Black American Muslims

Abstract This chapter examines the views of black American Muslims on a range of political issues. It draws on nationally representative surveys as well as in-depth interviews and focus groups to show the similarities and differences of black American Muslims when compared with other Muslim Americans, other African Americans, and the larger US public. On certain issues, such as how society should view homosexuality, black American Muslims tend to share the social conservatism common among American Muslims. On other issues, such as immigration, black American Muslims have more in common with non-Muslim blacks in the United States than with US Muslims of other racial and ethnic backgrounds. Finally, black American Muslims express more skepticism about the US government’s efforts to combat terrorism than either other US Muslims or other African Americans.