Did Muslims Fight in the Continental Army?

Contrary to what many allege in the Islamophobe sphere, Muslims have been a part of America since the very beginning.

Muslims played role in nation’s history

Thomas Bonner (Herald Online)

Did Muslims fight on the Continental side in the Revolution? I do not know; however, it is possible. One veteran of the battles of Concord and Bunker Hill was a freed slave named Peter Salem, who is alleged by some historians to have been Muslim, based on his last name, which is similar to the Arabic name Saleem. Other Continental soldiers with Islamic names include Salem Poor, Yusuf Ben Ali, Bampett Muhamed, Francis Saba and Joseph Saba. In 1777, Morocco was the first nation to recognize our fledging country following the Declaration of Independence. In recognition of Morocco’s friendship, in 1790, South Carolina’s Legislature granted special legal protections to a group of Moroccans stranded in our state.

Did Muslims fight in the Civil War in order to end slavery? At least one is known to have done so. Muhammad Ali ibn Said (also known as Nicholas Said), formerly enslaved in the Middle East, immigrated to the U.S. in 1860 and enlisted in the famed all-African-American 55th Massachusetts Regiment in 1863, where he rose to the rank of sergeant before war’s end.