Muslim Slaves in the United States of America
(A Historical Study of Identity, Religion, and Slavery)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33193/IJoHSS.72.2026.946Keywords:
Muslim Slaves, Slavery in the United States, African Muslims, Islamic Identity, Arabic LanguageAbstract
The study aimed to examine the reality of Muslim slaves in the United States during the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries by analyzing their religious, social, and cultural conditions. It also explored the role of Islamic identity and the Arabic language in preserving their identity within American slave society, in addition to highlighting several Muslim figures associated with the history of American slavery. The study adopted the historical-analytical approach, drawing upon historical sources, Arabic manuscripts, autobiographies, and academic studies related to the history of slavery and Muslim slaves in the United States. The findings revealed that the proportion of Muslims among enslaved Africans transported to the Americas ranged—according to some estimates—between 10% and 30%. Many of them possessed advanced religious and educational backgrounds and were proficient in Arabic in addition to their local languages. The study also showed that Muslim slaves were largely concentrated in the agricultural southern states, and that the enslaved population in the United States reached nearly four million individuals prior to the abolition of slavery in 1865. Furthermore, the results indicated that many Muslim slaves were subjected to attempts of Christianization and cultural erasure. Nevertheless, some succeeded in preserving parts of their Islamic identity through the Arabic language, manuscripts, and religious practices.
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25. Lebron, C. J. (2023). The making of black lives matter: A brief history of an idea. Oxford University Press.
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28. McPherson, J. M. (2003). Battle cry of freedom: The Civil War era. Oxford University Press
29. Morris, T. D. (2004). Southern slavery and the law, 1619-1860. Univ of North Carolina Press.
30. Naylor, P., & Wallace, M. (2019). Author of his own fate? The eighteenth-century writings of Ayuba Sulayman Diallo. The Journal of African History, 60(3), 343-377.
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33. Osman, G., & Forbes, C. F. (2004). Representing the West in the Arabic language: The slave narrative of Omar Ibn Said. Journal of Islamic Studies, 15(3), 331-343.
34. Raboteau, A. J. (2004). Slave religion: The “invisible institution” in the antebellum South. Oxford University Press.
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37. Tise, L. E. (1990). Proslavery: A history of the defense of slavery in America, 1701–1840. University of Georgia Press.
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39. Wikipedia.(2026). Official site
40. Williams, H. A. (2009). Self-taught: African American education in slavery and freedom. Univ of North Carolina Press.
41. Willis, A. I. (2023). Revolutionizing literacy: The life of Omar ibn Said, written by himself. Literacy Research: Theory, Method, and Practice, 72(1), 118-138.
42. Wright, G. (2006). Slavery and American economic development. LSU press.
43. الكتاب المقدس. (1993). الترجمة العربية المشتركة. دار الكتاب المقدس.
44. مسكين , يونس (2025).مصطفى الأزموري.. العبد المغربي الذي اكتشف ولاية فلوريدا. الجزيرة الوثائقية
2. Alford, T. (1977). Prince among slaves. Oxford University Press. Alotaibi, M. (2024). Unmasking the Master Narrative: Exclusionary Practices and the Enslaved African Muslims Omar Ibn Said, Bilali Muhammad, and Abdulrahman Ibrahima Sori. AWEJ for Translation & Literary Studies, 8(1).
3. Austin, A. D. (1997). African Muslims in antebellum America. Routledge. Austin, A. (2013). Abd Al-Rahman, Ibrahima. Oxford African American Studies Center
4. Berlin, I. (1998). Many thousands gone: The first two centuries of slavery in North America. Harvard University Press.
5. Bouzan, R. (2021). African Muslim Slaves: Literacy and Arabic Narratives. Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview.
6. British Broadcasting Corporation.(2011).Freed slave portrait saved from export. Official site
7. Carson, M. L. (2016). Human trafficking, the bible, and the church: An interdisciplinary study. Wipf and Stock Publishers.
