ISLAM IN AMERICA

HISTORICAL EVENTS.
MIGRATION.
TESTEMONIES.
STATISTICS.
PICTURES.
OUR RESPONSABILITIES.

ISLAM IN AMERICA
Numerous evidence suggests that Muslims
from Spain and West Africa arrived to the
Americas at least five centuries before
Columbus. It is recorded, for example, that in
the mid-tenth century, (929-961 CE), Muslims of
African origin sailed westward from the Spanish
port of DELBA (Palos) into the "Ocean of
darkness and fog". They returned after a long
absence with much items from a "strange and
curious land".

ISLAM IN AMERICA
The last Muslim stronghold in Spain, Granada,
fell to the Christians in 1492 CE, just before the
Spanish inquisition was launched.
To escape persecution, many non-Christians fled
or embraced Catholicism.
A decree was issued in 1539 CE by Charles V,
king of Spain, which forbid the grandsons of
Muslims to migrate to the West Indies.
This decree was ratified in 1543 CE, and an order
for the expulsion of all Muslims from overseas
Spanish territories was subsequently published..

ISLAM IN AMERICA
A Muslim historian and geographer AL-MASUDI (871957 CE) wrote in his book Muruj adh-dhahab wa maadin
aljawhar (The meadows of gold and quarries of jewels)
that during the rule of the Muslim caliph of Spain
Abdullah Ibn Mohammad(888-912 CE), a Muslim
navigator, Khashkhash Ibn Saeed Ibn Aswad, from
Cordoba, Spain sailed from Delba (Palos) in 889 CE,
crossed the Atlantic, reached an unknown territory (ard
majhoola) and returned with fabulous treasures.
In Al-Masudi's map of the world there is a large area in
the ocean of darkness and fog which he referred to as
the unknown territory (Americas)

ISLAM IN AMERICA
A Muslim historian AL-GUTIYYA narrated
that during the reign of the Muslim caliph of
Spain, Hisham II (976-1009CE), another
Muslim navigator, Ibn Farrukh, from
Granada, sailed from Kadesh (February
999CE) into the Atlantic, landed in Gando
(Great Canary islands) visiting King
Guanariga, and continued westward where
he saw and named two islands, Capraria
and Pluitana.

ISLAM IN AMERICA
On October 12, 1492 CE, Columbus landed on a little
island in the Bahamas that was called GUANAHANI by
the natives.
Renamed SAN SALVADOR by Columbus. GUANAHANI
. GUANA (IKHWANA) means 'brothers' and HANI is an
Arabic name. Therefore the original name of the island
was 'HANI BROTHERS'.
Ferdinand Columbus, the son of Christopher, wrote
about the blacks seen by his father in Honduras: "The
people who live farther east of Pointe Cavinas, as far as
Cape Gracias a dios, are almost black in color."

ISLAM IN AMERICA
Columbus and early Spanish and portuguese
explorers were able to voyage across the
Atlantic (a distance of 2400 Km's) thanks to
Muslim geographical and navigational
information.
In particular maps made by Muslim traders,
including AL-MASUDI (871-957CE) in his book
Akhbar az-zaman (History of the world) which is
based on material gathered in Africa and Asia.

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As a matter of fact, Columbus had two
captain of Muslim origin during his first
transatlantic voyage:
Martin Alonso Pinzon was the captain of
the PINTA,
and his brother Vicente Yanez Pinzon was
the captain of the NINA.

ISLAM IN AMERICA
Columbus admitted in his papers that on
Monday, October 21,1492 CE while his ship
was sailing near Gibara on the north-east coast
of Cuba,
he saw a mosque on top of a beautiful
mountain. The ruins of mosques and minarets
with inscriptions of Quranic verses have been
discovered in Cuba, Mexico,Texas and Nevada.
DAVIES, NIGEL Voyagers to the New World,
New York 1979

ISLAM IN AMERICA

During his second voyage, Columbus was told by the Indians of

ESPANOLA (Haiti), that black people had been to the island before
his arrival. For proof, they presented Columbus with the weapons of
these African Muslims.
These weapons were tipped with a yellow metal that the Indians
called GUANIN, a word of West African derivation meaning 'gold
alloy'. Oddly enough, it is related to the Arabic word 'GHINAA' which
means 'WEALTH'.
Columbus brought some GUANINES back to Spain and had them
tested. He learned that the metal was 18 parts gold (56.25%), 6
parts silver (18.75%) and 8 parts copper (25%), the same ratio as
the metal produced in African metal shops of Guinea.

