This brother and his wife are doing an amazing job with this museum. I went to visit it last year right before it was officially opened with a friend and there is a lot of little known information about Muslim history in the United States there. I knew that a lot of the slaves brought to the U.S. were Muslims but I was surprised to learn that a lot of the Native American tribes here in the U.S. were Muslims and also that Muslims founded a few cities here.
Unfortunately, the location of this museum isn't in such a great part of town in D.C. The brother is always looking for donations to help expand the exhibit. It would be amazing if he could maybe even get a better location for easier access for D.C. tourists to come in and learn about Islam and its roots in the West. It's a traveling exhibit so if you have an Islamic Awareness Week with your MSA at your college or university this would be great to help people learn about Islam.
Right now the gift shop there isn't very big and I know that he's also trying to get out some copies of the Quran to visitors who are interested in learning more about Islam so if anyone can donate to help the brother expand the exhibits and everything it would help tremendously. And if you're in D.C., check it out sometime with a group of friends in shaa Allah.
A little bit more information about the brother and the museum here.
Washington D.C.’s Mall is the home of many of the city’s finest museums, housing works of the masters at the National Museum of Art, historic aircraft at the Air and Space Museum and America’s Native heritage at the American Indian Museum.
But one man saw that something was missing: Amir Muhammad couldn’t find a museum that showed Islam’s history in America. So he started digging. His results - including photos, artifacts, and displays - have become America’s Islamic Heritage Museum and Cultural Center in Southeast Washington, DC.
Beginnings
A native of Connecticut, Amir Muhammad was raised Baptist. His first experience with Islam was in 1973, under the former Nation of Islam leader Elijah P. Muhammad. He also studied the writings of the late Malcolm X.
But it was some genealogical research that transformed his faith: he found Muslim names in his family tree. He began to search libraries and town records. He talked to his mother, who gave him vital family information. He began to visit Georgia, where his mother was from trying to get any information he could find.
His search became more focused when he moved from Richmond, Virginia to Washington, DC.
“I felt that if I was living in the DC area, with the National Archives here, if I ever moved, I would feel bad that I didn’t take advantage of it,” said Muhammad.
Through his research, Muhammad came across several Muslim names especially amongst the Gullah people in the lowlands of South Carolina and Georgia. He found stories of Muslim slave managers who helped defend the Sea Islands of South Carolina during the War of 1812. He found several tombstones with Muslim names, sometimes having to go deep into the woods - and into areas where he did not feel welcome - to find them.
Digging in Earnest
He also found tombstones with the one-finger bas relief, a Muslim symbol meant to signify the oneness of God. He explored the ruins of Gullah slave quarters - called “Tabby Ruins” - and found modern people who carry on the Gullah traditions - like weaving intricate baskets from sea grass.
Muhammad came across Muslim Africans who fought in the Civil War, including Muhammad Ali Ibn Said, who spoke seven languages, fought for the Union in the 55th Massachusetts Regiment and later became a teacher. He found Muslims like Hadji Ali, an Ottoman of Jordanian parents known as “Hi Jolly” who was one of the first camel drivers ever hired by the U.S. Army for its experimental Camel Corps.
Amir Muhammad’s search continued through census records, where he found Muslim names in several documents. His search also led him to sports heroes like Muhammad Ali. He found Muslim educators, scholars, judges, lawyers, doctors, businessmen and members of the U.S. military - some of whom were killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Amir says American Muslims need to know their history to feel part of the country.
“Another thing we talk about is the forgotten roots, because it’s something that’s forgotten,” he said. “People don’t understand that it’s the roots and the core of America,” said Muhammad.
Traveling show
His research was first displayed in 1996 as a traveling exhibit by a non-profit organization called the “Collections and Stories of American Muslims,” or CSAM.
Muhammad and his wife Habeebah - a PhD and Registrar at the Anacostia Museum and Center for African American History and Culture - took the exhibit to several countries. In Qatar, it was featured in the State Department’s cultural exchange program.
The exhibit also traveled to Nigeria, and made stops in Abuja, Abeokuta, and Kano, where Muhammad personally led tours through the exhibit for visiting dignitaries.
Permanent Home
This year, the Exhibit found a home at the former Clara Muhammad School on Martin Luther King Avenue in Washington’s Anacostia neighborhood. A former carriage and paint shop the building was upgraded to a school and then revamped to accommodate the museum.
The development and cost of the current space was more than $40,000. The cost for keeping the museum open for the first year is expected to be around $150,000. The facility also hosted four iftars this year - including one sponsored by the Ambassador of the Embassy of Qatar.
