Beginning with Latin America in the fifteenth century, this book comprises a social history of the experiences of African Muslims and their descendants throughout the Americas, including the Caribbean. The years under slavery are examined, as well as the post-slavery period. The study also analyzes Muslim revolts in Brazil--especially in 1835. The second part of the book traces the emergence of Islam among U.S. African descendants in the twentieth century, featuring chapters on Noble Drew Ali, Elijah Muhammad, and Malcolm X to explain how orthodoxy arose from varied unorthodox roots....

This innovative study marries two very divergent sources of knowledge historical documentation from the era of the slave trade with the narratives of remembrance of ancestors from the present to reveal a compelling story that links Madagascar with colonial North America and the struggles of the descendants of Malagasy immigrants to retain an identity that was endangered through slavery. Paul E. Lovejoy, Distinguished Research Professor, York University

This innovative study marries two very divergent sources of knowledge historical documentation from the era of the slave trade with the narratives of remembrance of ancestors from the present to reveal a compelling story that links Madagascar with colonial North America and the struggles of the descendants of Malagasy immigrants to retain an identity that was endangered through slavery. Paul E. Lovejoy, Distinguished Research Professor, York University

In a radically new account of the importance of early Africa in global history, Gomez traces how Islam's growth in West Africa, along with intensifying commerce that included slaves, resulted in a series of political experiments unique to the region, culminating in the rise of empire.