ISLAM IN AMERICA
Dr. Barry Fell (Harvard University) introduced ' solid
scientific evidence supporting the arrival, centuries
before Columbus, of Muslims from North and West
Africa.
Dr. Fell discovered the existence of the Muslim schools
at Valley of Fire, Allan Springs, Logomarsino, Keyhole,
Canyon, Washoe and Hickison Summit Pass (Nevada),
Mesa Verde (Colorado), Mimbres Valley (New Mexico)
and Tipper Canoe (Indiana) dating back to 700-800 CE.
FELL,BARRY Saga America, New York 1980.
FELL,BARRY America BC, New York 1976

ISLAM IN AMERICA
Engraved on rocks in the arid western U.S, he
found texts, diagrams and charts representing
the last surviving fragments of what was once a
system of schools - at both an elementary and
higher level.
The language of instruction was North African
Arabic written with old Kufi Arabic scripts.
The subjects of instruction included writing,
reading, arithmetic, religion, history, geography,
mathematics, astronomy and sea navigation..

ISLAM IN AMERICA
There are 565 names of places (villages, towns, cities,
mountains, lakes, rivers,.. etc. ) in U.S.A. (484) and
Canada (81) which derived from Islamic and Arabic
roots.
Mecca-720 inhabitants (Indiana), Makkah Indian tribe
(Washington),
Medina-2100 (Idaho), Medina-8500 (N.Y.), Medina-1100,
Hazen-5000 (North Dakota), Medina-17000/Medina120000 (Ohio), Medina-1100 (Tennessee), Medina26000 (Texas), Medina-1200 (Ontario),
Mahomet-3200 (Illinois), Mona-1000 (Utah), Arva-700
(Ontario)...etc.

ISLAM IN AMERICA

Many Syrian families

settled in New York City
during the latter part of
the 19th century. Above,
the drawing by W.
Bengough, depicts
everyday life and
occupations in 1890 on
Washington Street in
Lower Manhattan in a
Syrian immigrant
neighborhood in the city.
(North Wind Picture
Archives

ISLAM IN AMERICA
The fourth and most recent wave of Muslim
immigration has come after 1965, the year
President Lyndon Johnson sponsored an
immigration bill that repealed the
longstanding system of quotas by national
origin. Under the new system, preferences
went to relatives of U.S. residents and
those with special occupational skills
needed in the United States.

ISLAM IN AMERICA
After 1965, immigration from Western
Europe began to decline significantly, with
a corresponding growth in the numbers of
persons arriving from the Middle East and
Asia.
In this era more than half of the
immigrants to America from these regions
have been Muslim .

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American values are, by and large, very
consistent with Islamic values, with a
focus on family, faith, hard work, and an
obligation to better self and society.

ISLAM IN AMERICA
I feel not only proud to be an American
to carry an American passport and travel
worldwide - I feel that I can be myself, a
fully practicing Muslim, particularly in
America.
This means I wake up in the morning
without fear and come home at the end of
the day without fear."

ISLAM IN AMERICA
"I came here four months ago from Iran,"
she explained to the other girls. "I didn't
know any Muslims, so I hid myself and my
ways."
"When you are alone, you are a drop of
water. But here with the other Muslim
students, you are part of the sea, one of
many drops."

ISLAM IN AMERICA
I swore I never would wear the veil," she
said. As for her figure-concealing dress,
she added:
My goal used to be to wear a size two,
date and go to proms.
Now, I want to be identified as Muslim.
There's nothing to be ashamed of."

ISLAM IN AMERICA
Just last month, M.G, 14, whose parents
immigrated to the U.S. from Iran, made a big
decision about her style of dress.
While most of the girls who attended the
Ramadan prayers wore Western clothes and
only covered their hair to pray, M.G changed
her entire wardrobe when she "took the veil."
She now wears a long skirt and long-sleeve
top as well, to completely conceal her figure.

ISLAM IN AMERICA
The Islamic Union almost didn't exist this year.
The students were so affected and distracted by
world events that they missed the school's
extracurricular activity registration deadline.
"After Sept. 11 they were in shock, "they couldn't
get it together.
Last year, there were only five or eight kids, and
they met sporadically.
This year, they've had an average of 20 students
at meetings." A typical meeting includes a talk
about some aspect of their religion by one of the
students, prayers and lunch .

ISLAM IN AMERICA
Asked about Bin Laden and al Qaeda, some of
the students turned red-faced.
"I don't think there are Muslim fundamentalists,"
M.T responded fervently. "There are corrupt
governments and extremists."
M.J was. a bit more objective. "I see the Taliban
and Osama bin Laden not as Muslims who
practice the religion correctly but as people who
misunderstand the religion," he said.