Amir Muhammad’s eyes light up when he talks about his work. He calls finding Muslims in American history “like a blessing from God.” But he added that his hope is to one day to join other museums in a prominent place on the Washington Mall.
I was told that some of the Native American tribes that were already in America when Columbus stumbled upon it were Muslims but I haven't done much research on it. I think Dr. Jerald Dirks has a book about the history of Muslims in America. I have it in my library but haven't read it just yet.
this is interesting information. i heard that there were muslims already in USA when columbus discovered it.
I remember years ago, I read a book called "fingerprints of the Gods" by Graham Hancock, and in a chapter he wrote about a man named Viracocha.
This man wore white robes (like a Muslims), prayed prostrating on the floor and came with miracles, he even somehow managed to move a very large stone block from another part of the world (geologists confirm the stone was not local at all, rather from thousands of miles away) to machu pichu. He invited people to worship the ONE GOD and promoted all the Islamic virtues we know of today...
...So, who was Viracocha, really? I looked into him recently and now, they are defaming the man by saying he was an alien or a fish man etc lol. New age hippy BS if you ask me - but hey, it's 2012 and that's the fashion right now.
Look into it. Viracocha could very well have been a prophet of Allah... who knows, it may have even been the legendary Dhulk Qarnayn. And Allah knows best.
This man wore white robes (like a Muslims), prayed prostrating on the floor and came with miracles, he even somehow managed to move a very large stone block from another part of the world (geologists confirm the stone was not local at all, rather from thousands of miles away) to machu pichu. He invited people to worship the ONE GOD and promoted all the Islamic virtues we know of today...
...So, who was Viracocha, really? I looked into him recently and now, they are defaming the man by saying he was an alien or a fish man etc lol. New age hippy BS if you ask me - but hey, it's 2012 and that's the fashion right now.
Wow. Very interesting. I didn't know about Viracocha. Who is Graham Hancock?
It's interesting to me because you always hear people say that this concept of worshiping ONE God is new concept but even anthropologically speaking there is evidence to the contrary. An alien? Really? =/
When I was reading my translation of the Quran the commentary said that they thought Dhulk Qarnayn was Alexander the Great but from what I know of him from studies in public school he didn't exactly fit the profile...
Wow. Very interesting. I didn't know about Viracocha. Who is Graham Hancock?
It's interesting to me because you always hear people say that this concept of worshiping ONE God is new concept but even anthropologically speaking there is evidence to the contrary. An alien? Really? =/
Graham Hancock is a historian, who was mocked and ridiculed in the 70's and 80's for his wacky research and strange analysis. However, come the 90's and all of a sudden, he's back in the historical circles good books - turned out his researched information on the mayan peoples kinda saved his bacon, so to speak. I found his book very hard to read back in the day, simply because it started off talking about earth crust and tectonic plate shifts - which I, as a 16 yrs old (man that was freaking 20 yrs ago now) found ultimately confusing... I recall looking back at the book as a young twenty something and understanding more or less everything in it. To me though, the Viracocha story was the most fascinating of the bunch, because I was able to draw parallels to Musliims. Viracocha's full title (given him by the locals) was Viracocha con Tiki - which translates to "The Foam of the Sea"... legend has it that he walked onto land, carried aloft by the foam of the sea. Miraculous. As we know, Dhul Qarnain had the command of the wind... see what I am getting at?
format_quote Originally Posted by Aprender
When I was reading my translation of the Quran the commentary said that they thought Dhulk Qarnayn was Alexander the Great but from what I know of him from studies in public school he didn't exactly fit the profile...
yes, it can't be Alexander the great. But it could very well be Cyrus the Persian, since he is also mentioned in the jews holy books - as the man who freed them from captivity. His journeys were somewaht epic too, but not much remains of his story in the historical record. Allah knows best.
Scimi
EDIT: forgot to mention, Viracocha was described as having a beard but no mustache... interesting stuff.
this is quite interesting. i love reading historical accounts especially stuff like this. i'll see if i can find some books or something online about it. I don't know if virachoca was Dhul Qarnayn or not. or could he have been Prophet Yunus (Alaihi Assalaam) who had been swallowed by a fish and then the fish left him on the beach? or he may have been simply a righteous man, since it's not necessary that every preacher was a Prophet. (when was this? what year BC?)
Maulana Maududi's commentary of Tafheemul Quran (The Meaning of Quran in English) has some awesome information about Dhul Qarnayn. (There are a lot of historical accounts in his commentary).
