Last week, a Tennessee congressman posted a blunt declaration on social media: "Muslims don't belong in American Society. Pluralism is a lie."
The message provoked outrage from across the ideological spectrum, prompting House Speaker Mike Johnson to distance himself from the comments. However, Johnson still suggested the underlying sentiment resonated with many Americans.
“There’s a lot of energy in the country and a lot of popular sentiment that the demand to impose Sharia law in America is a serious problem,” Johnson said.
While the United States has a strong tradition of freedom – including freedom of worship – there are clearly those who feel that not all religions should enjoy equal treatment. Apparently, some would even prefer that Muslims be exiled entirely. As of this publishing, over 50,000 people had "liked" the congressman's tweet.
Such extreme declarations merit a short history lesson. For example, when and how did Muslims come to America in the first place?
The First American Muslims Didn't Choose to Come Here
Did you know: many of the first Muslims on American soil did not come here by choice, they were enslaved.
Scholars estimate that somewhere between 15 and 30 percent of the Africans brought to North America during the trans-Atlantic slave trade were Muslim. They were well educated and came from West African nations with deep Islamic traditions: places like Senegal, Gambia, Guinea, and Mali.
A few of their stories have survived. Omar ibn Said was an educated Muslim scholar from present-day Senegal who was enslaved in the early 19th century and eventually settled in North Carolina. Said later wrote an autobiography in Arabic detailing his experiences.
Job Ben Solomon, enslaved in Maryland in the 1730s, reportedly memorized the entire Quran from memory and was eventually able to return to Africa after his story attracted the attention of British abolitionists.
Islam Helps Shape America
The first significant wave of voluntary Muslim immigration began in the late 19th century, primarily from Greater Syria (modern-day Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan).
Many were entrepreneurs and merchants who spread across the country, eventually saving enough to settle down and build communities. In 1922, their descendants built the oldest existing mosque structure in the United States, the Al-Sadiq Mosque in Chicago.
The civil rights movement added a new dimension to the story. The Nation of Islam was founded – a distinctly American movement blending Islamic principles with a direct response to the racism and oppression faced by black Americans.
Popular figures like Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali embraced these ideas, further cementing Islam in the mainstream consciousness.
The Long Shadow of Terrorism
The attacks on September 11, 2001 were a clear turning point. They prompted a wave of anti-Muslim sentiment that touched virtually every Muslim American in the country, regardless of background or how long their families had been here.
Then-president Bush sought to improve relations, telling his fellow Americans that “Islam is peace” and urging them to keep some perspective: "No one should be treated unkindly because of the colour of their skin or the content of their creed. No one should be unfairly judged by appearance or ethnic background, or religious faith.”
Despite those efforts, mosques were vandalized, individuals were attacked, and communities were placed under surveillance.
That anxiety has never fully dissipated. If anything, it’s gotten worse in recent years, as the reaction to Zohran Mamdani’s election showed.
Anti-Islamic fears is also popping up in local zoning disputes – like the Oklahoma town that rejected a mosque in its community, and in school controversies like the investigation prompted by Quran and hijab handouts at a Texas high school.
Is “Sharia” Coming for You?
Because much of the anti-Muslim feeling stems from fears about “Sharia law,” this phrase is worth a quick explainer.
Sharia means "the path" or "the way" in Arabic. It refers to the ethical and moral framework guiding how Muslims should live, covering areas like prayer, fasting, business ethics, and personal conduct. It functions as a religious guide for daily life, similar to halakha in Judaism or the moral teachings of the Catholic Church.
Genuine tensions do exist between some interpretations of Islamic teachings and traditional Western freedoms.
In some Muslim-majority countries, apostasy (leaving the faith) and blasphemy carry severe legal penalties, a concept fundamentally at odds with American religious freedom. And women being expected to submit to their husbands obviously runs antithetical to advancements in women’s rights.
But “Sharia” is interpreted in many different ways. Just because certain conservative Islamic countries impose a draconian law, that doesn’t mean the same interpretation will be applied in America.
Does Islam Belong in America?
Since Muslims have existed here as long as America has been a thing, many people will answer unequivocally: yes.
But religious and cultural tensions clearly still exist, and some critics of Islam aren’t shy about sharing their view that Muslims should leave.
Muslim allies, however, point out that such views are antithetical to the American project, which has quite remarkably brought people of many faiths and cultures together (if imperfectly) under one roof.
What do you make of the controversy? Is “Sharia” law a legitimate threat, or a convenient bogeyman?
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