ISLAM IN AMERICA
Islam is one of the fastest-growing
religions in the United States today.
According to one recent survey, there are
1,209 mosques in America, well over half
founded in the last 20 years. Between 17
and 30 percent of American Muslims are
converts to the faith.

ISLAM IN AMERICA
Mosques in the United States: 1,209
American Muslims associated with a mosque: 2
million
Increase in number of mosques since 1994: 25
percent
Proportion of mosques founded since 1980: 62
percent
Average number of Muslims associated with
each mosque in the United States: 1,625
U.S. mosque participants who are converts: 30
percent

ISLAM IN AMERICA
American Muslims who "strongly agree"
that they should participate in American
institutions and the political process: 70
percent
U.S. mosques attended by a single ethnic
group: 7 percent
U.S. mosques that have some Asian,
African-American, and Arab members:
nearly 90 percent

ISLAM IN AMERICA
U.S. mosques that feel they strictly follow the
Koran : more than 90 percent
U.S. mosques that feel the Koran should be
interpreted with consideration of its purposes
and modern circumstances: 71 percent
U.S. mosques that provide some assistance
to the needy: nearly 70 percent
U.S. mosques with a full-time school: more
than 20 percent

WHERE ARE WE?

ISLAM IN AMERICA
Founded 20 years ago in northern New
Mexico, and built in the North African style,
Dar al Islam houses a mosque, a school,
and a hospitality complex.
Men pray outside the Dar al Islam Mosque
near Abiquiu, New Mexico .

WHERE ARE WE?

ISLAM IN AMERICA
Muslim men bow for afternoon prayer on
New York's Madison Avenue in Manhattan
before the start of the United American
Muslim Day Parade.

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ISLAM IN AMERICA
In Tempe, Arizona, a more traditional
mosque with dome and minaret

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The Islamic Society of Greater Houston,
Texas, built in the early '90s .

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ISLAM IN AMERICA
U.S. Navy sailors of Islamic faith pray
aboard ship on the first day of Ramadan in
2001.

WHERE ARE WE?

DIVINE
KISS

ISLAM IN AMERICA
A Muslim man shares a tender moment
with his wife on South Mountain, Arizona,
to view the crescent moon that will signal
the beginning of Ramadan.

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Whats our responsibility?

Whats our responsibility?

THINK ABOUT IT.

ARE YOU THINKING RIGHT NOW?
ITS NOT VERY HARD !
DO YOU REALLY BELIEVE YOURE GONNA DIE!
DO YOU REALLY BELIEVE IN JUDGMENT DAY?
DO YOU BELIEVE GOD IS JUST?
DO YOU BELIEVE IN PROPHET MUHAMMAD (PBUH)
ARE YOU A REAL FOLLOWER OF HADITH
SAGGALEIN?
WE NEED TO BE HONEST WITH OURSELVES!

Whats our responsibility?

ARE YOU THINKING RIGHT NOW?

Whats our responsibility?

ITS NOT VERY HARD !

Whats our responsibility?

DO YOU REALLY BELIEVE YOURE
GONNA DIE!

Whats our responsibility?

DO YOU REALLY BELIEVE IN
JUDGMENT DAY?

Whats our responsibility?

DO YOU BELIEVE GOD IS JUST?

Whats our responsibility?

DO YOU HONESTLY BELIEVE YOU
DESERVE PARADISE ?

Whats our responsibility?

DO YOU BELIEVE IN PROPHET
MUHAMMAD (PBUH)?

Whats our responsibility?

ARE YOU A REAL FOLLOWER OF
HADITH SAGGALEIN?

Whats our responsibility?

WE NEED TO BE HONEST WITH
OURSELVES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Whats our responsibility?

TONIGHT WHEN YOU LIE DOWN IN
YOUR BED, THINK ABOUT WHAT
HAPPENED TONIGHT.
THE PERIOD OF OCCULTATION IS
COMING TO AN END ( GOD KNOWS
BEST).
ON WHAT SIDE DO YOU REALLY WANT
TO BE?

Whats our responsibility?

THE LIGHT IS OFF, LIKE THE TENT OF
IMAM HUSSEIN ON MUHARRAM THE
9TH .
ARE YOU ESCAPING OR STAYING
WITH YOUR IMAM?

Whats our responsibility?

THE CHOICE IS YOURS LIKE IT WAS
FOR HURRE-IBN RIYAHI.
MAKE THE RIGHT CHOICE.

Whats our responsibility?

THANK YOU.
GOD BLESS YOU ALL.