Muslim Roots: The Origins of Islam in Indiana

Abstract

Hoosiers have been practicing Islamic religion for more than a century, but the story of Islam's foundations in Indiana is largely unknown among the state's Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Between World War I and World War II, Islam became an organized religion whose religious institutions were governed by Indiana law. African American, Arab American, and South Asian American Hoosiers, both immigrants and native born, founded Muslim groups that subscribed to decidedly different interpretations of Islamic religion. They created religious congregations, started Islamic-themed businesses, and formed communities of mutual support that sometimes crossed ethnic lines and at other times acted as ethnic enclaves. Despite their differences--perhaps because of their differences--it was during the interwar era that Islam became a Hoosier religion with multiple denominational identities and institutional forms.