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Black Muslims Background

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The Historical Background of Black Muslims in America When I was initially asked what I would want to learn about relating to Baldwin, I was instantly drawn to the Black Muslim Movement. I did not have a specific question, so I began broad by asking whether or not Muslims had always believed in the destruction of the white race, or if this belief had developed over years and years of discrimination. My question changed when our class participated in our first research session at the library. With the help of Amanda, one of the librarians, I found an Encyclopedia of religions. When I found the section on Muslims, it contained information on multiple branches of the Muslim faith, and a long historical background for each branch. In that moment, …show more content…

Some of these Muslims were not from Africa, but these Muslims were still labeled as “black.” While they were slaves, despite the different branches of Islam they practiced, they united based on the fact they shared a religion. Because of decades of discrimination by the white race, Black Muslims eventually established the Nation of Islam Movement, which preached the destruction of the white race, and rise of the black race. I strongly believe the treatment of Black Muslims slaves has impacted modern day because people continue to discriminate blacks and Muslims. In one particular case, a Black Muslim is in prison for a crime he did not commit. This man was pulled over at an illegal stop, and during trial was presented with a biased jury (Maddox Jr.). People are still judged on characteristics that cannot be changed, and on beliefs that have no effect on others. This is why today, white privilege persists, and why movements for equality are still …show more content…

I found an interesting documentary named A Prince Among Slaves, which is about the muslim Prince Abdul Rahman Ibrahima Sori, who was kidnapped in West Africa during war and brought to America as a slave. After 40 years, he was identified as the Prince, and returned home. (“Prince Among Slaves”). This documentary seems like it can provide me a lot of information on the treatment of muslims slaves, but I have not been able to find any source where I can obtain the full documentary. When searching, I focused a majority of my time trying to find the treatment of Muslims slaves, but failed to actually find a resource which contained information on this particular subject; instead, a majority of the resources I came upon were either repetitions of each other, or just extremely vague.
Overall, the research process helped me gain perspective on research itself, and a historical explanation for my question. If I had more time, I would try to find more documentaries on slavery and visit a museum, because I need to broaden the resources I am focusing on. As of now, I strongly believe Black Muslims banded together because of their shared religion, which then lead to the formation of the Nation of Islam

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