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As many as 1.2 million Muslim Africans were trafficked from West and Central Africa to the Americas from the 17th to the 19th centuries. In the United States, barbaric “slave codes’”across the South forced enslaved Muslims to practice their faith in secret.
The slave codes banned gatherings of more than five enslaved people. This ban was especially painful during the holy period of Ramadan, a time of communal gathering for Muslims. But they found a way to come together, right under the noses of the enslavers.
During Ramadan when Muslims were required to fast, some would pretend to be sick to conserve their energy. Iftars, meals held to break the fast at sunset, were held in private. Slave quarters became places to pray.
Let enslaved Muslims’ circumventing of the anti-Black systems forced upon them be a reminder that our resistance is stronger than their attempts to oppress us.
As Malcolm X said, we're inseparably linked. Wherever you are in the diaspora, our shared ancestral history and present struggles mean that our future liberation depends on each other. None of us is free until all of us are.