Tens of thousands of colonial slaves were Muslims

Evidence

Social scientists estimate that 15 to 20 percent, or, “as many as 600,000 to 1.2 million” members of the aggregate enslaved African population were Muslims. That is a staggering figure, particularly when juxtaposed with the dearth of attention given to, and public knowledge of, enslaved African Muslims in that time period of American history. — Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Understanding…, 169 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Muslim-led rebellions were common in the New World. Wolof and Fulani Muslims spearheaded the first slave revolt in the history of the Americas in Hispaniola in 1522, with subsequent insurrections in present-day Puerto Rico, Panama, and Colombia from 1533 to 1580. These insurrections illustrated the distinct brand of insubordination that emanated from Islamic belief. Since many of the slave codes in the antebellum South were specifically concerned with preempting insurrections, rebellions in the United States were comparatively fewer than in Latin America. However, Muslim slaves did play key roles in the insurrections that took place, including Florida’s “Seminole Slave Rebellions” in 1835–1838. — Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Understanding…, 644 (#exemplifies, via linked claim)

Categorization

• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim
• XREF: connects to: Islamic slavery offered slaves mobility and rights unmatched in Christian law; Medieval theologians constructed Muslims as a degraded race descending from the slave Hagar; Roughly one in five enslaved Africans in America was Muslim — Carl W. Ernst, Islamophobia in America_ The Anatomy of…, 354 (+6 more)

Related

• Roughly one in five enslaved Africans in America was Muslim (similarity 0.90)
• Wolof and Fulani Muslims led the first slave revolt in the Americas in 1522 (similarity 0.89)
• Muslims constituted 15 to 20 percent of enslaved Africans in America. (similarity 0.88)
• The first significant US Muslim population arrived via the slave trade (similarity 0.87)
• Black slaves entered the Americas as early as 1501. (similarity 0.84)
• Shared Islam enabled enslaved West Africans to organize revolts in the Americas (similarity 0.84)
• Enslaved West Africans were the first significant US Muslim population (similarity 0.83)
• Ten to twenty percent of enslaved Africans were Muslims. (similarity 0.83)
• Muslims arrived in the Americas with Columbus and led the earliest slave revolts (similarity 0.83)
• Europeans saw enslaved African Muslims as semicivilized aids for Christianizing other Africans (similarity 0.81)
• Islam’s racialization dates to American slavery, not modern immigration debates (similarity 0.80)
• Enslaved Muslims built America’s infrastructure yet still lack reparations (similarity 0.79)
• African Muslim slaves preserved Islam until Protestant abolitionism pulled them into Christianity (similarity 0.79)
• For early modern Europeans Islam functioned as a civilizing intermediary toward Christianizing Africans (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• Muslims constituted 15 to 20 percent of enslaved Africans in America. #corroborates (0.70) — Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Understanding…, 169
• Wolof and Fulani Muslims led the first slave revolt in the Americas in 1522 #exemplifies (0.50) — Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Understanding…, 644
• Enslaved Muslims built America’s infrastructure yet still lack reparations #expands (0.40) — Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Understanding…, 546
• Europeans first encountered Africans chiefly as Muslim soldiers, fusing racial and religious identity #corroborates (0.40)