West African Islam in Colonial and Antebellum South Carolina

Abstract

Over the last 20 years, scholars have begun to critically investigate the historical presence of enslaved African Muslims in the Americas, including the United States. Studies are typically broad in scope. Meanwhile, the vast body of scholarship on American slavery produced by non-Islamicists has generally disregarded or overlooked the retention of Muslim practices or beliefs among slaves. This study examines the presence of West African Muslims in colonial and antebellum South Carolina, particularly among the rice plantations in the coastal regions of the state, part of the Gullah-Geechee Corridor. At the same time, it looks at these Muslim slaves in the distinctive historical context of West African Islam, specifically Malikite Sunnism and Sufism. In doing so, this study further documents the significant Muslim presence in colonial and antebellum America, specifically South Carolina, while arguing for the need to re-examine prevailing conclusions about the origins of distinctive Gullah cultural practices and beliefs, such as the “Ring Shout” ritual once performed in Praise Houses.