“Islam is an American religion,” according to Dr. Amir Hussain. “There have been Muslims in America before there was an America.”
These were some of the thoughts shared by Dr. Hussain, professor of theological studies at Loyola Marymount University, when he visited campus to discuss the long history of Muslims in the United States. From the earliest slaves to land on these shores from Western Africa, to well-known American like Muhammed Ali, the contributions of Muslims on the history and development of the nation are manifold.
Much of what Dr. Hussain discussed can be found in his recent book, Muslims and the Making of America .
We asked Dr. Hussain to share the takeaways of his talk. See the video below. The lecture was sponsored by BSU’s Global Religion Studies department. (Photo and video by John Winters, G’11, University News & Media)