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Enslaved and Muslim in Early America

Sidedoor
Sidedoor
Episode • Jan 31, 2018 • 29m

Today, the US population is about 1% Muslim, but in the late 1700s that number was likely closer to 5%. Who were these early Muslim-Americans, where did they go, and why didn’t we all learn about them in school? In this episode, we search for American history's missing Muslims, and explore their experience though the words of Omar ibn Said, an enslaved Muslim man in North Carolina whose one-of-a-kind autobiography still resonates today.

Sidedoor • Enslaved and Muslim in Early America • Listen on Fountain