I have read that one of the reasons that chattel slavery was practiced in the British colonies was because of British contacts with Muslim slavers in Africa and the ME. It was prohibited in England itself, oddly enough, but was extremely hard to root out in other areas.
Even after the former British colonies in the US became US states, they were uncommonly harsh, even forbidding black slaves to receive religious instruction. Writers have speculated that this is because they based their model for the enslavement of Africans upon the Muslim model of slavery in Africa.
I've never understood why American blacks are so fond of Islam.
It's a small percentage for sure, but it is a huge mystery.
"I've never understood why American blacks are so fond of Islam."
I'm no expert, but my opinion is that they hear people say that Christianity is the "White Man's" or "Slave Owner's" religion, or that they think they're getting in touch with their African roots by converting to Islam. I don't know the exact statistics, but I think that most of the black African slaves imported to America were Animist (i.e. pagan)