As a proud Muslim of African descent and one who has researched this topic for many years I feel compelled to respond to your post. Having been born in the U.S. and the descendant of slaves who fought to preserve our traditions and religion in the face of American tyranny, I grew up with the blues; the music and the culture is inseparable from my life. In fact, music is inseparable from the lives of most Africans as it is infused into every aspect of our lives. In my research regarding the blues and other traditions practiced by American blacks, the reality of mingling vastly diverse groups of people into one inescapable identity forced them to mingle their cultural identities and traditions, and then adapt them to their changed reality. So the source of the Blues is truly the shared experience of different peoples and traditions surviving insurmountable odds. African Muslims certainly had an effect on the development of the Blues but no more than any other animist traditions. Furthermore, the Banjo itself finds its closest relative in the Akonting of the Jola tribe of Senegal. It is a pre-Islamic tradition whose playing techniques and sound bear the closest resemblance  to the Banjo. In fact there was a saying among that tribe "Musicians shouldn’t go out playing their instruments in the forests lest they never return." This resulting from the fact that slave hunters often hunted unsuspecting people in the forests.

There are other more compelling examples of Muslim influence among American slave traditions. I teach a martial art practiced in Brazil called Capoeira. In the music of that art the phrase "La illaha ilallah" is intoned more frequently than any other in the body of Capoeira music and with several variations. And the Muslim influence in Brazil’s history is very well documented as they were often the most educated people in Brazil and lead the overwhelming majority of slave revolts; actually capturing and holding the Capitol  for a time during the largest revolt in Brazilian history. To this day  there are people bearing names such as Latif and Habib among the Black Brazilian population. And various techniques and traditions in the art of Capoeira are associated with the Malês (Muslim slaves) and Mandinga (Muslim tribe from Mali); including many of the kicking techniques which bear strong resemblance to Hausa martial arts.

That being said, I must be clear in enunciating that these traditions, though influenced by Islam, are not the direct result of Islam as they existed in the the pre-Islamic periods of West African history; many of them possessing a history that stretches over thousands of years. I say this because we Africans maintain cultures that have influenced the world for thousands of years and Muslim Africans are no exception; Ziryab of Moorish Spain is an excellent example. However people’s efforts to co-opt our cultures while distancing themselves from us socially have been a problem for centuries, and Muslims are no exception to this behavior. I hope that as we move forward as "Progressive Muslims" we truly progress toward a state of mind where we come to understand the unique and beautiful ways in which Islam is expressed by its diverse followers — Islam perhaps being the most diverse religion on earth — and embrace each of these traditions in holding firm to the cord that Allah has extended between us all and called the Ummah.

As salamu alaikum,
Ibrahim Arsalan

fascinating, excellent, thank you!