[briant]

I have never heard a muslim who happens to be black refered to as a black muslim anymore than a christian whould be called a black christian. It, evertime I have seen it used, pertains to a movment.

[Petronski]

We shall see. But this is SeeBS, so don't expect precision of language.

[Cicero]

These are two different things. It's possible to be black and a Muslim. Many Africans are. In that case the race hasn't much to do with it. I

But it's also possible to be a Black Muslim. This happens to be a distinct religion that has developed among American blacks. It has some things in common with international Islam, but it's really a separate sect, more different from regular Muslims than a Shiite is different from a Sunni.

Black Muslims are, unfortunately, a peculiarly American problem. The basic roots come not from conversion to Islam but from a 1960's idea that for a black to be a Christian was to accept the religion of the slave masters--therefore they wanted to be something else. Ironically, they imitated Islam (but with a lot of differences). It's ironic because Muslims were far more responsible for slavery than Christians every were.

[doug from upland]

So-called Black Muslims labeled themselves. The movement began in this country in the '60s.