lim communities have sometimes been strained
to the extent that African-American Muslims have
formed their own movements or mosques in a
parallel history to formation of black churches in
response to post–Civil War racism. The character
of the African-American Sunni majority is as com-
plex and diverse as the immigrant and expatriate
Sunni community in America, marked by as many
theological differences as the immigrant com-
munity is by multiple ethnolinguistic identities.
However, both immigrant and African-American
communities are part of one umma and share in
its common challenge of following the “straight
path” (Q.1:6) in America.
The experience of the American Muslim com-
munity as a whole since the September 11, 2001,
attacks has been stressful, with immediate effects
including personal attacks, property vandalism of
mosques and Islamic centers, and random hate
crimes. Long-term negative attention to the Ameri-
can-Muslim community continues from the press,
law enforcement, and government organizations;
and Muslims (as well as Arab Americans and oth-
ers of Middle Eastern background) continue to
encounter religiously, ethnically, and culturally
motivated harassment on the street, in schools,
and in the workplace. Many American Muslims
are frightened of ongoing prejudice and its conse-
quences to the future of the community, but they
have begun to organize themselves through such
networks and ISNA (islamic society oF north
america) and CAIR (coUncil oF american-islamic
relations), in cooperation with other civic organi-
zations like the ACLU (American Civil Liberties
Union) to resist situations of religious discrimina-
tion through disseminating accurate information
to the public about Islam and the Muslim com-
munity. In spite of these difficulties, Muslims in
increasingly larger numbers are continuing to
immigrate to the United States seeking political
and religious freedom and economic opportunity,
and Americans are continuing to convert to Islam
for its positive sense of personal identity, commu-
nal cohesion, and family values.
See also baWa mUhaiyaddeen FelloWship; can-
ada; malcolm X; mUslim pUblic aFFairs coUncil;
mUslim stUdents association; Webb, aleXander
rUssell.
Kathleen M. O’ConnorFurther reading: Robert Dannin, Black Pilgrimage to Islam
(New York: Oxford University Press, 2002, and E-book);
Sylviane A. Diouf, Servants of Allah: African Muslims
Enslaved in the Americas (New York: New York University
Press, 1998); Ron Geaves, Theodore Gabriel, Yvonne Y.
Haddad, and Jane I. Smith, eds., Islam and the West Post
9/11 (Burlington, Vt.: Ashgate Publishing, 2004); Michael
A. Gomez, Black Crescent: The Experience and Legacy of
African Muslims in the Americas (New York: CambridgeIslamic Community Center of Tempe, Arizona,
designed to resemble the Dome of the Rock in Jerusa-
lem ( Juan E. Campo)
United States 695 J