8. Chipman, D.(2025).The Journey of Estevanico: The First African in Texas.Texas State Historical Association
9. Crawley,K. (2023).A Forgotten Legacy – Muslims in Black History.International Students of Islamic Psychology
10. Davis, D. B. (2006). Inhuman bondage: The rise and fall of slavery in the New World. Oxford University Press
11. Davis, D. B. (2006). Inhuman bondage: The rise and fall of slavery in the New World. Oxford University Press.
12. DeKuyper, S. (2014). SLAVERY IN BIBLICAL TIMES. The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
13. Diouf, S. A. (2013). Servants of Allah: African Muslims enslaved in the Americas. NYU Press.
14. Diouf, S. A. (2013). Servants of Allah: African Muslims enslaved in the Americas. NYU Press.
15. Ellis, J. J. (2002). Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation. Vintage.
16. Finkelman, P. (2014). Slavery and the Founders: Race and Liberty in the Age of Jefferson. Routledge.
17. Foner, E. (2020). Give me liberty!: An American history (6th ed.). W. W. Norton & Company
18. Gordon, R. A. (2006). Following Estevanico: The Influential Presence of an African Slave in Sixteenth-century New World Historiography. Colonial Latin American Review, 15(2), 183–206.
19. Griffioen, P. (2024). Why Are There 73 Books in the Bible Used by Roman Catholics?. The Bible Answers Project.
20. Hacker J. D. (2020). From '20. and odd' to 10 million: The growth of the slave population in the United States. Slavery & abolition, 41(4), 840–855. https://doi.org/10.1080/0144039x.2020.1755502
21. Haseldine, G. (2020). William Hoare and Visions of Ayuba Suleiman Diallo in Britain. Muslim World, 110(3).
22. Herrick, D. (2018). Esteban: the African slave who explored America. University of New Mexico Press.
23. Lakwete, A. (2005). Inventing the cotton gin: machine and myth in Antebellum America. JHU Press.
24. LaVeist, T. A., Fullilove, M., & Fullilove, R. (2019). 400 Years of Inequality Since Jamestown of 1619. American journal of public health, 109(1), 83–84. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2018.304824
25. Lebron, C. J. (2023). The making of black lives matter: A brief history of an idea. Oxford University Press.
26. Lovejoy, P. E. (2000). Transformations in slavery: A history of slavery in Africa. Cambridge University Press.
27. Martin, B. R. G. (1994). Sapelo Island's Arabic Document: The" Bilali Diary" in Context. The Georgia Historical Quarterly, 78(3), 589-601.
28. McPherson, J. M. (2003). Battle cry of freedom: The Civil War era. Oxford University Press
29. Morris, T. D. (2004). Southern slavery and the law, 1619-1860. Univ of North Carolina Press.
30. Naylor, P., & Wallace, M. (2019). Author of his own fate? The eighteenth-century writings of Ayuba Sulayman Diallo. The Journal of African History, 60(3), 343-377.
31. Noll, M. A. (2006). The Civil War as a theological crisis. Univ of North Carolina Press.
32. Noll, M. A. (2019). A history of Christianity in the United States and Canada. Eerdmans.
33. Osman, G., & Forbes, C. F. (2004). Representing the West in the Arabic language: The slave narrative of Omar Ibn Said. Journal of Islamic Studies, 15(3), 331-343.
34. Raboteau, A. J. (2004). Slave religion: The “invisible institution” in the antebellum South. Oxford University Press.
35. SCHIRRMACHER, T. (2014). Slavery in the Old Testament, in the New Testament, and today. Christian Values vs Contemporary Values, 125.
36. Tanguay, M. D. (2017). The Three-Fifths Clause: A Necessary American Compromise or Evidence of America's Original Sin?. Georgetown University.
37. Tise, L. E. (1990). Proslavery: A history of the defense of slavery in America, 1701–1840. University of Georgia Press.
38. Whitford, D. M. (2017). The curse of Ham in the early modern era: the Bible and the justifications for slavery. Routledge.
39. Wikipedia.(2026). Official site
40. Williams, H. A. (2009). Self-taught: African American education in slavery and freedom. Univ of North Carolina Press.
41. Willis, A. I. (2023). Revolutionizing literacy: The life of Omar ibn Said, written by himself. Literacy Research: Theory, Method, and Practice, 72(1), 118-138.
42. Wright, G. (2006). Slavery and American economic development. LSU press.
43. الكتاب المقدس. (1993). الترجمة العربية المشتركة. دار الكتاب المقدس.
44. مسكين , يونس (2025).مصطفى الأزموري.. العبد المغربي الذي اكتشف ولاية فلوريدا. الجزيرة الوثائقية
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Published
2026-06-25
How to Cite
Dr. Saud G. Albeshir. (2026). Muslim Slaves in the United States of America: (A Historical Study of Identity, Religion, and Slavery). International Journal on Humanities and Social Sciences, (72), 138–166. https://doi.org/10.33193/IJoHSS.72.2026.946
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