Alexander Russell Webb – The Making of the Yankee Muslim Ambassador to 1893 Parliament Convening

Missionary convert, Missouri Republican, and counsel to the Philippines, Muhammad Alexander Russell Webb was the second American convert to Islam. He was a diplomat during the Cleveland administration and used his spare time to read about religions and cultures around the world. He studied Buddhism, Theosophy, and Islam and started correspondence with Muslims in the Indian subcontinent. When he returned to the United States, he represented Islam at the 1893 World Parliament of Islam in Chicago, opened a library and Islamic reading room on Broadway in Manhattan, and started the Moslem World newspaper. Webb’s work sought to correct misconceptions among Christian Americans about the Islamic Faith and the Muslim East. His legacy constitutes a valuable point of reference for all Americans today, especially for those in the growing Muslim community of the United States.