By contrast, the most common places of origin for nonblack Muslims are south Asian countries, such as Pakistan.Ĭorrection: In a previous version of this post, the source notes in the first and third charts misstated which demographic group data came from the Center’s 2017 survey. Aside from those born in the U.S., many black Muslims come from sub-Saharan Africa, including countries such as Somalia and Ethiopia. 36%), though less likely than black Christians (90%). In addition, black Muslims are much more likely than nonblack Muslims to have been born in the United States (69% vs. Muslims overall, are more likely to live in urban areas than are black Christians. Geographically, black American Muslims are more likely than black Christians to live in the Northeast, while black Christians are more densely clustered in the South. By comparison, nonblack Muslims are less likely (66%) to say this. And 79% of black Muslims believe the United States needs to continue making changes in order for blacks to have equal rights with whites. For instance, about nine-in-ten black Muslims (92%) say there is a lot of discrimination against black people, compared with 78% of black Christians and 66% of nonblack Muslims. But black Muslims do not completely share the views of black Christians or nonblack Muslims on these issues. are more concerned about the state of race relations than are people of other races. Views on race relations and the geographical distribution of U.S. Deen Mohammed, were members of the Nation of Islam before coming to associate with other types of Islam. However, it is worth noting that the 2017 survey did not ask Muslims if they had ever previously identified with the Nation of Islam – an important point because many black Muslims, including prominent American Muslim figures such as Muhammad Ali, Malcolm X and Imam W. Instead, most black Muslims say they are either Sunni Muslims (52%) or identify with no particular Islamic denomination (27%). Today, just two of every 100 black Muslims surveyed say they currently identify with the Nation of Islam. Most prominent among the groups saying this was the Nation of Islam, which was originally founded in 1930 and is currently led by Minister Louis Farrakhan. asserted that Islam was the natural religion of black people, broadly drawing upon the narratives of African Muslims captured centuries ago and sold as slaves in the Americas. In the early 1900s, some Muslim religious leaders in the U.S. to perform the five daily prayers (55% vs. Black Muslims are also more likely than other Muslims in the U.S. This is a higher level of commitment than for nonblack Muslims (62%). For instance, large majorities of both black Muslims and black Christians say religion is very important to them (75% and 84% respectively). By contrast, only 15% of nonblack Muslims are converts to Islam, and just 6% of black Christians are converts to Christianity.īlack Muslims are like black Americans overall in that they have high levels of religious commitment. The vast majority of black Americans are either Christian (79%) or religiously unaffiliated (18%), while about 2% of black Americans are Muslim.Ībout half of black Muslims (49%) are converts to Islam, a relatively high level of conversion. Still, Muslims make up only a small portion of the overall black population in the United States. Today, black people (not including those of Hispanic descent or mixed race) make up 20% of the country’s overall Muslim population, according to a 2017 Pew Research Center survey. This is one of an occasional series of posts on black Americans and religion.Įven in the early 20th century, when Islam had little presence in most parts of the United States, the religion had a foothold in many black urban communities. Worshippers gather at a Minnesota football stadium for prayer and festivities for Eid al-Adha, one of the holiest holidays on the Muslim calendar.
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