Many early slaves were Muslims.
“Many early slaves were Muslims.”
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I’ve been wondering about that. A good many would have had to come from those regions of West Africa where Islam had made inroads, but if so, why did no trace of Islam make its mark in the New World? Lord knows the juju-based religions got into our bloodstream but you never hear anything about slaves praying to Mecca.
I highly doubt that.
First, Islam hadn't made much of a dent in sub-Saharan West Africa at that point.
Second, Muslims were the enslavers not the enslaved. Europeans were in many cases buying slaves from Muslim traders, who would be disinclined to sell a Muslim to a kafir.
Third, various African religions have survived in the New World -Vodun, Candomble, Batuque, Macumba, etc. How could dozens of local animist religions from up and down the coast of West Africa survive and be handed down for generations in the Carribean and Brazil and Islam die out?
If there were any number of Muslim slaves, there would be a continuous, traceable history of Islam in the New World the way there is for Vodun.