In the period between the beginning of the 17th century until the middle of the 19th century, the presence of Islam in North America was linked to African slaves who were brought from West African countries, to work on agricultural lands.

While the presence of a large number of African Muslim slaves in ancient times may not be known to most Americans today, researchers believe that they left their mark on American culture even before it became a state, as some of the first immigrants to this land were Muslim immigrants forcibly transported as slaves in the illegal trade. that spread across the Atlantic at that time.

Although this important historical period does not receive the attention of American and Muslim historians alike, American sociologists have estimated that between 15% and 30%, or up to six hundred thousand to 1.2 million slaves in America were Muslims, according to the study “Muslims.” And the Making of America” by the American Academy, Precious Rashida Muhammad, which specializes in the history of Muslim slaves in America.

And 46% of the slaves in South America were kidnapped from West African regions, which included large numbers of Muslims, according to an article by Khaled Beydoun, an academic specialist in ethnicity at the University of California Law School for Al Jazeera English.

African Muslims enslaved in the new world were known for their strong desire to follow the teachings of their religion and meet the demands of their faith, especially fasting Ramadan, which was hard suffering, as well as performing prayers, halal food and social duties, and historical sources recorded this clearly, whether in the United States of America or South America and the Caribbean.

Prohibition of assembly and religious activity

Muslim farm workers and in regions such as the southern states of America and Brazil sought to follow religious duties, to preserve cultural independence and autonomy in the face of comprehensive slavery laws that completely absent their personalities, link religious activity to rebellion, and enact legislation limiting their practice of their religious teachings.

American laws in this era prohibited the gathering of slaves in the southern states and Virginia, and imposed penalties on the gathering that were brutally applied, and this affected the enslaved African Muslims’ celebration of the beginning of the month of Ramadan, eating breakfast and performing Tarawih in groups.

Although the Qur’an allows Muslims to refrain from fasting in case of travel and hardship, many enslaved Muslims chose to fast despite harsh conditions, as a way of affirming their own identity at the time.

Many enslaved Muslims held Ramadan prayers and worship in private slave quarters, and would gather for breakfast, even though this was in violation of the abusive slave laws that restricted assembly of any kind.

Early American Muslims faced challenges and consequences when practicing their faith.

Like Ayouba Suleiman Diallo, who was kidnapped from his African country and sold as a slave to work on tobacco plantations, and was abused while performing prayer, so he escaped and then was arrested.

Many were forced not to fast during Ramadan, while many converted to Christianity ostensibly, to protect themselves and their families from the oppression of gentlemen such as Lamine Kibe, who converted to Christianity in order to secure a return to Africa through the American Colonization Society.

Others, such as Ayoba Suleiman Diallo, refused to budge.

This impressed the slave owner so much that he was released and sent back to Africa, according to the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

In recent writings such as Sylvian Diouf’s work “God’s servants: enslaved African Muslims in the Americas” published by New York University Press, 2013, and Alan Austin’s book “African Muslims in Antebellum America: Stories and a Transatlantic Spiritual Struggle” issued by Routledge Press, 2011, There are many stories about how African Muslim slaves struggled to fast during Ramadan in the New World.

Professional sociologists estimate that up to 30% of African slaves brought to the United States, from West and Central African countries such as The Gambia and Cameroon, were Muslims.

Among the difficulties they faced was related to their faith, according to Saeed Ahmed Khan, an academic at Wayne State University.

Khan adds that African slaves were forced to abandon their Islamic faith and practices, to separate them from their culture and religious roots, as well as to prepare and convert them to Christianity, according to his article for the Conversion website.

The struggle against slavery with fasting

The enslaved African Muslims in America considered fasting to bring them some kind of connection with their indigenous communities and religious culture.

And in Brazil, where free and enslaved Muslims enjoyed fewer restrictions on their daily lives than their counterparts in North America, they were allowed to eat together and go to their places on occasions, such as surveying the crescent of the month and breaking the fast.

The non-Muslim population of Brazil observed how, during fasting, Muslims exchange gifts, which the Brazilians understood as "saka", a distorted name from the Arabic Islamic term "zakat".

Another suffering found among enslaved Muslims of African descent was the hard-to-obtain halal food, as pork was the least expensive and most available meat, and they were encouraged to consume alcohol to allay fears.

Thus, fasting was not just a religious obligation and worship performed by Muslims from enslaved Africans in America, but was a way to assert their independent identity and a kind of struggle in the face of being considered private property and slaves on the farms of the masters.

Although the Muslims of the United States of America currently constitute the most diverse Islamic society in the world, the history of Muslims in the beginnings of the new world still lacks recognition and appreciation.