AMERICAN
MUSLIM
RECLAIM THE PAST
REIMAGINE THE FUTURE
We are a storytelling platform dedicated to revealing
the long and vital role that Muslims have played in shaping the United States.
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Muslim Americans continue the struggle to urge America to live up to its highest ideals of full inclusion and equality
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In this month’s @vanityfair #SeptemberIssue, @ilhanmn @rashidatlaib and #thesquad are celebrated for their roles advocating for racial and maternal justice. The issue also includes an oral history from @repkeithellison — America’s first Muslim Congressman — on the early days of the movement following the murder of #georgefloyd
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Muslims have long been on the frontlines in the fight for justice in America and they continue to carry that legacy forward
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Image @internetbby @vanityfair
#muslim #blacklivesmatter #muslimamerican #thesquad
#onthisday in 1863, the North Carolina Standard published a rare obituary - that of an enslaved African, Omar bin Said. (Swipe to read)
Omar Ibn Said was an Islamic scholar who was taken captive in Senegal in the early 1800s and shipped to Charleston, SC. In 1808, Omar escaped his abusive slaveowner and fled to Fayetteville, NC, where he was captured and imprisoned. Here, Omar became a local celebrity after using a lump of charcoal to cover the walls of his prison cell in Arabic script. After a few days, he was sold to the Owen family, where he spent the rest of his life. He was known there as Uncle Moreau.
In the 1830s, he wrote the story of his life. He is the only enslaved Muslim we know who was able to write an account of his life in Arabic that we still have. Scholars believe that because it is written in Arabic, a language his captors surely could not read, it is among the more candid slave narratives we have. It begins with Surah 67 from the Quran, which states that only God can have dominion over all things, including humans.
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📸 courtesy of @librarycongress
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#onthisday #americanmuslims #blacklivesmatter #history #enslaved #usmuslims
This Eid, we're thinking about our community around the world, many of whom are celebrating another Eid in various stages of "lockdown".
We're finding hope and inspiration in things big and small, past and present. Here is The Champ, Muhammad Ali, on Hajj in January 1972. His simple white robe, the ihram, a symbol of equality, reminds us of the progress we make toward this goal every day, and the long road ahead.
Eid Mubarak, from all of us at American Muslim.
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Image, Bettmann Archive.
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#eidmubarak #eid #americanmuslims #muhammadali #thechamp #equality
Some 292 Muslim-sounding last names appear in troop listings for the Civil War. Most prominent among them is Nicholas Said (pictured here) also known as Mohammed Ali ben Said, who joined the 55th Regiment of Massachusetts Colored Volunteers. Unlike many African Americans who fought in the war, neither Said nor any of his ancestors had been enslaved on American soil. According to his remarkable autobiography, Said was enslaved or indentured for much of his life yet he traveled to five continents, spoke seven languages, served princes and diplomats, and worked as a teacher and speaker in the southern United States. He was committed to being “useful to my race”. In his autobiography, Said notes that "Africa has been, through prejudice and ignorance, so sadly misrepresented, that anything like intelligence, industry, etc. is believed not to exist among its natives”. His work serves as a counter narrative to that notion.
Photo courtesy of Massachusetts Historical Society, thanks to Precious Rasheeda Muhammad for her work excavating this lost history and publishing Said’s autobiography.
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#juneteenth #liberation #usmuslims #africanamerican #civilrights #losthistory
On #Muslims4abolition @believersbailout National Day of Action, we remember the long history of police brutality against Black communities in America, and the powerful forces from the Muslim community who stood up to them.
On April 27, 1962 an act of police brutality took place took place at the Nation of Islam’s mosque in Los Angeles. Six unarmed Muslims were wounded and one was killed.
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Malcolm’s words about that day ring powerfully today: "In the shooting that took place, seven men were shot. Seven Muslims were shot. None of them were armed. None of them were struggling. None of them were fighting. None of them were trying to defend themselves at all...you’ve got some Gestapo tactics being practiced by the police department in this country against 20 million black people, second class citizens, day in and day out.”
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Photo courtesy of the @gordonparksfoundation *
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#Muslims4abolition #BlackLivesMatter #racism #solidarity #muslims4blacklives
In her essay, Dr. Mia Carey, former field director of the Yarrow Mamout Archaeology Project, reflects on why the stories of enslaved African Muslims and Islam’s early presence in America have been silenced.
As we watch the streets fill with protests for #BlackLivesMatter, Dr. Carey reminds us of the long history of racism and systematic violence against black bodies, and how that history has informed what it means to be American.
Read her essay on this lost history and it’s implications. Link in bio.
