Muslims have been present at every defining moment in American history, including the Civil War. Malika Bilal (Senior Presenter., Al Jazeera English) tells the recently discovered story of Muhammad Kahn, an immigrant from Afghanistan who traveled to the United States in 1861, fought in the Union Army, and left behind a 200-page pension file documenting his experiences. While piecing Kahn’s story together, Malika also discovers the stories of other Muslims involved in the conflict. These include Nicholas Said, an African immigrant who fought in the United States Colored Troops, and a senior Tunisian official who wrote to the U.S. government in 1864, urging them to end slavery. This letter made its way to Senator Charles Sumner, a leading abolitionist in the United States, who referred to Islam in his speeches on the floor of the U.S. Senate.
American Muslims: A History Revealed
A series of six short documentary films that reveal and explore the early history of Muslims in America. The series is hosted by three leading American Muslim journalists: Malika Bilal, Aymann Ismail, and Asma Khalid. Over the course of the series, they travel the country to piece together stories spanning over 200 years. from the first Muslims to arrive as enslaved people from Africa to the establishment of early South Asian, Syrian-Lebanese, and Black American Muslim communities. The series weaves key moments in U.S. history with the unexpected but essential story threads of Muslims whose lived experiences offer us new insight into how race, religion, and nationality are intertwined in the American fabric. Actors reading the part of historical characters include Hiam Abbas, David Rasche, Kamal Khan, and Faarshad Farahat.
Transcript
Malika Bilal: It's hard to imagine now, but 160 years ago, Northern Virginia was the site of some of the most brutal battles of the Civil War.
0:12
Among the Union soldiers who fought here in May of 1864 was a Muslim man, a recent immigrant from Afghanistan named Mohammad Kahn. Why he would risk his life here and what happened next is described in his military records, recently discovered in the National Archives in Washington, DC.
0:35
Jonathan Webb Deiss: I've pulled tens of thousands of files over the years. This is probably the only -- if not among a handful of descriptions of Islam in a Civil War document. That's what really struck me, and I was like, "This is...gold!"