American women andmen in His image, and that they,like all humankind, are fallen butalso redeemed in Jesus Christ.This perspective believes thatGod is working through AfricanAmerican culture, not against it,to bring African Americans intoa relationship with Him.

The Church must acknowl-edge and educate its membersconcerning the contributionsthat people of African descentmade within the Bible as well asin church history.

Too often, African Americanschool children have heard of theancient powerful Islamic king-doms of western Africa (Ghana,Mali, Songhay), of the great kingMansa-Musa who reigned from1312-1337, and of Timbuktu,one of the greatest learning cen-ters in the world, but few haveheard or know of the contribu-tions of the African Christianworld, such as in the Sudan,Ethiopia, and Egypt (Haney1992, 21).

We must not only acknowl-edge the contributions of Afri-cans in the history of Christian-ity but we must also note therapid expansion of Christianity

in central and southern Africaand the resulting shift of the cen-ter of Christianity to the south-ern hemisphere.

4. The church must developa stronger incarnational minis-try. It is ironic that Islam, themajor religion that tolerates noculture or language other thanArabic, has been much more ef-fective in affirming the roots andculture of African Americans(Ellis 1983, 54). The biblicalmodels and the example ofChrist challenge the church inNorth America to develop com-passionate, healing, prophetic,and saving congregations in theAfrican American communities.

An incarnational ministrymust take seriously the injustice,the poverty, the oppression, andthe suffering that many in theBlack community still face.Throughout history, when theChristian church has stood insolidarity with suffering people,speaking in their defense andidentifying with their needs, thechurch has been viewed not onlyas the repository of truth, butalso as being relevant. By nottaking seriously the needs of theAfrican American community,the church is too often perceivedas containing no truth (Haney1992, 21).

5. The church must developa ministry that models the trans-forming power of Jesus Christ.Merely understanding the role ofAfrica and Islam in history, de-veloping an Afro-centric perspec-tive, and having an incarnationalministry will still be inadequate

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unless Christians model thetransforming power of JesusChrist. When White Christians,Black Christians, HispanicChristians, and Korean Chris-tians live and work in the samecommunity, belong to the samedenomination yet do not knoweach other, and never mingle,such Christian communities onlyreflect the separatist attitudes ofAmerican culture. The church inAmerica must do more than isbeing done by the secularists insociety, for in Jesus Christ thereis neither Jew nor Greek, bondor free, African or any other kindof American, for we are all onein Christ.

Works CitedBoehlert, Eric. 2001. “The Muslim

population riddle.” 30 August.http://www.ajc.org/InTheMedia/RelatedArticles.asp?did=372(30 September 2002).

Conser, Walter H. Jr., andSumner B. Twiss. 1997.Religious diversity and Ameri-can religious history. Athens,GA: University of GeorgiaPress.

Ellis, Carl. 1983. How I witness toMuslims. Moody Monthly 83,no. 5, 52-56.

Gilbreath, Edward. 2000. HowIslam is winning BlackAmerica. Christianity Today, 3April, 52, 53.

Haddad, Yvonne Y., ed. 1991. TheMuslims of America. New York:Oxford University Press.

Haley, Alex, and Betty Shabazz.1965. The autobiography ofMalcolm X. New York:Ballantine Books.

Haney, Marsha S. 1992. The WestAfrican American Muslims.Theology, News and Notes 38,no. 3:8-9, 20-21.

Lincoln, C. Eric. 1973. The BlackMuslims in America. Westport,CT: Greenwood Press.

Marsh, Clinton. 1984. From BlackMuslims to Muslims: Thetransition from separatism toIslam. Meuchen, NJ: TheScarecrow Press.

Muhammad, Elijah. 1965. Mes-sage to the Black man inAmerica. Chicago: Mosque ofIslam No. 2.

Noble, Gil, John Stockwell, andIvan Van Sertima. 1978. TheAfrican presence in ancientAmerica: They came beforeColumbus. 55 min. New York:WABC TV. Videotape.

Sheler, Jeffrey L., and MichaelBetzold. 2001. Muslims inAmerica. U.S. News and WorldReport, 29 October, 50, 51.

Van Sertima, Ivan. 2004. Reply tomy critics. http://www.africawithin.com/vansertima/reply_critics.htm(20 December 2004)

Waugh, E. H., Abu-Laban, B., andR. B. Qureshi, eds. 1983. TheMuslim community in NorthAmerica. Winnipeg: Universityof Alberta Press.

Wood, Daniel B. 2002. America’sBlack Muslims close a rift.Christian Science Monitor,February 14.

Woodberry, Dudley J., ed. 1989.Where Muslims and Christiansmeet. Altadena, CA: ZwemerInstitute of Muslim Studies.

Young, Henry. 1979. Major Blackreligious leaders since 1940.Nashville, TN: Abingdon.




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