Islam and the African American Experience

Abstract

The conversion of African-American men to Islam , has been taking place for many generations. But why are African-Americans, now experiencing a more assimilated position within American society with the second-term presidency of President Barack Obama, choosing Islam, increasingly marginalized in American culture? This thesis not only explores the motivation for this conversion, but also how it affects the converts’ identity and how they place themselves within the broader American landscape. Interviews with African-American men demonstrate a mixture of spiritual fulfillment, historical acknowledgement of Islam and a renewed sense of personal, as well as, group identity within the United States.