"Islam has always been part of America"
George Washington Was a Friend of Muslims
...Aside from his affairs at Mount Vernon, Washington tolerated the presence of Muslims in his army during the Revolutionary War. Alongside Bampett Muhammad, who fought for the “Virginia Line” between 1775 and 1783, there is a man named Yusuf Ben Ali, also referred to by his slave name as Joseph Benhaley. Ben Ali was descended from North African Arabs and served as an aide to General Thomas Sumter in South Carolina. Sevgi Zübeyde Gürbüz (formerly Ertan) states in her article, “A History of Turks in America” (2002), that the modern day “Turks” of Sumter County, South Carolina, actually claim descent from Ben Ali.
Another man believed to be a Muslim in Washington’s army was Peter Buckminster, who etched his name into American history at the Battle of Bunker Hill by firing the shot which killed Great Britain’s Major General John Pitcairn. After being granted his freedom for freely enlisting in the army, Buckminster changed his last name to “Salem.” Historian Amir Muhammad points out that “Salem” is nearly identical to the word “Salam,” which is the word for “peace” in the Arabic language. Salem later reenlisted in Washington’s army and fought victoriously at the Battle of Saratoga and the Battle of Stony Point, where Washington served as commander. The presence of these men in several of Washington’s most defining moments suggests that Washington cared little for the religious makeup of his army and cared more for their devotion to freedom and independence.
In late 1777, Washington’s army suffered defeat after defeat against the British and were forced to surrender the major city of Philadelphia to the enemy. Washington’s worst day during the Revolutionary War came as his men were encamped at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, on December 19 of that year. Washington stressed in a letter to his friend George Clinton of “the dreadful situation ... for want of provisions, and the miserable prospects before us, with respect to futurity.” Just as his army reached its most desperate state, Washington learned of the news of a Muslim man named Sultain Sidi Muhammad ben Abdallah of Morocco, who showed interest in helping the Americans in their fight against the British Empire.
Upon learning of Washington’s conflict, Abdallah assisted Washington by listing the newly independent United States of America as a country whose trading ships would be welcomed in the ports of Morocco, a move which offered the potential for supplies to be shipped to Washington’s army. In 1778, shortly after his initial effort to help Washington, Abdallah appointed Etienne d’Audibert Caille, a French merchant, to serve as an ambassador to unrepresented countries such as the United States of America. These early diplomatic relations between the United States of America and Morocco culminated in the ratification of the Treaty of Marrakech in 1786, which remains to this day the longest standing foreign relations treaty in American history.
Congress found the Treaty of Marrakech so satisfactory that it passed a note of thanks to Thomas Barclay, a diplomat at the American consulate in Paris, France, for his effort in finalizing the agreements. In reflecting on his experience while negotiating with Moroccans, Barclay wrote that Abdallah “acted in a manner most gracious ... and I really believe the Americans possess as much of his respect and regards as does any Christian nation whatsoever.” Barclay said that Abdallah was a “just man, according to this idea of justice, of great personal courage, liberal to a degree, a lover of his people, [and] stern.”
In effect, the Treaty of Marrakech demonstrates that Washington and other members of Congress had no reservations with trusting or entering into a friendship with Muslims. The treaty is also evidence of how Washington and other early Americans judged foreign leaders not on the basis of their religious beliefs, but on the sincerity and strength of their character and conduct.
Washington’s appreciation for Abdallah was reaffirmed in a personal letter, dated December 1, 1789, which he sent directly to Abdallah’s court. In addition to ensuring America’s commitment to maintaining “peace and friendship” with Morocco, Washington stated that Americans would “gradually become useful to [their] friends.” Washington told Abdallah that so long as he was President of the Untied States of America, he would “not cease to promote every Measure that may conduct to the Friendship and Harmony, which so happily subsist between your Empire and [Americans].”
After the death of Abdallah in 1790, the Treaty of Marrakech was validated by Morocco’s new sultan, Moulay Suliman, who made it clear in a letter to the American consulate at Gibraltor that “we are at peace, tranquility and friendship with you in the same manner as you were with our father who is in glory.” Suliman added: “the Americans, I find, are the Christian nation my father most esteemed ... I am the same with them, as my father and I trust they will be so with me ... With good relations thus reaffirmed.” This official correspondence between American and Moroccan officials shows how both parties regarded each others’ faith with the utmost respect.
Washington’s tolerance of and friendships with Muslims may be a product of his adherence to the principles of Enlightenment, which emphasized a concern for human rights and freedom of choice. Washington believed that every person was “accountable to God alone for his religious opinions” and should “be protected in worshiping the Deity according to the dictates of his own conscience.” Washington’s tolerance of Muslims, and indeed of all religions, also manifests in a personal letter from 1783, in which he made it clear that the United States of America would be “open to receive ... the oppressed and persecuted of all nations and religions, whom we shall welcome to participation of all our rights and privileges ... They may be Mahometans [Muslims], Jews, or Christians of any sect.”
One of Washington’s most inspiring letters was addressed to the Hebrew Congregation of Rhode Island in 1783. Washington told these early Jewish Americans that he hoped that “the children of the stock of Abraham, who dwell in this land, [would] continue to merit and enjoy the goodwill of their inhabitants,” which insinuates that Washington would sympathize with Islam as well because Islam also holds Abraham in high esteem for founding the monotheistic tradition. In reaching out to the early Jewish American community, Washington makes the point that the more vulnerable religious groups in American society would be protected and safeguarded under the freedoms granted by the Constitution of the United States of America.
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