Attending a Mosque Service

For this project, I chose to attend a mosque service with my cousin who is a member of an African American Muslim community. As a practicing Christian, I did not know too much about the Black Muslim religion so before attending the service, I looked up some information. The development of the Black Muslim religion can be traced back to the Moriscoes who came to the New World with the Spanish invaders, followed by the Muslim slaves who were imported to work on the plantations in the South. Although their white masters tried to undermine their adherence to their faith and practices, many of these slaves held on to their Islamic identities, Nonetheless, it was not until the 1950s before many African Americans, under the leadership of Elijah Muhammad, began to embrace Islam not only as a religious faith, but also as a political ideology. Through his organization known as the Nation of Islam (NOI), Muhammad espoused a political ideology that challenged the institution of racism and white oppression, thus appealing to many African Americans who were experiencing racism, poverty and inequality (Brent, 1997; Nyang, 1999).

However, the original NOI disintegrated and split into different sects, with the revelation of Muhammad's indulgence in sexually inappropriate behavior, and the rise of new leaders such as Malcolm X and Muhammad's son, Warithuddin Muhammad.

In spite of the unique historical development that separates African American Muslims from their slave ancestors, all M

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Category: Psychology - A