#blacklivesmatter #forgottenhistories #usmuslims #yarrowmamout #racialjustice #american
We are moved by the messages of #solidarity and support for the #BlackLivesMatter movement from our friends #arabsforblacklives They're continuing a tradition of solidarity for racial justice that started many years ago.
Today we remember the remarkable ALIYA HASSEN (pictured) — a pioneering American Muslim leader who led the way in reaching outside her own Arab Muslim community to build bridges with black Muslims and fight alongside them for racial and social justice. Born to Syrian-Lebanese immigrant parents in South Dakota in 1910, Aliya moved to Detroit in 1925, and then to New York in the 1950s. While working as the civil defense director for Brooklyn's 82nd Precinct, Aliya became good friends with Malcolm X, and — in 1964 —helped facilitate his memorable trip to Mecca.
In the early 1970s, Aliya returned to Detroit, where she became director of ACCESS (the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services.) Here she was widely recognized for the support she provided immigrants from Lebanon, Palestine and Yemen. A prolific writer and life-long activist, Aliya continued the struggle until her death in 1990.
She's been described as a radical, an activist, and a feminist, and we salute her!
Photo: @arabamericanmuseum
#blacklivesmatter #solidarity #arabsforblacklives #usmuslims #standtogether #america #racialjustice
#onthisday in 1752, an enslaved African Muslim named Yarrow Mamout (pictured) arrived in Annapolis, Maryland on board the slave ship Elijah. Gaining his freedom 50 years later, aged 60, Mamout went on to become a successful craftsman, entrepreneur and financier, lending money to local merchants, and owning stock in the Columbia Bank of Georgetown. In the early 1800s, Mamout bought his own house in Dent Place NW in Washington D.C. and had this portrait painted by the renowned American artist, Charles Wilson Peale.
This is a remarkable story of Black triumph and liberation, but it has been silenced for too long.
Archaeologist Mia Carey (swipe to see her picture) helped excavate the site of Mamout’s Georgetown home in 2015. She argues that Yarrow’s story—like so much of the story of Islam in black communities—has been silenced, because it doesn’t fit the dominant American narrative, and demonstrates a long history of systemic racism and violence against black bodies.
#blacklivesmatter #racism #usmuslims #history #reimagine #reclaimpast #ancestors
#blackouttuesday. American Muslim stands in solidarity with Black Lives Matter. We are outraged by the systems of oppression and anti-blackness that marginalize people in America. We feel the anguish of this moment, and we too are grieving. Our vision is to reclaim the past to reimagine the future, a future where everyone belongs. We want to learn from the past, from our Muslim American ancestors who have been in this fight from the beginning. At the same time, we recognize the inherent challenges. As one of our team members put it: "We've been having the same damn conversation for the past 70 years, and I don't know what's changing". As storytellers, we're committed to using this platform to make a difference, a real difference. We don’t know exactly what that looks like yet, but we’ll continue sharing stories, and doing what we can to change the conversation.
About
American Muslim is using innovative storytelling techniques to reach people wherever they consume their content—through broadcast, digital, community screenings and educational initiatives. We have already launched our social media channels and will be producing a series of short films for digital distribution, before building to a three-hour documentary series intended for broadcast in 2022. The series will be accompanied by a state-of-the-art website, and vigorous community outreach and educational engagement, designed to bring these stories to schools and colleges across America.
Blog
Silenced in the Landscape
Today in 1752, an enslaved African Muslim named Yarrow Mamout arrived in Annapolis, Maryland on board the slave ship Elijah. Gaining his freedom at the age of 60, Mamout went on to become a successful craftsman, entrepreneur and financier – lending...
Everyone Belongs in This New American Story
One of my favorite new lockdown traditions is a daily dance party with my six-year-old son. We blast our favorite Bollywood and Bieber tunes, mimicking outrageous dance moves to the best of our abilities. Although my son doesn’t speak Urdu or...
Creative Team
Project Advisors
We are honored to be working with an academic advisory board of distinguished scholars who bring to the project a diverse range of experience and expertise.
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SUPPORT
Help us change the narrative surrounding Muslims in America.
Tax-deductible donations can be made here.
With thanks to the individuals and foundations
who are generously supporting our work:
Hassan and Rasha Elmasry
Salma Hasan Ali, the late Maurice Berger, Fareed and Asma Farukhi/UHRC, Navine Karim, Tanu Kumar, Mohini Malhotra, Ambassador Osman Siddique, Caroline Sunners.
The Pillars Fund
The Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art
American Muslim is a sponsored project of the Filmmakers Collaborative.
Connect
For more information about American Muslim, to become a partner, or for any other enquiries, contact us using this form. Thank you for your interest and support.