Commentary of verse 83 of Surah Al-Kahf:
The identification of Dhul-Qarnayn has been a controversial matter from the earliest times. In general the commentators have been of the opinion that he was Alexander the Great but the characteristics of Dhul-Qarnayn as described in the Quran are not applicable to him. However, now the commentators are inclined to believe that Dhul-Qarnayn was Cyrus, an ancient king of Iran. We are also of the opinion that probably Dhul-Qarnayn was Cyrus, but the historical facts, which have come to light up to this time, are not sufficient to make any categorical assertion.
Now let us consider the characteristics of Dhul-Qarnayn in the light of his story as given in the Quran:
1. the title Dhul-Qarnayn (“The Two-Horned”) should have been quite familiar to the Jews, for it was at their instigation that the disbelievers of Makkah put this question to the Holy Prophet (SAW). Therefore we must turn to the Jewish literature in order to learn who was the person known as “The Two-Horned” or which was the kingdom known as “The Two-Horned.”
2. Dhul-Qarnayn must have been a great ruler and a great conqueror whose conquests might have spread from the East to the West and on the third side to the North or to the South. Before the revelation of the Quran, there had been several persons, who were such great conquerors. So we must confine our research for the other characteristics of Dhul-Qarnayn to one of these persons.
3. This title should be applicable to such a ruler who might have constructed a strong wall across a mountain pass to protect his kingdom from the incursions of Gog and Magog. In order to investigate this, we will have to determine as to who were Gog and Magog. We will also have to find out when such a wall was built and by whom and to which territory it was adjacent.
4. besides possessing the above-mentioned characteristics, he should also be a God-worshipper and a just ruler, for the Quran has brought into prominence these characteristics more than anything else.
The first of these characteristics is easily applicable to Cyrus, for according to the Bible Prophet Daniel saw in his vision that the united kingdom of Media and Persia was like a two-horned ram before the rise of the Greeks. (Dan. 8: 3, 20). The Jews had a very high opinion of “The Two-Horned” one, because it was his invasion which brought about the downfall of the kingdom of Babylon and the liberation of the Israelites.
The second characteristic is applicable to him to a great extent but not completely. Though his conquests spread to Syria and Asia Minor in the West and to Bakhtar (Balkh) in the East, there is no trace of any of his great expeditions to the North or to the South, whereas the Quran makes an explicit mention of his third expedition. Nevertheless, this third expedition is not wholly out of the question for history tells us that his kingdom extended to Caucasia in the North. As regards Gog and Magog, it has been nearly established that they were the wild tribes of Central Asia who were known by different names – Tartars, Mongols, Huns, and Scythians – who had been making inroads on settled kingdoms and empires from very ancient times. It is also known that strong bulwarks had been built in southern regions of Caucasia, though it has not yet been historically established that these were built by Cyrus.
[According to commentary of Abdullah Yusuf Ali, the third expedition was in the same direction as the second, to the east, because the direction of the third journey is not mentioned in the Quran. And Allah knows best. See Appendix 6 to Surah Al-Kahf, commentary of Abdullah Yusuf Ali.)
As regards the last characteristic, Cyrus is the only known conqueror among the ancient rulers to whom this may be applicable, for even his enemies have been full of praise for him for his justice, and , Ezra, a book of the Bible, asserts that he was a God-worshipper and a God-fearing king who set free the Israelites because of his God-worship, and ordered that the Temple of Solomon should be rebuilt for the worship of Allah, Who has no partner.
In the light of the above, we admit that of all the conquerors, who had passed away before the revelation of the Quran, Cyrus alone is the one to whom the characteristics of “Dhul-Qarnayn” are most applicable, but we need more evidence to determine specifically that Cyrus is definitely “Dhul-Qarnayn.” Anyhow, there is no other conqueror to whom the characteristics stated in the Quran are as much applicable as to Cyrus.
Historically, it is enough to say that Cyrus was a Persian ruler, whose rise began about 549 BC. In a few years, he conquered the kingdom of Media and Lydia and afterwards conquered Babylon in 539 BC. After this, no powerful kingdom was left to oppose him. His conquests extended to Sind and the territory known as Turkistan on the one side, and to Egypt and Lybia and to Thrace and Macedonia and to Caucasia and Khawarzam in the North. In fact, the whole civilized world was under his sway.
(From The Meaning of Quran, English translation of Tafheem-ul-Quran, by Sayyad Abu Al Ala Maududi). See the rest of the commentary for more information about Dhul-Qarnayn.
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