The Ahmadiyya Movement and Its Hidden Influence on American Jazz
by Daniel Finn
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When I think of Jazz, I don’t generally think of Islam. Traditionally They seem at odds.
Take a listen to this:
Obirin African (Woman Of Africa | Art Blakey and The Afro-Drum Ensemble
Art Blakey’s drumming often reflects African rhythmic structures.
A Love Supreme, Pt. 1 - Acknowledgement | John Coltrane
Coltrane incorporated chant-like motifs reminiscent of Sufi traditions
Search for Peace | McCoy Tyner
The Creator Has A Master Plan | Pharoah Sanders
McCoy Tyner and Pharaoh Sanders explored introspective, meditative textures in their playing, creating space for reflection within improvisation.
Through their music, the influence of the Ahmadiyya movement becomes audible.
In the mid-20th century, many African American jazz musicians converted to Islam, with the India-based Ahmadiyya movement playing a central role.
From the 1920s onward, Ahmadiyya actively sought converts in American cities, and by the mid-1940s, it’s estimated that around ten thousand African Americans were participating in Muslim communal life in Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia, and elsewhere.
For musicians like Ahmad Jamal, Yusef Lateef, Sahib Shihab, and Dakota Staton, the movement offered spiritual guidance, community, and a framework for self-expression.
Art Blakey explained in 1963: “Islam brought the black man what he was looking for, an escape like some found in drugs or drinking: a way of living and thinking he could choose freely. This is the reason we adopted this new religion in such numbers. It was for us, above all, a way of rebelling” (I. Monson, The African Diaspora: A Musical Project).
Some musicians drew directly from Middle Eastern and North African music: Yusef Lateef experimented with instruments like the Palestinian arghul and built melodic patterns inspired by Arabic scales, weaving his faith into the music itself.
The Centaur And The Phoenix | Yusef Lateef
Ahmed-Abdul Malik, who performed with Thelonious Monk, embraced the oud and adapted the maqam system for jazz ensembles, even collaborating with Arab musicians to fuse traditions in his recordings.
The Ahmadiyya movement shaped not only their lives but also the sound, depth, and spiritual dimension of mid-century American jazz.
I’ve put together a little playlist of this cross section, highlighting the spiritual jazz that grew out of Ahmadiyya influence.