Black
Muslims
In America

delve into the world of
african american muslims

African Americans are one of the largest ethnic groups of Muslims in America. This may come as a surprise not only to non-Muslims, but also to many immigrant Muslims who may have had only limited exposure to African American Muslims at their local mosques.

Two college students, Rafee and Mohamed, decide to embark on a journey into the predominantly African American Muslim communities in Baltimore, MD to learn about their history and understand why they don’t feel their presence as much as they think they should.

Throughout this process, they discover African American Muslims and their immigrant Muslim counterparts in Baltimore initially had great cooperation. However, as new communities were established, the necessity to work together declined until communication between the African American and immigrant communities became virtually nonexistent.

While they planned only to learn about African American Muslim communities, Rafee and Mohamed soon found themselves becoming a part of the communities they were studying. By seeking the answers to how groups build social cohesion, what issues individuals face and the social capital available in such communities, Rafee and Mohamed discover first-hand that collaboration can mutually benefit people from both communities, and believe they may have found the solution to forging connections among African American and immigrant Muslims.