Social scientists estimate that 15 to 20 percent, or, "as many as 600,000 to 1.2 million" members of the aggregate enslaved African population were Muslims. That is a staggering figure, particularly when juxtaposed with the dearth of attention given to, and public knowledge of, enslaved African Muslims in that time period of American history.

QUESTION: Why has public knowledge of enslaved African Muslims remained so sparse despite this staggering figure? SEED: A hidden-historory angle: the largely untold story of enslaved African Muslims could anchor an essay on erased cultural heritage in America.

Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Unde…, loc. 169